Professional athletes are accustomed to performing in front of millions of viewers. But talent on the playing field does not necessarily translate to the realm of sketch comedy. Other than a few notable exceptions like Peyton Manning, sports stars have usually fallen flat on Saturday Night Live.

Of the baseball stars that have appeared on the show during its 45-season run, only a handful have hosted.

After reviewing the available online video clips, I have determined which figures from the baseball world made the best Saturday Night Live hosts.

The Good: Derek Jeter 

I’m no Derek Jeter fan, but he acquitted himself nicely as SNL host in December of 2001. It was just a few months after 9/11, and New York was still trying to move on from those traumatic events. As a result, it made sense for a New York icon to assume hosting duties.

Rather than attempting impressions or wacky characters (he never did have much range, amirite?), Jeter played to his strengths. The Yankee shortstop was the straight man in most of his sketches, and he avoided stumbling over his lines.

He also demonstrated better-than-average comic timing on a few occasions, like when he dressed in drag for a “Yankee Wives” sketch. Playing Alonso Soriano’s wife, his comment that Derek Jeter “looks like the Rock had sex with a Muppet” is a great bit of self-depracating humor.

Another standout moment from Jeter’s turn as SNL host was a “Point/Counterpoint” segment on Weekend Update.

The topic up for debate was “Derek Jeter Sucks,” a setup that allowed for some hilarious banter between Jeter and Red Sox fan Seth Meyers. Jeter opened the segment with a sincere argument for why he was a respectable ballplayer, leading Meyers to yell “YOU SUCK!”

Jeter wisely did not attempt to upstage Meyers, instead letting the Update host get most of the laughs.

While it’s not an all-time great SNL episode, Jeter’s appearance exceeded most expectations.

The (Self-Admittedly) Bad: George Steinbrenner

Give George Steinbrenner credit for recognizing his own limitations.

In his opening monologue as SNL host on October 20, 1990, the Yankees owner acknowledged that he was not the most obvious choice for the job. “I’m not an entertainer,” said Steinbrenner, who proceeded to list all the ways he did not fit that description.

Steinbrenner’s SNL performance proved that he wasn’t much of a comedian, though not for lack of effort. The Boss put plenty of energy into his sketches, most of which satirized his image as a blustery, intimidating executive.

A memorable sketch from this episode features Steinbrenner in an Ultra SlimFast commercial alongside Idi Amin (played by Chris Rock), Saddam Hussein (Kevin Nealon), and Pol Pot (Dana Carvey). When Steinbrenner objects to being lumped in with dictators, show creator Lorne Michaels and writer Al Franken come on stage to explain the context of the sketch.

The sketch, though far from uproarious, is mercifully short and has a worthwhile punchline at the end.

The rest of the episode is entirely forgettable, and Steinbrenner appears uncomfortable even when he’s playing an exaggerated version of himself. Certain sketches, like one centered around a pantless Steinbrenner dealing with a sexual harassment complaint, would not go over well today.

Truth be told, the Seinfeld episodes where Larry David provides Steinbrenner’s voice are far funnier than anything the Boss did on SNL.

  • To watch Steinbrenner’s monologue, click here
  • To watch the dictator sketch, click here
    • Videos courtesy of NBC.com

The Ugly: Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders was an electrifying presence on the football field and baseball diamond, thanks in part to his natural charisma and flashy style of play.

When it came to hosting a nationally broadcast comedy show, Sanders clearly wasn’t ready for “Prime Time.”

One of the keys to a successful SNL hosting gig is accepting your role as a team player. As crucial as it is for a host to deliver a one-liner with conviction, it’s equally important that the cast members get a chance to shine.

Sanders hosted SNL on the heels of his Super Bowl victory with the 49ers in 1995, and it was clear from his opening monologue that the show was going to be all about him. The multi-sport phenom leaned into his self-aggrandizing persona by joking that he was now a free agent fielding lucrative offers from various TV shows.

The crowd barely responded to Sanders’s stilted delivery and arrogant musings, an issue that would persist throughout the evening. The writing certainly didn’t help; most of the sketches consisted of a single unfunny joke repeated ad nauseum.

A sketch centered around the 1994-1995 MLB players’ strike could have been a home run had it taken advantage of Chris Farley’s resemblance to portly Phillies slugger John Kruk. Instead, it relied mostly on Sanders’s (non-existent) comic timing.

Sanders and Farley also teamed up for a sketch that lampooned the story of Babe Ruth hitting a home run for a sick child in the hospital. The twist was that in this scenario, the kid wanted his sports hero Deion Sanders to do a series of end zone celebrations. The sketch didn’t generate many laughs, despite Farley’s knack for impersonating children.

These sketches illustrate the problems with the episode as a whole: wooden delivery by Sanders, combined with uninspired writing by the SNL staff, made this a night to forget for “Neon Deion.”

  • To watch Deion’s monologue, click here
  • To watch the sick child sketch, click here
    • Videos courtesy of NBC.com

The Rest

As for the other baseball stars to host Saturday Night Live, their performances were poorly received. Former Yankees manager Billy Martin co-hosted with Anjelica Huston in 1986, leading journalist Rick Shefchik to write “Guest host Billy Martin was just as atrocious as you would imagine, blowing lines, flubbing jokes and missing cues every time he appeared on stage.”

Even Bob Uecker, the beloved “Mr. Baseball” who went from an unremarkable playing career to an extended run as a comedic actor, was met with middling reviews when he hosted in 1984.

SNL has also featured cameos from various ballplayers, like in 1986, when the sixth game of the World Series was broadcast on NBC. It was one of the most thrilling contests in baseball history; the only problem was that the game ran long and pre-empted that night’s episode of SNL.

Two weeks later, Mets pitcher Ron Darling apologized in a mock press conference during SNL’s cold open. He would go on to make another appearance on the program in 1987.

To watch Darling’s mock press conference, click here (video courtesy of NBC.com)

Searle’s Final Say

It’s been almost two decades since someone from the baseball world hosted Saturday Night Live, with Derek Jeter’s 2001 episode representing the last such instance. However, there are current players that I could see taking on the challenge. My hope is that one day affable ballplayers like Pete Alonso and Blake Snell get a chance to demonstrate their comedic chops in front of a national audience.