ESPN Major League Baseball
Encyclopedia
ESPN Major League Baseball is a promotion of Major League Baseball
on ESPN
and ESPN2
, with simulcasts on ESPNHD or ESPN2HD. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day
telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2013.
The title is derived from the fact that it may come on a night when ESPN doesn't have a scheduled game (i.e. Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday). The different weekly regular season games that ESPN presents (as of 2007): Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell
, Monday Night Baseball presented by Bank of America
and Wednesday Night Baseball presented by Goodyear
, and formerly ESPN DayGame presented by Fruit of the Loom and Thursday Night Baseball powered by Castrol
.
In addition to regular season games, ESPN also airs 10 spring training
games entitled ESPN Spring Training
and formerly aired Division Series
playoff games entitled The Division Series on ESPN. ESPN
also airs a daily highlight show called Baseball Tonight
at 10 p.m. ET and 12 a.m. ET.
ESPN Radio has also been airing Major League Baseball since 1998
(succeeding CBS Radio), broadcasting Sunday Night Baseball as well as select other regular-season games, the All-Star Game
and Home Run Derby
, and the entire postseason including the Division Series
, League Championship Series
, and World Series
. ESPN Radio's current contract runs through the 2010 season.
, ESPN and ESPN2 added several telecasts when Barry Bonds
chased Hank Aaron's record for most home runs in a MLB career. ESPN had the national telecasts on August 4 when Bonds tied Aaron with number 755 and on August 7, 2007 when he hit number 756. ESPN was also the broadcaster of the final game at the original Yankee Stadium as a part of Sunday Night Baseball
with Jon Miller
and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan
. It also showed Chris Burke's 18-inning homer to end the 2005 NLDS
.
Also, the network has been given permission to interrupt regular programming, when allowed, to show attempts at new records or significant milestones live. Examples include three cut-ins from its coverage of the first X Games
in 1995 until Eddie Murray
recorded his 3000th hit, live coverage of Sammy Sosa
's 600th home run in 2007, and a number of no-hitters, including the Buchholz feat mentioned earlier. Although it cannot show any historic attempts live during the Fox or TBS exclusive windows, it was allowed to show an in-progress highlight of Alex Rodriguez
' 500th career home run in August 2007, as this was on a Saturday afternoon before Fox went on the air with its game coverage.
signed a $
400 million deal with ESPN
, who would show over 175 games beginning in 1990
. For the next four years, ESPN would televise six games a week (Sunday Night Baseball
, Wednesday Night Baseball and doubleheader
s on Tuesdays and Fridays), as well as multiple games on Opening Day
, Memorial Day
, Independence Day
, and Labor Day
.
On April 15, 1990, ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball debuted with the experienced play-by-play announcer Jon Miller
joining retired Hall of Fame player Joe Morgan
in the broadcast booth. In its first year, Sunday Night Baseball averaged a 3.0 rating
. That was double the number that ESPN as a whole was averaging at the time (1.5). By 1998
, ESPN enjoyed its largest baseball audience ever (a 9.5 Nielsen rating) as Mark McGwire
hit his 61st home run of the season. When ESPN first broadcasted Sunday Night Baseball, they would show at least one game from every ballpark. Also, every team was guaranteed an appearance. It was essentially, the television equivalent to a cross country stadium tour.
In , ESPN renewed its baseball contract for six years (through the season). The new deal was worth $
42.5 million per year and $255 million overall. The deal was ultimately voided after the season and ESPN was pretty much forced to restructure their contract. In , ESPN broadcast the American League West tie-breaker game
between the Seattle Mariners
and California Angels
with Jon Miller
and Joe Morgan
making the call.
In , ESPN began a five year contract with Major League Baseball worth $
440 million and about $80 million per year. ESPN
paid for the rights to a Wednesday night doubleheader and Sunday Night Baseball
, as well as Opening Day and holiday telecasts and all postseason games not aired on Fox or NBC. Major League Baseball staggered the times of first-round games to provide a full-day feast for viewers: ESPN could air games at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 11 p.m. EDT, with the broadcast networks telecasting the prime time game.
In , ESPN broadcast the National League Wild Card tie-breaker game between the Chicago Cubs
and San Francisco Giants
. Jon Miller
and Joe Morgan
were on the call. In , ESPN broadcast the National League Wild Card tie-breaker game (this time between the New York Mets
and Cincinnati Reds
) once again with Jon Miller
and Joe Morgan
once again on the call.
games, along with Opening Day and holiday games and selected Division Series playoff games. The contracts with ESPN
were worth $
141.8 million per year and $851 million overall.
