Media
The 61-year-old Ravech has been at ESPN since 1993.
Karl Ravech (right) has been prominently involved in ESPN and ABC’s Little League World Series coverage going back to 2006. AP
July 21, 2026 | 12:13 PM
1 minute to read
Karl Ravech, a Needham native who has been one of the most prominent faces of ESPN’s baseball coverage during his more than three decades at the network, is expected to be among the on-air and behind-the-scenes personnel laid off on Tuesday.
As of 9 a.m., Ravech had not been told he was being let go, but ESPN was just beginning to inform those affected, per a network source.
Ravech has not responded to a text message seeking confirmation. Word of his expected layoff was first reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
The 61-year-old Ravech has been at ESPN since 1993, when he arrived at the network as a “SportsCenter” anchor during that program’s heyday. He also called college basketball for the network, but he was a mainstay in various high-profile assignments over the years as part of ESPN’s baseball coverage.
From 2022-25, he was the play-by-play voice for “Sunday Night Baseball,” which moved to NBC in the new broadcasting rights deal. He anchored “Baseball Tonight” for years when it was a nightly part of the network’s programming, and hosted its onsite World Series coverage each October. He has been prominently involved in ESPN and ABC’s Little League World Series coverage going back to 2006.
Ravech, who spent part of his early career as an intern and sports freelancer at Ch. 5 in 1986-87, called Monday’s nights Phillies-Dodgers broadcast for ESPN.
On Monday, NFL analyst Ryan Clark was the first to be let go. ESPN had intended to lay him off Tuesday, but when the network began getting media inquiries about his status, it pulled him from the “NFL Live” program that he was part of and informed him. He did not return to the program.
Among others reportedly laid off Tuesday were NFL reporter Tom Pelissero, injury analyst Stephania Bell, and studio anchor David Lloyd.
The layoffs are expected to largely affect personnel such as Pelissero that came over from the NFL Network when ESPN purchased the network — with the NFL taking a 10 percent stake — in January.
Chad Finn
Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.
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