To Karl Ravech, seeing news of his status at ESPN — the network that laid him off last month — and reading about everything “has been surreal.”
But Ravech, addressing everything for the first time since the decision during an appearance on “Westwood One Sports Night” on Friday, added that he has “literally no ill will” toward ESPN, where he worked for 33 years and became entrenched as a voice of baseball with his work as a play-by-play broadcaster and studio host.
“I haven’t really commented on it much,” Ravech, 61, said. “I think it’s sort of apparent what’s happened there. I certainly have literally no ill will to a company that’s provided me with a life that has exceeded any expectation I had coming out of Needham High School or Ithaca College and the experiences I’ve had.”
Despite the layoff, Ravech has — and will continue to — work occasional MLB broadcasts on ESPN throughout the remainder of the season after being given the option, and he’ll call the Little League World Series this month.
Ravech was laid off from ESPN alongside NFL insider Tom Pelissero, NFL analyst Cam Newton, anchor David Lloyd and ex-Jet Bart Scott, among others.
ESPN also parted ways with NFL analyst Ryan Clark, with the network informing the longtime safety of its layoff decision during the middle of an “NFL Live” episode — creating a bizarre scenario where, after the show returned from a commercial break, Clark was no longer on the panel.
Ravech served as the voice of “Sunday Night Baseball” for four years through the end of the 2025 season, according to his ESPN bio, and he has also called college basketball games for the network in addition to his decades of work with the network’s baseball coverage.
He said Friday he “can’t wait” until the Little League World Series arrives because it’s “the event that most people associate me with” and his “favorite event for every reason people love the game of baseball.”
“I think the most surreal part has been the notes of gratitude, the sort of notes of frustration that I’ve received in the process,” Ravech said during his “Westwood One Sports Night” appearance. “All of those things, when you’re doing what we do, you never, ever think about the impact that you’ve had on people. I’ll be honest with you, that part has been so overwhelming and gratifying and heartwarming.”
