ESPN and MLB agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2025 season, ending a long partnership with the two sides. The reason for the divorce ultimately came down to how ESPN covered the league.
"Furthermore, we have not been pleased with the minimal coverage that MLB has received on ESPN’s platforms over the past several years outside of the actual live game coverage," Manfred wrote.
ESPN has exclusive broadcasting rights to the Wild Card Series, giving the network one last hurrah to show MLB games. Well, considering how Tuesday's game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees has gone, let's just say Manfred has every reason to feel like he made the right decision parting with ESPN, and this time, it has everything to do with their in-game coverage.
There's been a crackling sound throughout the first inning of Red Sox-Yankees Game 1.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 30, 2025
At times, it's been barely noticeable. But at times, like when the Yankees recorded the final out of the first inning, it's been really loud.
Seems to be worse when the crowd is loud. pic.twitter.com/EoiIRrhfi3
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Crackling sound has worsened Red Sox-Yankees game experience on ESPN
If there's anything Yankees fans are known for, it's being passionate. Yankees fans will boo when things don't go New York's way, and they'll cheer very loudly when a good thing does happen. When Max Fried got the final out of a scoreless first inning, the crowd at Yankee Stadium roared, and the fans watching on ESPN got the worst possible crackling sound.
If you thought that clip was bad, listen to the noise when Anthony Volpe drilled an opposite-field home run in the bottom of the second inning.
The crackle was really bad on Anthony Volpe's home run in the second inning. https://t.co/c6ODahVQN1 pic.twitter.com/SyCsSOfw25
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 30, 2025
Right when the ball cleared the short porch, Yankees fans, understandably, exploded, and the ESPN mics, frustratingly, imploded. This obviously didn't take away anything for those at the stadium, but those watching on TV certainly couldn't enjoy the sound of the crowd nearly as much because of the disturbingly awful noise.
Rob Manfred's decision to walk away from ESPN couldn't look any better
There were several reasons, financial and otherwise, for MLB to discard ESPN, but at the end of the day, MLB fans have not liked ESPN's coverage of the sport for years. It's non-existent when games aren't live, and even the prominent Sunday Night Baseball crew seems to be out of the loop at times, as we saw in last week's Mets-Cubs game.
After Michael Busch homers for the Cubs, Karl Ravech calls him "Matthew Busch," then corrects Eduardo Perez for calling him "Matthew Boyd." pic.twitter.com/gxhCdVCmYG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 25, 2025
Yes, ESPN's lead play-by-play broadcaster, Karl Ravech, didn't know that the Cubs' leadoff hitter's name is, in fact, Michael Busch.
The one thing ESPN had going for itself was the quality of the broadcast itself. Sure, the network might not care about baseball and the broadcasters might not be the most informed, but at least the visual and audio side of things are pristine, right? Right?? Clearly not.
MLB fans have plenty of reasons to be frustrated with Rob Manfred, but for a rare case, he, very clearly, made the right move.