After Disney
bought Fox Family
(who from 2000– aired Thursday night games) in to become ABC Family
the Division Series games aired on ABC Family
(with ESPN's announcers, graphics, and music) for one year. ESPN then added these games, along with the Thursday night games (subsequently shifted to weekday afternoon "DayGame" broadcasts), to its package.
was briefly considering picking up the rights to the Sunday and Wednesday games, which expired after the 2005 season. On September 14, 2005 however, ESPN, then the current rights holder, signed an eight year contract with Major League Baseball
, highlighted by the continuation of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball
series with additional, exclusive team appearances. The key details of the agreement were:
The weekday afternoon "DayGame" telecasts that ESPN and ESPN2 had previously aired were eliminated in the new pact, along with the late (10 p.m. ET) Wednesday night game (although ESPN can elect to show a late game instead of an early one should it so desire), and the coverage of Memorial Day
, Independence Day
, and Labor Day
games (except for games that fall under the regular Monday-night slot).
ESPN's Monday and Wednesday telecasts remain mostly nonexclusive, meaning the games also can be televised by each club's local broadcasters. In fact, Wednesday games are blacked out
on ESPN unless a participating team's local broadcaster does not choose to televise the game. The Sunday games remain on ESPN only, and with ESPN gaining the rights to Monday Night Football
telecasts, it looks likely that Sunday Night Baseball
will run uninterrupted on ESPN throughout the season, except on Opening Night (when it will air on ESPN2, since it usually conflicts with the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four
).
Alternate telecasts for home-team markets which are blacked out have also been phased out, either in an effort to save costs or in an effort to allocate more satellite space for high-definition broadcasts on ESPNHD. Those who get ESPN via cable get ESPNEWS
instead, and those who get the channel via satellite see a blank picture and a blackout notice.
MLB will receive, on average, $
296 million a year under the new agreement, a television and a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a confidentiality agreement in the deal. ESPN will pay baseball $273.5 million in 2006
, $293.5 million in each of the following four years, $308.5 million in 2011 and $306 million in each of the final two seasons.
was fired from ESPN. The ESPN spokeswoman confirmed that Reynolds "is no longer with the network" but did not give a reason for the departure. "Three people who work at ESPN and familiar with the case said the cause was a pattern of sexual harassment." Reynolds confirmed that an accusation of sexual harassment was the reason for his departure but called it "a total misunderstanding" and that "I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted. In February 2008, ESPN and Reynolds reached an out-of-court settlement.
Weeks later, Peter Gammons
was sidelined with a brain aneurysm. Gammons returned to ESPN in early September
.
ESPN telecasts in 2006
, posted an average of 1,115,000 household impressions, up 27% when compared to 2005's 875,000. The corresponding 1.2 rating this year marks a 20% increase over the 1.0 average in 2005. ESPN2's baseball telecasts have averaged 704,000 households, an increase of 34% over 2005's 525,000. Ratings on ESPN2 went up 33% (0.8 vs. 0.6).
After the 2006 Division Series, ESPN lost the rights to broadcast playoff games on TV. All postseason games, from possible one-game playoffs to the World Series
, have aired on Fox Sports and TBS since 2007. Games remained on ESPN Radio. ESPN also lost rights to ESPN DayGame presented by Fruit of the Loom and Thursday Night Baseball powered by Castrol
.
The play-by-play commentators for ESPN DayGame were Gary Thorne
or Jon Sciambi
, along with Steve Phillips
, and Steve Stone as color analysts. The program was sponsored by Fruit of the Loom
in 2006. The game generally aired on Wednesday or Thursday. The final game to date was aired on September 30, 2006
.
, Steve Stone and Eric Karros.
With the new deal coming into play this year, several things changed with the Monday and Wednesday night games in particular. For Monday Night Baseball
, the telecast will now co-exist with teams' local carriers up to three times per year, up from two times in previous years. Wednesday Night Baseball
also changed slightly. Now, in addition to the featured game that night, they will also have some live cut-ins to other games across the nation and discuss some the hot topics in the major leagues.
On April 1, for the season-opening game between the New York Mets
and the St. Louis Cardinals
, ESPN changed its on-screen graphics to the version that debuted with Monday Night Football
in 2006
and was later adopted by its NBA coverage at the start of the 2006-07 season. The previous graphics dated back to the advent of ESPN HD in 2004
.
During the week of the All-Star Game
, Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter
did not travel to the game site as it normally does; the 2007 site was AT&T Park
in San Francisco
. The reason was that MLB stripped ESPN of its on-site credentials for its studio crew as punishment for leaking the rosters of the All-Star teams before TBS did. TBS' announcement, which was billed as exclusive, was scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern time but was delayed for nearly two hours, by which point ESPN, in apparent violation of its contract with MLB, went ahead and revealed the rosters anyway. ESPN later agreed to promote playoff coverage on TBS and Fox (alongside its own radio coverage) in return for Baseball Tonight going on the air shortly after each night's games concluded.
ESPN pre-empted part of the Kansas State
–Auburn
college football
game on September 1 to show the end of the no-hitter
thrown by Boston Red Sox
pitcher Clay Buchholz
.
and the Oakland Athletics
. Unfortunately, due to a transponder
failure, viewers on DirecTV
reliant on the standard-definition feed missed the first of the two games. (ESPNHD was unaffected.)
