This SNL star hosted the MLB Home Run Derby and it didn't go well

Marcello Hernandez has become one of the breakout stars of Saturday Night Live over the last few years. The comedian has popped, in particular, with his baseball-themed sketches. He did a Weekend Update bit about the difference between Latino players and white players, and never looked back.

Hernandez parlayed the success of the Weekend Update bit in multiple sketches, and appearances in real MLB ad campaigns. Hernandez got his biggest non-SNL break to date, however, on July 14. The comedian was given the chance to provide introductions for the players who participated in the MLB home run derby.

Hernandez has made baseball part of his SNL brand

Unfortunately, Hernadez's comedic sensibility did not translate very well to the diamond. The comedian did what he does best, which is display a passion for the game and his favorite players, but the jokes that work within the framework of a stand-up routine, or a three-minute sketch, felt painfully stretched out during a multi-hour sporting event.

During a GQ profile in June, Marcello Hernandez recalled talking about baseball with SNL creator Lorne Michaels. "He asked me if I had any stuff about baseball and I was like, 'Oh yeah, I have one bit about how the Dominican players are better than the American players.'" This would eventually serve as the impetus behind the aforementioned Weekend Update sketch.

The comedian struggled to apply his bits to a hosting gig

The issue with this, though, is that Hernandez applied this bit to his introductions. The comedian would frequently hype up the Dominican players, while poke fun at those who were not Dominican. He made reference to Chet Hanks' "White Boy Summer" meme from 2021. He claimed that Pete Alonso got his nickname "Polar Bear" because he was a "big, white guy."

Hernandez's passion for baseball cannot be denied. "Baseball is so sick," he explained to GQ. "All the sh*t that they do is so dope." It's the way this passion was conveyed, i.e. in a non-funny fashion, that proved to be the problem. On the bright side, few will remember Hernandez hosting because Ingrid Andress utterly butchered the National Anthem before the home run derby got underway.