There were plenty of home runs hit during MLB’s annual derby on Monday night, but fans felt Netflix struck out by giving Will Ferrell the mic on commentary.
In promotion for the SNL legend’s new show on the streaming platform which debuts this week, Ferrell alongside The Hawk co-stars Luke Wilson and Jimmy Tatro, were given front-row seats for Home Run Derby in Philadelphia.
The trio had their own announce desk for the event, which also featured legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer bringing the competitors out towards a boxing ring shaped like home plate in the middle of the field.
“Are you ready to watch some balls go very far into the air?” Ferrell asked to help kick off the show, before Wilson jokingly referred to the others as “Roger and Gus,” before being corrected.
The audience weren’t fans of streamer’s forced promotion of the new show during the event and voiced their immediate displeasure on social media.
“This bit was super cringe. Just awful and unnecessary,” one user wrote.
“This was a difficult watch. Just bad,” another replied. “I like these guys, but this was an awkward fit. I just don’t know if all this extra stuff is needed.”
“Will Ferrell and company may want to say something funny,” a third user commented.
What were the worst jokes?
Many of the jokes that the trio made during the introductions simply failed to land – especially Ferrell’s efforts.
For hometown hero Bryce Harper, Ferrell said that “The Liberty Bell comes and takes photos of HIM.”
After Tatro claimed that Junior Caminero is the first Home Run Derby entrant to compete while wearing braces, Ferrell then chimed in to ask if “Junior had a kid and named him Junior, would he be Junior Junior?”
But perhaps the worst came during White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami’s intro.
“I have two words for you: Hand-eye coordination,” Ferrell said.
After Wilson compared the Japanese slugger to a “tiger” walking up the steps, Ferrell stepped in to comment: “It really makes you think ‘God, I wish Shohei (Ohtani) was here tonight.”
What else did viewers dislike?
Netflix, which was broadcasting the event for the first time, also fell short in several other areas.
Many viewers fumed at the camera angles used, with failed to capture the hitters making contact to many of their swings.
“They fixed the Derby format, it’s pretty much perfect, but Netflix is giving the worst camera angles imaginable for 90% of swings,” a fan wrote on X.
“Why is the Netflix broadcast literally showing ONLY THE BP THROWER on some swings what the hell,” another person wrote.
Another questionable production choice was the absence of a persistent on-screen leaderboard through the event.
Who won the home run derby?
Netflix also had some fans believing that the event was rigged with a production slip-up.
Early in the contest, a graphic flashed on screen proclaiming Jordan Walker as the home run derby champion.
The win turned out to be a massive payday for the Cardinals star – more than doubling his earnings for the year.
With Walker earning a salary of $799,400 US in his fourth MLB season, the $1-million prize for winning the event is more than he makes the rest of the year.