1. I’m just gonna come right out and say this and I’ll take the flack and the backlash: MLB media members think waaaaaay more people care about Shohei Ohtani than actually do.
Obviously, Ohtani is extremely popular, and his play speaks for itself, but so many folks in MLB media go way over the top when assessing Ohtani’s place in the sports world.
Cue ESPN’s Karl Ravech who made a wild claim on Thursday’s Pat McAfee Show.
“There probably hasn’t been an athlete who is more well-known globally, maybe since Tiger Woods, maybe Muhammad Ali, than this guy. I think you can make the case he’s the biggest and most well-known athlete globally, on the planet because, obviously, what he does in Asia.”
.@karlravechespn discusses Shohei Ohtani’s global stardom and impact on baseball 🙌
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 3, 2025
"There probably hasn't been an athlete who's more well-known globally maybe since Tiger Woods, maybe Muhammad Ali." (via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/1AqblxRFiw
Ohtani is the most popular athlete in Japan. That’s a fact. But does Ravech, or anyone else, think Ohtani is moving the needle in France, Italy, Germany, etc?
MLB media loves to talk about Ohtani’s popularity “globally.” But what they really are talking about is Ohtani’s popularity in Asia. In North America, Ohtani’s profile isn’t even remotely close to, for example, LeBron James’s profile. In Europe, the NBA dwarfs MLB when it comes to interest. There is no way sports fans in Europe care more about Ohtani than James.
Not to use Instagram as the measurement to decide this case, but Ohtani has 9.3 million Instagram followers. LeBron has 159 million followers. For those who struggle at math that’s more than a 100-million follower difference.
One. Hundred. Million.
There are other athletes besides LeBron who are more popular than Ohtani globally, but I’m just trying to keep this simple by focusing on one athlete as an example of someone who generates more interest than Ohtani.
And let me be clear. This is not about Ohtani. It’s about the baseball media that has lost all kinds of perspective when it comes to the Dodgers superstar.
2. This week’s episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with CBS’s Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery.
The duo discuss their longtime partnership, going back to working New Jersey Nets game together in the early 1990s, Eagle shares his impression of Raftery and the pair reminisce about funny stories over the years.
Raftery also shares a shocking admission about his famous catchphrases, talks about a viral line from this year’s NCAA tournament and discusses whether he has ever thought about retirement.
Eagle talks about the prep work for doing the tournament, what it’s like to do four games in a day during the first round and the amount of broadcast partners he has had over the years.
In addition, Eagle shares his thoughts on getting a new NFL partner this season in J.J. Watt.
Following Eagle and Raftery, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include streaming issues for MLB.tv and Major League Baseball’s horrible response to its own streaming issues, the Torpedo bats story, NFL changes for the 2025 season, Joe Buck, Peter Schrager and more.
You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.
3. This sequence from last night’s Warriors-Lakers game, featuring three 3-pointers in one minute, made for some great Kevin Harlan work.
4. Phillies analyst John Kruk wasn’t going to let a baseball game stop him from venting about something we can all relate to: email issues.
Can someone please help John Kruk get into his email? pic.twitter.com/ZeqIIPVJsF
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 3, 2025
5. Eagles Super Bowl-winning running back Saquon Barkley is a jacked up NFL tough guy, but even he struggled on the most recent episode of Hot Ones.
NEW #HotOnes episode with @Saquon 🔥 find out if he made it through the wings of death NOW 👀 link in bio.
— First We Feast (@firstwefeast) April 3, 2025
Presented by @StellaArtois pic.twitter.com/4Z8VEFIoSd
6. WrestleMania is coming up later this month, but I’m not sure anything on the card can top this.
7 RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY The Sopranos
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN’s Karl Ravech Dropped Quite a Hyperbolic Shohei Ohtani Take.
