ESPN laid him off. Karl Ravech is still showing up to work

Karl Ravech getting laid off by ESPN should have been the end of the story. Instead it's turned into one of the more respected reactions to a layoff in sports media in a while. Ravech, who has called baseball for the network since the early 90s, was reportedly let go in the latest round of ESPN cuts. He didn't even find out from the network directly. Per Andrew Marchand's reporting, he learned about his own termination when a reporter called him for comment. That's a rough way to hear you're out after 33 years.

Barstool Baseball

@StoolBaseball

Karl Ravech, Who Has Been Laid Off By ESPN, Is Still Calling Games For ESPN And Will Be A Part Of LLWS Coverage In August @Return_Of_RB

And yet, days later, Ravech was back on the call for Braves-Nationals like nothing happened. ESPN, it turns out, still needed bodies in the booth for the back half of the MLB season, and Ravech agreed to keep working select games even after getting the layoff news. An ESPN spokesperson confirmed the arrangement will run through the rest of the year, and it's not a one-off — he's also lined up for a Yankees game in August.

The big one on the calendar is the Little League World Series. Ravech has been ESPN's voice for LLWS for 20 years and the lead voice of the championship game since 2011. Little League World Series coverage runs from August 11-30, and he'll be there, laid off or not, calling 11 and 12-year-olds play for a title on the same network that just cut him loose.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

Karl Ravech, who has been laid off by ESPN, is still calling games for ESPN and will be a part of LLWS coverage in August t.co/aloAiuHZjx

There's something almost stubbornly professional about the whole thing. Plenty of guys in Ravech's spot would tell ESPN to lose their number after finding out about a firing via a reporter's phone call. Instead he's shown up, called the game, and reportedly agreed to keep showing up for the rest of the assignments on his plate. That's the kind of move that gets you goodwill even from a fanbase that doesn't usually go out of its way to praise ESPN talent.

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

Respect to Ravech, dude loves baseball t.co/HHXBp1w7ez

None of this changes the fact that Ravech is still out of a full-time job at ESPN come the fall. But for the next few weeks, at least, he's still the guy behind the mic for Little League's biggest stage, one last run before the door actually closes. Whether ESPN circles back with something more permanent once LLWS wraps is the real question worth watching.