TV baseball analyst and former Orioles pitcher Ben McDonald showed ill-timed apathy towards ESPN’s hockey coverage while he was live on the network’s air, Wednesday night.
While calling Game 2 of the National League Wild Card series between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, McDonald was asked by his play-by-play colleague, Kevin Brown, about the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup defense chances. Brown had just completed an ad read for the network’s coverage of the NHL’s primetime season opener between the Chicago Blackhawks and Panthers on Oct. 7, but it appears McDonald was unaware.
“There is zero chance I’ll be watching, I’m just gonna be honest with you.” – ABC/ESPN MLB analyst Ben McDonald with a ringing endorsement of ESPN’s NHL Opening Night coverage. pic.twitter.com/OaWXf68hsy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 1, 2025
“Ben, I know you’ve got an opinion on this: Panthers three-peat this year? What do you think?” Brown inquired.
“If you say so. I mean, good luck to ’em,” McDonald replied. “Are you asking if I’m going to be watching?”
“No, you’ll be watching, of course, because you work for ESPN, and you’ll be watching,” Brown said, attempting to steer McDonald back to a network-friendly dialogue.
“There is zero chance I’ll be watching,” McDonald said starkly. “I’m just going to be honest with you.”
McDonald’s brash disinterest in ESPN’s coverage of the NHL prompted a slew of reactions across social media, including notably from his colleague in that particular department – play-by-play announcer and studio host John Buccigross.
“Zero is also how many postseason innings Ben McDonald pitched in his MLB career,” Buccigross clapped back on X.
McDonald, the first overall selection by the Orioles at the 1989 MLB Draft, did not, indeed, pitch in the playoffs as a major leaguer. He was, however, inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008, with career accolades that included consistently ranking among the top 10 pitchers in complete games, wins, ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts.
Unfortunate injury problems ended his major league playing days with a 78-70 record, 894 strikeouts, and a 3.91 ERA in 1,291 and one-third innings pitched. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native joined the MASN broadcast booth to call Orioles games starting in 2016.
McDonald appeared on Fox Sports’ “Wake Up Barstool” on Thursday to set the record straight and explain his apparent confusion during the on-air blunder.
“When [the ad] popped up on the screen, I didn’t even know ESPN had the hockey contract to be honest with you,” McDonald said. “I know that they probably paid more than a dollar or two for it, but I just didn’t even know that, to be honest.”
Disney, which owns ESPN, won television and streaming rights to NHL games in a seven-year, $2.8 billion agreement in 2021. ESPN and ABC get to broadcast 25 games annually, plus half of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (shared with Turner Sports).
In addition to his claimed ignorance, McDonald also attempted to explain that the crossover in scheduling between the NHL’s season openers and the MLB playoffs factored into his thought process.
“Then when I looked at the dates and I went, ‘Well that’s kind of the same time as playoff baseball,’” he continued. “And if I’ve got a choice between preseason or beginning of hockey season and October baseball, I’m probably leaning slightly toward playoff baseball to be honest with you.”
It should be noted that McDonald is not a full-time employee of ESPN, which may explain why his explanation aired on a show broadcast on FS1, rather than on the worldwide leader in sports.
