We don’t know exactly how the delicate dance between ESPN and Major League Baseball over broadcasting rights will shake out, but it would be best for the Worldwide Leader to leave this past Sunday’s graphics performance out of the pitch deck.
ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast featured a National League showdown between the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. Beforehand, the Sunday Night Countdown crew previewed the matchup. At one point, they were introducing a Jeff Passan interview with Mets slugger Francisco Lindor when one graphic in particular caught the attention of eagle-eyed viewers.
For a guy who’s been with the Mets for 24 seasons, you’d expect his stats to be better, quite frankly… pic.twitter.com/rOy2xqYpGE
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 28, 2025
There’s nothing wrong with what Passan was saying, but it was the graphic behind him that had the fundamental gaffe. Lindor did not arrive in New York back in 2001. He was traded to the Mets in 2021 from Cleveland. While it’s ultimately a harmless goof, the graphic is amusing to consider that Lindor, who was eight years old in 2001, was batting seventh in the lineup.
Unfortunately for ESPN, the graphics gaffes didn’t end there. During SNB, Karl Ravech discussed how the Giants are experiencing a home-run hitting drought and haven’t had a player hit 30+ home runs in a season since Barry Bonds.
*slides glasses up bridge of nose*
Well actually, ESPN, Bonds hit 45 home runs in 2004… pic.twitter.com/nGwS46brfq
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 28, 2025
While both the graphic and announcer Karl Ravech stated that the Giants’ last 30+ home run season was Bonds’ in 2002, it was actually 2004 when the MLB all-time home run leader hit 45 homers.
Credit due to the ESPN2 Statcast, which had a similar Giants/Bonds graphic with the correct year. That said, their 3D recreation of Juan Soto trotting after hitting a home run will haunt our dreams for weeks.
The Statcast 3D re-creation of Juan Soto’s HR, the running to first part has me cracking up pic.twitter.com/rWqB8Fi6Kq
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) July 28, 2025
While MLB and ESPN reportedly went radio silent after their media rights opt-out, they apparently rekindled that spark last month. If that means more Sunday Night Baseball, let’s hope ESPN’s graphics team gets things figured out.