On March 30, ESPN showed the first-ever game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
The Nationals
defeated the Atlanta Braves
on a walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman
.
On May 4, ESPN introduced enhanced updates targeting viewers who play fantasy baseball
. It shows season batting statistics for the current batter on each potential count and updates batting average and other selected stats after the at-bat concludes.
in . The score banner was converted to a score box in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. And instead of numbers to represent the balls, strikes and outs, dots were represented for each: three green dots for balls, two yellow dots for strikes, and two red dots for outs. The pitch count was also introduced, adopted from the New York Yankees
' broadcasts on the YES Network
, as well as NESN for the Boston Red Sox
. College baseball and softball broadcasts, however, continued to use the previous (2007) graphics for the 2010 College World Series
telecasts. ESPN's coverage of the Little League World Series
also retained the 2007 graphics until midway through, and then adopted the current (2010) graphics package.
Baseball Tonight
, a daily highlight show aired on ESPN during the baseball season, likewise introduced new graphics adopted from SportsCenter
in June 2010.
and the New York Yankees
. Numbers indicating the ball, strike and out counts replace the dots used last year; the out dots were adopted by Fox Sports Net
on their local broadcasts as well as Major League Baseball on Fox. The pitch speed and count are now fixed below the bases graphic. Also, the area around the bases graphic and ball, strike, and out counter is slightly translucent.
Beginning with the Sunday Night Baseball
interleague
game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs
on June 19, the graphics were slightly adjusted to fit in with the 16:9
aspect ratio
for HD
broadcasts, similar to what Fox Saturday Baseball, Root Sports
and Fox Sports Net
have done for their baseball coverage. TBS would follow suit in adjusting their graphics to the 16:9 aspect ratio.
has enhanced its Major League Baseball coverage with the introduction and implementation of innovative technology. Which include:
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, with simulcasts on ESPNHD or ESPN2HD. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2013.
The title is derived from the fact that it may come on a night when ESPN doesn't have a scheduled game (i.e. Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday). The different weekly regular season games that ESPN presents (as of 2007): Sunday Night Baseball presented by Taco Bell
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
, Monday Night Baseball presented by Bank of America
Monday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
and Wednesday Night Baseball presented by Goodyear
Wednesday Night Baseball
Wednesday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs every Wednesday night during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD...
, and formerly ESPN DayGame presented by Fruit of the Loom and Thursday Night Baseball powered by Castrol
Thursday Night Baseball
Thursday Night Baseball is the title of a presentation of Major League Baseball on cable and satellite channel MLB Network, that premiered on April 9, 2009. Longtime NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas is one of the play-by-play voices of the broadcasts. Matt Vasgersian also does play-by-play on some...
.
In addition to regular season games, ESPN also airs 10 spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
games entitled ESPN Spring Training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
and formerly aired Division Series
Division Series
In baseball, the Division Series is the official name for the first round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Currently, a total of four series are played in this opening round, two each for both the American League and the National League.-1981 season:...
playoff games entitled The Division Series on ESPN. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
also airs a daily highlight show called Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
at 10 p.m. ET and 12 a.m. ET.
ESPN Radio has also been airing Major League Baseball since 1998
1998 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
(succeeding CBS Radio), broadcasting Sunday Night Baseball as well as select other regular-season games, the All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
and Home Run Derby
Home Run Derby
The Home Run Derby is an event played prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is a contest among the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball to determine who can hit the most home runs. The event is currently sponsored by State Farm Insurance...
, and the entire postseason including the Division Series
Division Series
In baseball, the Division Series is the official name for the first round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Currently, a total of four series are played in this opening round, two each for both the American League and the National League.-1981 season:...
, League Championship Series
League Championship Series
The League Championship Series is the official name for a round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969...
, and World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. ESPN Radio's current contract runs through the 2010 season.
History
Since ESPN first received MLB telecast rights, it has become traditional for the network to make an effort to cover live historic moments in the sport. For example, in 20072007 Major League Baseball season
The 2007 Major League Baseball season, began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1...
, ESPN and ESPN2 added several telecasts when Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
chased Hank Aaron's record for most home runs in a MLB career. ESPN had the national telecasts on August 4 when Bonds tied Aaron with number 755 and on August 7, 2007 when he hit number 756. ESPN was also the broadcaster of the final game at the original Yankee Stadium as a part of Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
with Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
. It also showed Chris Burke's 18-inning homer to end the 2005 NLDS
2005 National League Division Series
-Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros:-Game 1, October 4:Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriIt was a matchup between Jake Peavy and eventual 2005 Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter. In the bottom of the first, Jim Edmonds's one-out solo homer put the Cardinals up 1–0...
.
