Louis Lappe (19) celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off home run to beat the Caribbean Region 6-5 at Lamade Stadium. Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN announcer had ultimate jinx before walk-off home run at LLWS

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 8/28/23

California won the Little League World Series on Sunday in dramatic fashion, and the team from El Segundo might want to thank ESPN’s Karl Ravech for the assist.

Ravech delivered the ultimate announcer jinx just before Louis Lappe hit a walk-off home run to lift California to a 6-5 win over Curaçao. When Lappe stepped into the batter’s box, Ravech noted that Curaçao had not allowed a home run in the entire Little League World Series. Lappe then homered on the first pitch.

Louis Lappe hits a walkoff HR for California after Karl Ravech noted that Curaçao had not allowed a HR the entire #LLWS pic.twitter.com/tPPqbMgFdY

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 27, 2023

The home run was the fifth of the LLWS for the 6-foot-1 Lappe, so it makes sense that he would be the first player to hit one against Curaçao. But those who believe in the announcer jinx might feel Ravech helped the United States capture its fifth straight LLWS title.

We know NFL kickers are not fans of the announcer jinx, but it worked in El Segundo’s favor there.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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