Late night’s 7 best baseball sketches and interviews
By Matt Moore
Celebrate America’s past time with these baseball inspired bits from late night television.
Just like baseball is America’s past time and one of the country’s great inventions so too is late night television. So it only makes sense that baseball has been featured in countless sketches, bits, and remotes over the years. Players have also frequented late night couches and hosted Saturday Night Live, usually after winning the World Series or transcending the game.
It this article, we look at how today’s most popular late night shows, including Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, have found humor in the game of baseball. Be sure to let us know which is your favorite in the comment section or let us know one we missed.
Jimmy Fallon does “Who’s on First?”
You can’t really talk about baseball and comedy without starting with the “Who’s on First?” routine. Made famous by the legendary duo of Abbott and Costello, the bit was first performed in 1938. It has its origins in burlesque shows of the 1930s yet has remained relevant and is considered an iconic work of comedy.
This 2012 version on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon wasn’t the first time “Who’s on First?” was featured on late night television. Johnny Carson provided his own version on The Tonight Show impersonating President Ronald Reagan.
Putting a modern twist on classic bits, characters, and songs has become a staple of Fallon’s work in late night. What makes this clip stand out is not only the flawless delivery but the added star power used to recreate the Abbott and Costello classic.
Fallon brings in two of the biggest celebrity baseball fans in Billy Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld. Crystal has discussed the importance of the New York Yankees in his life throughout his career. And for Seinfeld, the New York Mets have always been his team. The comedian even made sure his sitcom alter ego supported the Mets.
We also have to compliment Steve Higgins for his perfect delivery as the straight man trying to figure out just who is playing the infield. And while he may not have the recognition of Crystal and Seinfeld, writer A.D. Miles holds his own as “What.”