Also, the network has been given permission to interrupt regular programming, when allowed, to show attempts at new records or significant milestones live. Examples include three cut-ins from its coverage of the first X Games
X Games
The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....
in 1995 until Eddie Murray
Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray , nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era. Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game...
recorded his 3000th hit, live coverage of Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
's 600th home run in 2007, and a number of no-hitters, including the Buchholz feat mentioned earlier. Although it cannot show any historic attempts live during the Fox or TBS exclusive windows, it was allowed to show an in-progress highlight of Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.Rodriguez is considered one of the best...
' 500th career home run in August 2007, as this was on a Saturday afternoon before Fox went on the air with its game coverage.
1990s
On January 5, 1989, Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
signed a $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
400 million deal with ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, who would show over 175 games beginning in 1990
1990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
. For the next four years, ESPN would televise six games a week (Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
, Wednesday Night Baseball and doubleheader
Doubleheader (television)
Doubleheader is used by network television to refer to two games in any sport aired back-to-back on the same network, even though they do not involve the same two teams . A doubleheader purposely coincides with a league's scheduling of "early" and "late" games...
s on Tuesdays and Fridays), as well as multiple games on Opening Day
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
, Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, and Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
.
On April 15, 1990, ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball debuted with the experienced play-by-play announcer Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
joining retired Hall of Fame player Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
in the broadcast booth. In its first year, Sunday Night Baseball averaged a 3.0 rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. That was double the number that ESPN as a whole was averaging at the time (1.5). By 1998
1998 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
, ESPN enjoyed its largest baseball audience ever (a 9.5 Nielsen rating) as Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
hit his 61st home run of the season. When ESPN first broadcasted Sunday Night Baseball, they would show at least one game from every ballpark. Also, every team was guaranteed an appearance. It was essentially, the television equivalent to a cross country stadium tour.
In , ESPN renewed its baseball contract for six years (through the season). The new deal was worth $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
42.5 million per year and $255 million overall. The deal was ultimately voided after the season and ESPN was pretty much forced to restructure their contract. In , ESPN broadcast the American League West tie-breaker game
1995 American League West tie-breaker game
The 1995 American League West tie-breaker game was a one-game playoff for Major League Baseball's AL West division championship, played on October 2, between the California Angels and Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome in Seattle. The game was necessitated due to both teams finishing the...
between the Seattle Mariners
1995 Seattle Mariners season
The Seattle Mariners' 1995 season was the 19th in the history of the franchise. The team finished with a regular season record of 79–66, tying the California Angels for first in the American League West...
and California Angels
1995 California Angels season
The California Angels 1995 season featured the Angels finishing in second place in the American League West with a record of 78 wins and 67 losses.The 1995 Angels went through one of the worst late-season collapses in Major League Baseball history...
with Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
making the call.
In , ESPN began a five year contract with Major League Baseball worth $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
440 million and about $80 million per year. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
paid for the rights to a Wednesday night doubleheader and Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
, as well as Opening Day and holiday telecasts and all postseason games not aired on Fox or NBC. Major League Baseball staggered the times of first-round games to provide a full-day feast for viewers: ESPN could air games at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 11 p.m. EDT, with the broadcast networks telecasting the prime time game.
In , ESPN broadcast the National League Wild Card tie-breaker game between the Chicago Cubs
1998 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a significant one for the team for several reasons. Firstly, it saw the Cubs reach the playoffs for the first time since 1989 by way of a Wild Card berth, which they clinched after winning a one-game playoff against the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs, however, would...
and San Francisco Giants
1998 San Francisco Giants season
-Offseason:* November 11, 1997: Chris Singleton and Alberto Castillo were traded by the Giants to the New York Yankees for Charlie Hayes and cash.* November 21, 1997: Brent Mayne was signed as a free agent by the Giants....
. Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
were on the call. In , ESPN broadcast the National League Wild Card tie-breaker game (this time between the New York Mets
1999 New York Mets season
The New York Mets' 1999 season was the 38th regular season for the Mets. They went 96-66 and finished 2nd in the NL East but won the NL Wild Card by beating the Cincinnati Reds in a one game playoff. They were managed by Bobby Valentine...
and Cincinnati Reds
1999 Cincinnati Reds season
The Cincinnati Reds' 1999 season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Cincinnati Reds attempting to win the National League Central...
) once again with Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
once again on the call.
2000s
ESPN and ESPN2 had contracts (which were signed in and ran through ) to show selected weeknight and Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
games, along with Opening Day and holiday games and selected Division Series playoff games. The contracts with ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
were worth $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
141.8 million per year and $851 million overall.
After Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
bought Fox Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
(who from 2000– aired Thursday night games) in to become ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
the Division Series games aired on ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
(with ESPN's announcers, graphics, and music) for one year. ESPN then added these games, along with the Thursday night games (subsequently shifted to weekday afternoon "DayGame" broadcasts), to its package.
