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MLB Fans All Asked the Same Question About Pat McAfee's Home Run Derby Intros

McAfee almost said the Steelers instead of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Blake Silverman|
Pat McAfee and Ty Schmit introduced the Home Run Derby field Monday night in Atlanta
Pat McAfee and Ty Schmit introduced the Home Run Derby field Monday night in Atlanta | Screengrab via ESPN and @MLB on X/Twitter

ESPN's Pat McAfee got the microphone to introduce the field for the 2025 Home Run Derby at Truist Park in Atlanta alongside Ty Schmit, one of his co-hosts on The Pat McAfee Show.

It was a hyped-up skit where the College GameDay host peppered a few jokes in between each player's background. As he spoke prior to the Home Run Derby, fans all had the same question—why was McAfee the one to introduce the field? He's certainly a qualified hype man, but the masses are more familiar with his football and wrestling coverage, although The Pat McAfee Show does tackle sports at-large.

McAfee himself may have been confused, too, as he almost slipped and said "Steelers" when introducing Pittsburgh Pirates representative Oneil Cruz. He even shocked fans with a wild line about Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh's backside.

Here's a snippet of McAfee and Schmit's intros as Washington Nationals star James Wood stepped onto the podium.

And baseball fans certainly had some thoughts:

That was undoubtedly an interesting way to kick off the Home Run Derby.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.

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