Karl Ravech is getting his official swan song on Sunday.
After calling his final MLB game for ESPN last week, Ravech is calling his final broadcast, period, for the network that laid him off last month. Ravech is ending his ESPN tenure in the same place where he’s spent late summer days for the past two decades: Williamsport, PA.
On Sunday, ESPN took a moment to honor Ravech during the Little League World Series championship game between Nevada and Curacao, which will be his final assignment at the network.
ESPN honors Karl Ravech during his final broadcast of the Little League World Seriespic.twitter.com/18utRzclyO
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Eduardo Pérez surprised Ravech in the booth the present him with a framed illustration commemorating Ravech’s time covering the Little League World Series.
“You’ve been our quarterback. You’ve been our leader, our mentor, and the best teammate we can all have,” Perez told Ravech as he walked into the booth. “On behalf of the entire ESPN Little League family, we want to present you this, because you mean so much to the people in front of the camera and behind the camera as well. And personally, you’ve been my rock, so I appreciate everything you’ve done to make us look damn good on TV. And most importantly, it’s the friendship that matters.”
“Thank you very much. You’re the best, and you’re all the best,” an emotional Ravech replied. “I’ve said it to everybody that would listen, this Little League World Series means so much to me, but it’s really always been about the kids and it’s been about the people in that picture. It’s been about my teammates for 33 years and four decades. So that is incredibly sweet, that will be displayed incredibly prominently and proudly in my house. I love what I do and I love the people I do it with, so thank you very much.”
Ravech’s departure from ESPN did not exactly happen in the smoothest possible way. He was informed the news of his impending layoff by a reporter rather than hearing from the network directly. Even still, Ravech chose to finish out his contract, calling the remainder of his MLB schedule and the Little League World Series.
Perhaps that’s part of the reason why he’s so beloved by his teammates, and baseball fans more broadly.
The Little League World Series will sound much different next summer with someone other than Ravech calling the action.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.