An ESPN broadcaster left fans bewildered on Thursday night after unexpectedly appearing on air to call an MLB game – just days after being laid off by the network.
Karl Ravech, who had been at the network for 33 years, was among the staff who were brutally cut by ESPN earlier this month as part of their latest round of layoffs.
However, despite being axed by the network, he bizarrely returned to his duties on Thursday evening to call the Atlanta Braves-Washington Nationals game.
The surprise appearance immediately sent shockwaves across social media, with fans left scratching their heads over Ravech’s return.
One bemused fan wrote: ‘I have no idea what’s going on, but Karl Ravech was supposedly part of ESPN’s layoffs last week after 33 years with the network. Tonight, he’s calling the Nationals-Braves game on ESPN.’
Meanwhile another said: ‘I thought Karl Ravech got laid off last week??? If I’m him, I’m using this broadcast to air out all the dirty laundry….go out with a BANG.’
ESPN broadcaster Karl Ravech stunned fans after calling the Atlanta Braves-Washington Nationals game on Thursday night – despite recently being cut by the network
However, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Ravech ‘was given the option to work some more summer dates’ and opted to take that opportunity.
He added that the 61-year-old ‘is expected to work the Little League World Series, as well as a Yankee game in August.’
The expectations, however, are that once Ravech completes his baseball assignments, he will no longer be on the air with the network.
Ravech originally learned of his termination when a reporter called him for comment last Tuesday morning – shortly before an ESPN executive notified him of his exit.
Ravech joined ESPN as an anchor in 1993 and was a longtime SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight host, while also serving as lead caller of Sunday Night Baseball from 2022 to 2025.
ESPN’s pivot away from baseball, after opting out of its MLB package, has left much uncertainty for the sport’s analysts, and Ravech was among the first to be booted.
The layoffs stem from ESPN’s February acquisition of NFL Network, which came at a cost of around $3 billion and saw the NFL secure a 10 percent stake in the broadcaster.
Recently, Ravech’s former ESPN colleague Ryan Clark broke down in tears when discussing his abrupt exit from the network.
Ravech joined ESPN as an anchor in 1993 and was a Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight host
Former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark broke down in tears as he opened up about his sudden exit
Appearing on the latest episode of his podcast, The Pivot, the 46-year-old addressed the emotional weight of his departure and set the record straight on how his decade-long career at the network came to an end.
‘Let me put this to bed – I wasn’t laid off, I was fired,’ Clark declared on the podcast.
‘They’re using layoffs as a cover, a camouflage for what they already intended on doing. But there was no cause for it.’
Clark admitted he felt forced to alter his personality and tone in a desperate bid to save his job before the network ultimately let him go.
‘What makes me sad is I did adjust who I was to try to keep my job,’ Clark explained. ‘For three years we never shied away from any topic on this podcast.
‘We did this year because I knew I couldn’t have no beef. I knew, for lack of a better word, I couldn’t be too Black. What makes me sad is even in trying to adjust, to be at least more of what certain people wanted, they still fired me.’
