Dan Le Batard

Daniel Le Batard

• School University of Miami

• Born December 16, 1968 in Jersey City, NJ USA

Biographical Information

Dan Le Batard is a columnist for the Miami Herald where he follows sports, and particularly the Florida/Miami Marlins and the perpetual soap opera that seemed to surround that team during the tenure of its controversial owner, Jeffrey Loria. He has cultivated an image as a provocative and contrarian writer who is not afraid to break away from conventional thinking. He has also appeared on the ESPN network as a substitute host for the show Pardon the Interruption and as the host of his own show, Highly Questionable, and has hosted his own radio show in the Miami, FL area.

Le Batard made the news around the time of the 2014 Hall of Fame Election when he revealed that he had asked readers of the web site Deadspin to fill out his Hall of Fame ballot for him. He explained that he wanted to "protest a voting process that had become sanctimonious" by keeping alleged steroids users out of the Hall. The Baseball Writers Association of America was not amused and announced on January 9th that he was suspended from the Association for a year and would be barred from voting in future elections. "The BBWAA regards Hall of Fame voting as the ultimate privilege," the organization said in a statement, "and any abuse of that privilege is unacceptable." Many of his fellow writers criticized him as well, saying that his action was a form of grand-standing intended solely to bring publicity upon himself.

Le Batard is the son of a Cuban immigrant, Gonzalo Le Batard, who has appeared frequently as a guest on his ESPN show. While born in New Jersey, he grew up in the Miami area and graduated from the University of Miami in 1990, after which he immediately joined the Herald's staff as a sportswriter.