This week, we’re celebrating the highs, the lows, the best, and the worst of the year with The Awfulies.
As we’ve done for the past four years, the Awful Announcing staff has cast its votes for who we think should take home the coveted golden microphone in a wide variety of categories across the sports media industry.
Keep an eye on the category and winner reveals throughout the week. And be sure to let us know who your pick would have been for the winners, as we examine the best media personalities of 2025.
Today, we honor the newsbreakers and newsmakers who keep the sports conversation cycle moving.
Best Sports Media Insider of 2025: Jeff Passan
The insider business is a fickle beast. For some, the lifestyle sounds nightmarish, and the payoffs don’t always match the effort. We don’t know what goes on behind the scenes or in those text threads. However, by all accounts, ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan has figured out how to balance speed, accuracy, professionalism, and enjoyability, making him the profession’s ideal.
Yes, Passan has a sterling reputation as an adept reporter, but it’s his implacable passion for calling out MLB franchises and even their fans when needed to make a point that makes him stand out. ESPN’s MLB insider suffers no fools, or Pirates owners.
He’s also not above holding MLB’s feet to the fire on potential issues and controversies. And if you plan on coming for Passan on social media, you’d best not miss.
Beyond the day-to-day grind of his job, Passan was also willing to step into the spotlight (or firing line), speaking out about the “ghouls” who removed Jackie Robinson from a Pentagon website and continuing to rail against the erasure of baseball (and American) history by those who wish to forget it. It would be easy to “stick to sports” in his role, but Passan stayed true to himself and used his position to do what he could. We could all take a lesson from that. – Sean Keeley
Best Sports Reporter of 2025: Pablo Torre
Who else could it have been?
In an era when sports reporting often serves as a mouthpiece for players, teams, and agents, Pablo Torre has helped restore our faith in the industry. At its core, Pablo Torre Finds Out is quintessential journalism, as the Meadowlark Media host breaks industry-altering stories that likely would have remained hidden had his show not existed.
Whether it was shining a light on Jordon Hudson, altering the NFLPA’s leadership structure, or uncovering the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration scandal, it would be impossible to argue that Torre’s reporting hasn’t made a difference. Are podcasts the future of sports journalism? For Torre, our Sports Media Person of the Year, they’re already the present. – Ben Axelrod
Check out the rest of the 2025 Awfulies winners here.
