Karl Ravech is leaving ESPN after 33 years, the biggest name in a wave of eight on-air departures announced Tuesday as the network consolidates operations following its acquisition of NFL Network in January.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro confirmed the cuts in a 124-word memo to staff citing the NFL Network integration as the primary driver.
Ravech, 61, from Needham, Massachusetts, joined ESPN in 1993 as a SportsCenter anchor during that program's golden era and became one of the network's most trusted baseball voices, anchoring Baseball Tonight for years when it was a nightly staple, hosting the Little League World Series since 2006, calling the World Series on site and serving as lead play-by-play voice for Sunday Night Baseball from 2022 to 2025 before that package moved to NBC.
He called the Dodgers-Phillies game on ESPN Monday night, the night before the layoffs were announced, in what may have been his final assignment.
The other on-air departures include Ryan Clark, who was informed on the air during NFL Live Monday in a moment that spread widely, along with Cam Newton, Bart Scott, Tom Pelissero, Charles Davis, Stephania Bell and David Lloyd. Pelissero and Davis came directly from NFL Network.