Karl Ravech calls out 'haters' criticizing ESPN's mic'd players

Karl Ravech appeared on an ESPN podcast this week to talk about a number of issues. But about 90 seconds in, he got sidetracked by an issue that clearly bothers him.

Ravech, who joined the 06010 ESPN Communications Podcast with Alex Feuz, said he doesn’t understand “haters” willing to “die on the hill” of criticizing ESPN’s practice of featuring mic’d up players on Sunday Night Baseball .

First, Ravech mentioned the good news: ESPN scored its highest Sunday Night Baseball ratings in five years. The network averaged 1.505 million viewers for 25 games, up six percent over 2023. Ravech pointed out that’s notable considering other programming competing for viewers this year, such as the Olympics and presidential election coverage.

“The idea that we would finish with the best ratings in five years given those parameters, to me says a lot about the production,” Ravech said, “it says a lot about the people that work their a**** off on the production, it says a lot about the players who are willing to wear microphones and earpieces and contribute each and every week.”

About those mic’d up players, Ravech said he sees the critics on social media, but doesn’t understand them.

“It’s such a fascinating response we get to that, such a small group of haters, and those are the ones that seem to be out there on social media, will kind of blast the idea and fall on the sword of  ‘Just show us the game,'” Ravech said. “Which is so myopic in the thinking (because) it implies we don’t show the game when we’re talking to the players. When in fact, nobody’s more passionate about the game, and what’s going on, on the field, than those of us broadcasting and certainly those guys that are playing.”

“So the idea … that is one of the things people kind of die on that hill, is such a bizarre response to me. But overwhelmingly, it’s approved and thus the highest ratings in five years, so we must be doing something right.”

Granted, some purists might not like the practice, and point with glee to situations where players have missed routine plays while talking to the booth.

Then there are the instances where a player makes a great play while mic’d up.

Ravech has spoken on the issue before , saying “We trust (players) to speak when it makes sense.”

[ESPN]

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