Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- A veteran MLB broadcast duo continues to draw heavy criticism from fans during national games.
- Their commentary has been called out for bias, factual errors, and a negative tone that clashes with modern game trends.
- The network appears unwilling to make changes due to the complexity of overhauling their top broadcast team.
In fairness to John Smoltz, he knew exactly what he was signing up for when he became FOX’s lead MLB color commentator.
Modern baseball fans have rarely enjoyed the national broadcast teams, with Joe Morgan, Tim McCarver, and Jessica Mendoza all earning heavy criticism during their time as color commentators. Smoltz, who has been on the No. 1 team since 2016, has developed a reputation for complaining about the game’s evolution and how things were so much better in his day.
Tuesday’s All-Star Game again featured Smoltz and Joe Davis in the booth. Unsurprisingly, social media quickly filled up with viewers wondering when Fox will eventually dump the duo.
Why MLB fans are so against John Smoltz
To be clear, this is nothing against either Davis or Smoltz on a personal level. Davis does a fine job with the Dodgers, and Smoltz is a Hall of Fame pitcher with an excellent off-field reputation.
That said, neither of them is a good fit for what FOX and Major League Baseball need from their All-Star Game and World Series broadcasters. Davis, who doubles as the Dodgers’ play-by-play voice, has been accused of bias toward the two-time defending champions. He also drew fans’ ire for serving as the emcee during last year’s Dodgers parade.
Smoltz’s “get off my lawn” shtick is just as divisive as it sounds. We get it: Smoltz believes that analytics and teams erring on the side of caution for pitchers are bad trends. Fine. Not every broadcast needs that kind of negativity, though, and that’s coming from an admitted cynic.
Davis and Smoltz repeatedly missed important facts and storylines on Tuesday night. Smoltz mistakenly said the Cubs led the NL Central (they do not), the 2023 Rangers were a terrible first-half team (they were not), and noted that Cardinals pitcher Riley O’Brien has a tendency to induce ground balls.
Milliseconds later, O’Brien hit Rays third baseman Junior Caminero in the hand with a pitch. Talk about the announcer jinx.
“But he can throw strikes and get a lot of ground balls,” John Smoltz one millisecond before this happened. FTC. pic.twitter.com/xRPuQIbqaL
— Tyler (@TeddyFreddy270) July 15, 2026
There’s a reason why I personally watch games with the sound off. Broadcasters refuse to let the game breathe and allow the crowd to tell the story. Look how chaotic Netflix’s Home Run Derby broadcast was. The on-site studio coverage kept talking over home runs while trying to conduct interviews.
MLB fans are stuck with John Smoltz, for better or worse
If FOX hasn’t moved on from Smoltz yet, I’m skeptical they’ll do it anytime soon. Overhauling their No. 1 broadcast team is more trouble than it’s worth. ESPN learned that firsthand when they ditched Jon Miller and Joe Morgan following the 2010 season.
FOX narrowly avoided disaster with their NFL coverage when Joe Buck and Troy Aikman departed for ESPN. Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen were fantastic in their time together, and Tom Brady has gradually improved since replacing Olsen.
Keeping Davis and Smoltz is the safest play for FOX, even if it’s bad news for their fans. We just need to hope FOX eventually creates a feed that is solely crowd noise.
I can only speak for myself, but I’d much rather hear Mets fans chanting for players who have since left instead of listening to Smoltz talk about how Wins Above Replacement isn’t a great way to judge players. Not when heart and grit always win out!
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