SI

ESPN’s Jeff Passan on the Life of an Insider, State of MLB and More

The MLB insider talks former colleague Adrian 'Woj' Wojnarowski, using his phone in the shower, breaking news, The Rock and more on this week's 'SI Media' podcast.

Jimmy Traina

Jeff Passas has been with ESPN since 2019.
Jeff Passas has been with ESPN since 2019. / ESPN

1. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with ESPN’s top MLB insider, Jeff Passan.

Passan was so good on the podcast that I can’t pick out just one highlight to write about, so I’m going to give you five:

- When we discussed what the life of an insider is like, Passan revealed that when he renovated his house, he made sure that his new shower had a place for him to leave his phone so he can monitor texts for breaking news.

- After beating his former colleague and friend, Adrian Wojnarowski, on a story back in 2001, Woj called New York Post columnist, Mike Vaccaro, and asked, “Who the f--- is Jeff Passan.”

- He still gets nervous when he hits “send” on a tweet that’s breaking big MLB news.

- He has a second phone for “sources who are paranoid” about their bosses checking phone records.

- As a sophomore in college, he got The Rock to record the outgoing message on his answering machine. You can hear that story below.

There was also plenty of baseball talk with Passan, who discussed MLB’s popularity problem when it comes to marketing and television. He also gave a World Series prediction and revealed three things he’d do as MLB commissioner.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

2. God bless Al Michaels. Not only did Al not pull any punches when it came to the ridiculous flagfest we had to endure in Thursday’s Cowboys-Giants game, but he gave us a top-notch point-spread reference near the end of the game.

Dallas was 5.5-point favorites. With the Cowboys up 5 points and less than a minute left, kicker Brandon Aubrey came out to attempt a 51-yard field goal.

"As it looks right now, I think a lot of people are very happy that there will be a field goal attempt right here, and others not so happy. And you DO know what I mean."

After Aubrey missed the kick, Michaels than gave a nod to the Giants bettors.

"The patient is breathing, just barely, though."

Memo to all NFL play-by-play people: This is how you do it.

3. Among those awful calls that Michaels was fed up with was a taunting penalty called on Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb because he turned around to look at a Giants player while he was cruising into the end zone for a touchdown.

J.J. Watt spoke for all of us on this one.

4. I’m not 100% sure, but I think Stephen A. Smith compared himself to Dak Prescott in this clip from an interview he recently did with CNN’s Chris Wallace.

5. Rickey Henderson would’ve been such a hit in the Twitter era.

The outfielder was pure electric on the field. He was doing bat flips before bat flips were in vogue.

And he was a quote machine.

When a reporter asked him about Ken Caminit’s claim that 50% of players were using steroids, Henderson said, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49% right there.”

In 1999, when a reporter asked Henderson about the Mets firing their hitting coach, Tom Robson, Henderson asked, “Who’s he?”

And now we have this gem from yesterday.

6. I was watching this live last night because like a dope, I had bet the Twins. Despite losing my money, I was still able to laugh at the frustration by Minnesota’s play-by-play announcer during this pathetic moment.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: This Sunday will mark the 30th anniversary of someone trying to take credit for buying The Big Salad.

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 Twitter and Instagram.

Published
Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

Home/MLB