The Home Run Derby is supposed to be one of the most exciting nights of the year for Major League Baseball, but Zach Gelb says it was hard to feel that on Monday night.
On Tuesday night, the CBS Sports Radio host said that Karl Ravech sucked some of the fun out of the event with his uninspired calls. Instead, he wants Chris Berman back in the booth.
“He was there. I don’t know what he was doing on the broadcast, but get his ass back in the booth,” said Gelb in reaction to the infamous photo of Berman, Jeff Passan and Tim Kurkjian.
Zach Gelb said that Berman’s classic “back, back, back, back, back, back, back, GONE!” home run call would be a significant improvement.
“That was a snooze fest. Good product on the field, but the announcing, once again, made me fall asleep. So, next year for the Home Run Derby, can we be a little better about who we choose and who we select for the Home Run Derby?”
While the choice of broadcaster likely had little to do with the ratings, ESPN may be open to changes for the Home Run Derby in 2023. Ratings for the 2022 contest were down 3% from the previous year.
