If you’re skeptical about the existence of announcer jinxes, the eighth inning of Wednesday afternoon’s game between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres might just change your mind. Leading 3-1, the Padres called upon reliever Wandy Peralta to manage the eighth inning. The first batter he faced was Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong, who fouled off Peralta’s first pitch. Shortly after, a graphic displayed the reliever’s impressive stats, prompting color analyst Mark Grant to highlight Peralta’s 0.00 ERA.
“Look at that ERA in 7 1/3,” Grant exclaimed, and you probably know where this is going. Unfortunately for Peralta, those were his last moments with a perfect ERA this season. Crow-Armstrong quickly turned on the next pitch from Peralta, hitting a home run into the right field seats.
The Padres beat the Cubs, overcoming an announcer jinx from Mark Grant.
Grant spotlighted Wandy Peralta’s 0.00 ERA. On the next pitch, Pete Crow-Armstrong took Peralta deep. pic.twitter.com/P7x7U95jX2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 17, 2025
If they had simply noted Peralta’s clean ERA when he entered the game, it might be a stretch to call it a jinx. After all, it’s improbable for any pitcher to maintain a perfect ERA throughout the entire season. But Grant’s specific mention of Peralta’s ERA, only to see him give up a home run immediately afterwards? That’s the epitome of an announcer jinx.