2005
OLNVersus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
was briefly considering picking up the rights to the Sunday and Wednesday games, which expired after the 2005 season. On September 14, 2005 however, ESPN, then the current rights holder, signed an eight year contract with Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, highlighted by the continuation of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
series with additional, exclusive team appearances. The key details of the agreement were:
- Up to 80 regular-season telecasts per year;
- No blackout restrictions on exclusive Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
; Monday Night BaseballMonday Night BaseballMonday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
, with ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
mostly coexisting with local carriers - Up to five appearances per team per year on the exclusive Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
series, up from 11 over three years; - Daily Baseball TonightBaseball TonightBaseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
programs – one of ESPN's most popular series—including the continued right to show in-progress highlights and live cut-ins; - Home Run DerbyHome Run DerbyThe Home Run Derby is an event played prior to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is a contest among the top home run hitters in Major League Baseball to determine who can hit the most home runs. The event is currently sponsored by State Farm Insurance...
, ESPN's highest-rated program of the summer and one of cable's best, and additional All-Star programming; - Continuation of season-long Wednesday baseball on ESPN and ESPN2ESPN2ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
; - For the first time, the 11 p.m. ET SportsCenterSportsCenterSportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
will present a nightly Baseball Tonight update featuring in-progress highlights; - Select games and MLB All-Star events on ESPN2 throughout the season;
- 10 spring trainingSpring trainingIn Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
games and several Opening DayOpening DayOpening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day falls during the first week of April. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book...
games per year; - Telecast rights for ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, ESPN DeportesESPN DeportesESPN Deportes is a cable television and radio network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day to the Spanish-speaking community in the United States...
and ESPN InternationalESPN InternationalESPN International is a family of networks around the world. It was begun in 1989 and is operated by ESPN. It consists of:Asia: *ESPN SEA*ESPN SEA 2*ESPN China*ESPN Hong Kong*ESPN India*ESPN Malaysia...
; - Ability to include Major League Baseball programming as part of the delivery of the ESPN networks via cable, satellite and other new or developing technologies, such as cell phones and wireless devices;
- Archival footage and game programming and "Instant Classic" rights for ESPN ClassicESPN ClassicESPN Classic is a sports channel that features reruns of famous sporting events, sports documentaries, and sports themed movies. Such programs includes biographies of famous sports figures or a rerun of a famous World Series or Super Bowl, often with added commentary on the event...
. - ESPN Radio also maintains exclusive terrestrial rights.
The weekday afternoon "DayGame" telecasts that ESPN and ESPN2 had previously aired were eliminated in the new pact, along with the late (10 p.m. ET) Wednesday night game (although ESPN can elect to show a late game instead of an early one should it so desire), and the coverage of Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, Independence Day
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, and Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
games (except for games that fall under the regular Monday-night slot).
ESPN's Monday and Wednesday telecasts remain mostly nonexclusive, meaning the games also can be televised by each club's local broadcasters. In fact, Wednesday games are blacked out
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
on ESPN unless a participating team's local broadcaster does not choose to televise the game. The Sunday games remain on ESPN only, and with ESPN gaining the rights to Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
telecasts, it looks likely that Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
will run uninterrupted on ESPN throughout the season, except on Opening Night (when it will air on ESPN2, since it usually conflicts with the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
).
Alternate telecasts for home-team markets which are blacked out have also been phased out, either in an effort to save costs or in an effort to allocate more satellite space for high-definition broadcasts on ESPNHD. Those who get ESPN via cable get ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS , launched on November 1, 1996, is a 24-hour-a-day sports news television channel...
instead, and those who get the channel via satellite see a blank picture and a blackout notice.
MLB will receive, on average, $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
296 million a year under the new agreement, a television and a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a confidentiality agreement in the deal. ESPN will pay baseball $273.5 million in 2006
2006 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:*The 2006 World Baseball Classic final 4 teams are Japan, Cuba, Korea and the Dominican Republic, with the United States at 3–3 failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Under the leadership of manager Sadaharu Oh and veterans Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan ...
, $293.5 million in each of the following four years, $308.5 million in 2011 and $306 million in each of the final two seasons.
2006
On July 25, 2006, Harold ReynoldsHarold Reynolds
Harold Craig Reynolds is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played from 1983–1994, primarily for the Seattle Mariners.-High school:...
was fired from ESPN. The ESPN spokeswoman confirmed that Reynolds "is no longer with the network" but did not give a reason for the departure. "Three people who work at ESPN and familiar with the case said the cause was a pattern of sexual harassment." Reynolds confirmed that an accusation of sexual harassment was the reason for his departure but called it "a total misunderstanding" and that "I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted. In February 2008, ESPN and Reynolds reached an out-of-court settlement.
Weeks later, Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
was sidelined with a brain aneurysm. Gammons returned to ESPN in early September
September 2006
September 2006 was marked by a controversy surrounding statements made by Pope Benedict XVI regarding Islam, during the same week as the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Steve Irwin, star of The Crocodile Hunter, died early in the month due to a stingray attack...
.
ESPN telecasts in 2006
2006 in television
2006 in television may refer to:*2006 in American television*2006 in Australian television*2006 in British television*2006 in Canadian television*2006 in Japanese television...
