ESPN may have decided to step back from investing in Major League Baseball, but Stephen A. Smith believes that Fox should be increasing their involvement.
The MLB season kicked off this week in Tokyo, featuring Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Fox did not seem inclined to prioritize the event. They’ve faced backlash for broadcasting the MLB Tokyo Series remotely, with Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and Smith joining the critics on ESPN’s First Take Wednesday morning. “If you’re the partner of the sport and they open up the season in Tokyo with Ohtani, you gotta be there with them. And the partner in this case, Fox was not. They kept the broadcasters here…that’s not the way to do it.” – Chris Russo pic.twitter.com/JQ91vU3yNq
“If you’re the partner of the sport and they open up the season in Tokyo with Ohtani, you gotta be there with them. And the partner in this case, Fox was not. They kept the broadcasters here…that’s not the way to do it.” – Chris Russo pic.twitter.com/JQ91vU3yNq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 19, 2025
Russo’s point is valid; remote play-by-play is rarely as effective as having announcers present, making Fox’s choice for MLB’s season opener disappointing. Jason Benetti and A.J. Pierzynski handled the call for Game 1 of the MLB Tokyo Series, with Adam Amin leading the coverage for Game 2. Benetti also had NCAA Tournament commitments for Westwood One, while Amin was with the Chicago Bulls on their West Coast trip. Russo and Smith found these reasons insufficient. “I totally agree with you, one thousand percent,” Smith affirmed. “If you’re gonna invest in the sport, invest in the sport. The biggest star in the sport is there on his home turf, you’ve got to be there. You’ve got to be there, no question about it.”
Interestingly, Smith has come around to recognizing Ohtani as the biggest star in baseball after previously doubting how he could achieve that status with the use of an interpreter. It’s also curious that ESPN personalities are urging Fox to commit more resources to MLB, given that ESPN recently opted out of the final three seasons of its contract with the league after reportedly seeking to reduce their rights fee from $550 million to $200 million. A memo obtained by The Athletic’s Evan Drellich also revealed that commissioner Rob Manfred was concerned about ESPN’s declining subscriber base and limited league coverage.
While First Take did address MLB’s opening series to critique Fox, baseball is usually an infrequent topic on ESPN’s flagship debate show. Although Smith and Russo don’t dictate ESPN’s reduced investment in MLB, it remains ironic for a network that is actively seeking to pull back from the league to call for more investment from a competing broadcaster.
