Longtime MLB Announcer Calls Game on ESPN, Despite Being Laid Off by Network Last Week

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Karl Ravech, the longtime MLB announcer who was laid off by ESPN earlier this month, will continue to call games throughout the summer.

Ravech was on the air Thursday night, calling the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals, a surprising development given that he was let go just last week in a purge of network talent.

He was one of many on-air personalities let go by the company in its latest round of layoffs. Included in the cuts were NFL analysts Ryan Clark and Cam Newton, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero, and injury expert Stephanie Bell.

Ex-NFL player Bart Scott, a regular on ESPN’s morning talk shows, was also fired.

Despite being laid off, Ravech was given the opportunity to continue working games over the next few weeks. A report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand read:

After 33 years at ESPN, Ravech was given the opportunity to work some summer dates, according to a source with direct knowledge of the circumstances who was granted anonymity to speak on a sensitive subject. Ravech will call the Aug. 12 New York Yankees-Seattle Mariners game and will be on some Little League World Series action. He has been the lead on the Little League World Series.

ESPN declined comment.

Once Ravech is done with his baseball obligations, the report added, the expectation at ESPN is that he will no longer be on the air.

According to Marchand, Ravech first learned of his firing when a reporter called him to ask about it. It wasn’t until after that call that an ESPN executive reached out and confirmed the news.

That situation was precisely what the company hoped to avoid with Clark. In an effort to get ahead of the news, ESPN told him he was being laid off while he was doing an episode of NFL Live.

Clark did not return to the show after a commercial break.

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