, posted an average of 1,115,000 household impressions, up 27% when compared to 2005's 875,000. The corresponding 1.2 rating this year marks a 20% increase over the 1.0 average in 2005. ESPN2's baseball telecasts have averaged 704,000 households, an increase of 34% over 2005's 525,000. Ratings on ESPN2 went up 33% (0.8 vs. 0.6).
After the 2006 Division Series, ESPN lost the rights to broadcast playoff games on TV. All postseason games, from possible one-game playoffs to the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, have aired on Fox Sports and TBS since 2007. Games remained on ESPN Radio. ESPN also lost rights to ESPN DayGame presented by Fruit of the Loom and Thursday Night Baseball powered by Castrol
Thursday Night Baseball
Thursday Night Baseball is the title of a presentation of Major League Baseball on cable and satellite channel MLB Network, that premiered on April 9, 2009. Longtime NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas is one of the play-by-play voices of the broadcasts. Matt Vasgersian also does play-by-play on some...
.
The play-by-play commentators for ESPN DayGame were Gary Thorne
Gary Thorne
Gary Thorne is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ABC, working Major League Baseball, College football and Frozen Four hockey contests. He is also the television play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles...
or Jon Sciambi
Jon Sciambi
Jon "Boog" Sciambi is an American sportscaster for ESPN. He has worked extensively as a baseball play-by-play announcer, calling games for ESPN television in 2005 and 2006 and currently on ESPN Radio. Sciambi's nickname, "Boog," was given to him owing to his physical resemblance to former major...
, along with Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips is a former American baseball analyst for ESPN and baseball executive. He served as the general manager of the New York Mets from 1997–2003...
, and Steve Stone as color analysts. The program was sponsored by Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
in 2006. The game generally aired on Wednesday or Thursday. The final game to date was aired on September 30, 2006
2006 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:*The 2006 World Baseball Classic final 4 teams are Japan, Cuba, Korea and the Dominican Republic, with the United States at 3–3 failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Under the leadership of manager Sadaharu Oh and veterans Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan ...
.
2007
Because of the reduction of ESPN's weekly schedule from five games to three, ESPN released numerous commentators from the network, including Jeff Brantley, Tino MartinezTino Martinez
Constantino "Tino" Martinez is a former Major League Baseball first baseman.Martinez was the first round draft pick for the Seattle Mariners in out of the University of Tampa where he starred during his time on campus. He began his Major League career in and has played for the Mariners, New...
, Steve Stone and Eric Karros.
With the new deal coming into play this year, several things changed with the Monday and Wednesday night games in particular. For Monday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
, the telecast will now co-exist with teams' local carriers up to three times per year, up from two times in previous years. Wednesday Night Baseball
Wednesday Night Baseball
Wednesday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs every Wednesday night during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD...
also changed slightly. Now, in addition to the featured game that night, they will also have some live cut-ins to other games across the nation and discuss some the hot topics in the major leagues.
On April 1, for the season-opening game between the New York Mets
2007 New York Mets season
The New York Mets' 2007 season was the 46th regular season for the Mets. The Mets were defending their first divisional championship since 1988. While the Atlanta Braves were counted as possible competition, the Philadelphia Phillies were predicted as the front-runners, albeit by their own star...
and the St. Louis Cardinals
2007 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 2007 season was the team's 126th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 116th season in the National League. The season started with the team trying to defend their 2006 World Series championship. During the offseason, the Cardinals were faced with the challenge of handling...
, ESPN changed its on-screen graphics to the version that debuted with Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
in 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
and was later adopted by its NBA coverage at the start of the 2006-07 season. The previous graphics dated back to the advent of ESPN HD in 2004
2004 in television
The year 2004 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2004.For the American TV schedule, see: 2004–05 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1940s:...
.
During the week of the All-Star Game
2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 78th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 10, 2007, at AT&T Park, the home of the NL's San Francisco Giants...
, Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
did not travel to the game site as it normally does; the 2007 site was AT&T Park
AT&T Park
AT&T Park is a ballpark located in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Located at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, at the corner of Third and King Streets, it has served as the home of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball since 2000....
in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. The reason was that MLB stripped ESPN of its on-site credentials for its studio crew as punishment for leaking the rosters of the All-Star teams before TBS did. TBS' announcement, which was billed as exclusive, was scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern time but was delayed for nearly two hours, by which point ESPN, in apparent violation of its contract with MLB, went ahead and revealed the rosters anyway. ESPN later agreed to promote playoff coverage on TBS and Fox (alongside its own radio coverage) in return for Baseball Tonight going on the air shortly after each night's games concluded.
ESPN pre-empted part of the Kansas State
Kansas State Wildcats football
The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...
–Auburn
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game on September 1 to show the end of the no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
thrown by Boston Red Sox
2007 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox' 2007 season began with the Boston, Massachusetts-based Major League Baseball team trying to rebound after a disappointing 2006 season, in which they finished third in the American League East behind the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, and missed the postseason for...
pitcher Clay Buchholz
Clay Buchholz
Clay Daniel Buchholz pitches for the Boston Red Sox of major league baseball. On September 1, 2007, in just his second major league start, he recorded a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, becoming the third MLB pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second start...
