ESPN baseball analyst Ben McDonald swipes at network's NHL coverage live on air, claims ignorance: 'I didn't even know ESPN had the hockey contract'

""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.""

""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"

""Zero is also how many postseason innings Ben McDonald pitched in his MLB career," Buccigross clapped back on X."

Ben McDonald, an ABC/ESPN MLB analyst and former Orioles pitcher, stated on-air that he will not watch ESPN's NHL Opening Night, saying "There is zero chance I'll be watching." The remark occurred during a Cubs-Padres broadcast when a colleague asked about the Florida Panthers' championship prospects. Social media users reacted, including ESPN personality John Buccigross, who replied on X with a jab referencing McDonald's lack of postseason innings. McDonald was the first overall pick in the 1989 MLB Draft and never pitched in the major-league playoffs. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.

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