.
2008
ESPN2 showed the season-opening games in Tokyo between the Red Sox2008 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox' 2008 season began on March 25, in Tokyo, Japan for the MLB Japan Opening Day 2008. The Red Sox were attempting to become the first repeat World Series Champions since the 1999–2000 New York Yankees and also be the first repeat Champions of the 21st century. They also tried to...
and the Oakland Athletics
2008 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics' season marked their 40th year in Oakland, California, after the franchise move from Kansas City, Missouri in 1968.-Potential free agents:...
. Unfortunately, due to a transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
failure, viewers on DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
reliant on the standard-definition feed missed the first of the two games. (ESPNHD was unaffected.)
On March 30, ESPN showed the first-ever game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The Nationals
2008 Washington Nationals season
The Washington Nationals' 2008 season was the 4th season for the franchise in the District of Columbia, and the 40th since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, in . It also marked the first season the Nationals played at Nationals Park.-March:...
defeated the Atlanta Braves
2008 Atlanta Braves season
The Atlanta Braves' 2008 season featured the team's attempt to reclaim a postseason berth for the first time since 2005. The Braves were once again skippered by Bobby Cox, now in his 19th season managing Atlanta...
on a walk-off home run by Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Wallace Zimmerman is a Major League Baseball third baseman with the Washington Nationals. A 6-foot 3-inch player from the University of Virginia and Kellam High School, Zimmerman has been a member of the Nationals since his debut on September 1, 2005...
.
On May 4, ESPN introduced enhanced updates targeting viewers who play fantasy baseball
Fantasy baseball
Fantasy baseball is a game where participants manage an imaginary roster of real Major League baseball players. The participants compete against one another using those players' real life statistics to score points...
. It shows season batting statistics for the current batter on each potential count and updates batting average and other selected stats after the at-bat concludes.
2010
Starting with the April 3 season opener between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, ESPN began using the same graphics package which debuted with Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
in . The score banner was converted to a score box in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. And instead of numbers to represent the balls, strikes and outs, dots were represented for each: three green dots for balls, two yellow dots for strikes, and two red dots for outs. The pitch count was also introduced, adopted from the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
' broadcasts on the YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
, as well as NESN for the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. College baseball and softball broadcasts, however, continued to use the previous (2007) graphics for the 2010 College World Series
2010 College World Series
The 2010 College World Series began on June 19, 2010 and concluded on June 29 in Omaha, Nebraska at Rosenblatt Stadium. South Carolina won the championship after defeating UCLA. Rosenblatt has hosted the CWS since 1950, but 2010 will be the final College World Series to be played in the famed...
telecasts. ESPN's coverage of the Little League World Series
2010 Little League World Series
-Pool A:-Pool B:-Pool C:-Pool D:-Championship games:-Champions path:The Edogawa Minami LL reached the LLWS with a record of 8 wins, 1 loss, and 1 tie. In total, their record was 13–1–1, their only loss coming against Musashi-Fuchu....
also retained the 2007 graphics until midway through, and then adopted the current (2010) graphics package.
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
, a daily highlight show aired on ESPN during the baseball season, likewise introduced new graphics adopted from SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
in June 2010.
2011
The ESPN Major League Baseball score box was slightly modified beginning with the opening day game between the Detroit Tigers2011 Detroit Tigers season
The 2011 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 111th season. The season began on March 31 at New York against the Yankees, and the home opener was on April 8 against the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers honored the late Sparky Anderson during the season...
and the New York Yankees
2011 New York Yankees season
The 2011 New York Yankees season was the 111th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees began the season at home against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, March 31. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth in the first game of a doubleheader on September 21, 2011, and clinched the AL East...
. Numbers indicating the ball, strike and out counts replace the dots used last year; the out dots were adopted by Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
on their local broadcasts as well as Major League Baseball on Fox. The pitch speed and count are now fixed below the bases graphic. Also, the area around the bases graphic and ball, strike, and out counter is slightly translucent.
Beginning with the Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
interleague
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs
2011 Chicago Cubs season
The 2011 Major League Baseball season was the 139th Chicago Cubs baseball season. The official successor to Lou Pinella was Mike Quade, who was signed to a 2-year deal...
on June 19, the graphics were slightly adjusted to fit in with the 16:9
16:9
16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ...
aspect ratio
Aspect ratio (image)
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed as two numbers separated by a colon. That is, for an x:y aspect ratio, no matter how big or small the image is, if the width is divided into x units of equal length and the height is measured using this...
for HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
broadcasts, similar to what Fox Saturday Baseball, Root Sports
Root Sports
Root Sports is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks owned by DirecTV Sports Networks, affiliated with the overall Fox Sports Net system...
and Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
have done for their baseball coverage. TBS would follow suit in adjusting their graphics to the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Technology
Through the years, ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
has enhanced its Major League Baseball coverage with the introduction and implementation of innovative technology. Which include:
- April 19951995 in baseball-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Atlanta Braves over Cleveland Indians ; Tom Glavine, MVP*All-Star Game, July 11 at The Ballpark in Arlington: National League, 3-2; Jeff Conine, MVP-Other champions:...
- ESPN debuted in-game box scores during Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
telecasts. Hitting, pitching and fielding stats from the game are shown along the bottom of the screen three times per game. - May/June 19971997 in baseball-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Florida Marlins over Cleveland Indians ; Liván Hernández, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marquis Grissom**American League Division Series*National League Championship Series MVP: Liván Hernández...
- ESPN debuted MaskCam on an umpire at the College World Series1997 College World SeriesThe 1997 College World Series was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NE from May 30 to June 7. The fifty-first tournament's champion was Louisiana State University, coached by Skip Bertman...
, adding it to major league coverage the following year. - April 19981998 in baseball-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
- ESPN debuts BatTrack, which measures the bat speed of hitters. - April 15, 2001- ESPN Dead Center debuted on Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
with Texas2001 Texas Rangers seasonThe Texas Rangers 2001 season involved the Rangers finishing 4th in the American League west with a record of 73 wins and 89 losses.-Offseason:...
vs. Oakland2001 Oakland Athletics seasonThe Oakland Athletics' 2001 season involved the A's finishing 2nd in the American League West with a record of 102 wins and 60 losses. Their 102 wins is the most wins ever by a team that won the Wild Card.-Offseason:...
. This new camera angle, directly behind the pitcher, is used to provide true depiction of inside/outside pitch location and is used in certain parks in conjunction with K Zone. - July 1, 2001- K Zone officially debuted on Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
. - April 7, 2002- ESPN became the first network to place a microphone on a player during a regular-season baseball game. "Player Mic" was worn by Oakland2002 Oakland Athletics seasonThe Oakland Athletics' 2002 season involved the A's finishing 1st in the American League West with a record of 103 wins and 59 losses, despite losing three key players to larger market teams: 2000 AL MVP Jason Giambi to the New York Yankees, outfielder Johnny Damon to the Boston Red Sox, and closer...
catcher Ramon HernandezRamón HernándezRamón José Hernández Marin is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who plays for the Colorado Rockies. Previously, he played with the Oakland Athletics , San Diego Padres , Baltimore Orioles , and Cincinnati Reds .-Career:Hernández is a career .263 hitter with 144 home runs, 651 RBI, and 455...
(who also wore "MaskCam") and taped segments were heard. - May 26, 2002- "UmpireCam" debuted, worn by Matt HollowellMatt HollowellMatthew Stuart Hollowell was a vacation umpire in Major League Baseball from 2000 to 2004, filling in for injured or vacationing members of the full-time umpire staff...
behind the plate in the New York Yankees2002 New York Yankees seasonThe New York Yankees' 2002 season was the 100th season for the Yankees in New York, and their 102nd overall going back to their origins in Baltimore. The team finished with a record of 103-58 finishing 10.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at...
at Boston Red Sox2002 Boston Red Sox seasonThe 2002 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 93 wins and 69 losses.-Offseason:* October 9, 2001: Craig Grebeck was released by the Boston Red Sox....
telecast. - March 30, 2003- ESPNHD, a high-definitionHigh-definition televisionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast service of ESPN, debuted with the first regular-season MLB game of the season - Texas2003 Texas Rangers seasonThe Texas Rangers 2003 season involved the Rangers finishing 4th in the American League west with a record of 71 wins and 91 losses.-Preseason:*October 3, 2002: John Rocker was released by the Rangers....
at Anaheim2003 Anaheim Angels seasonThe Anaheim Angels 2003 season involved the Angels finishing 3rd in the American League West Division with a record of 77 wins and 85 losses.-Regular season:...
. - April 20042004 in baseball-Headline events of the year:*The Boston Red Sox win their first World Series since , ending the Curse of the Bambino.*With 262 hits, Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners breaks George Sisler's record of 257. Suzuki also sets the record for most singles in a season, with 225.*2004 also marked the final...
- ESPN's Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
telecasts added a fantasy baseballFantasy baseballFantasy baseball is a game where participants manage an imaginary roster of real Major League baseball players. The participants compete against one another using those players' real life statistics to score points...
bottom line, updating viewers on the stats for their rotisserie league players at 15 and 45 minutes after the hour. - April 10, 2005- "SkyCam" premiered during Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
. "SkyCam" is mounted more than 20 feet above the stands in foul territory and travels down a designated base path (first or third base line, from behind home plate to the foul pole), capturing overhead views of the action. The remote-controlled camera can zoom, pan and tilt. - April 2, 2006- A handheld camera brings viewers closer to the action for in-game live shots of home run celebrations, managers approaching the mound and more.
- May 1, 2006- 'K Zone 2.0' debuted on Monday Night BaseballMonday Night BaseballMonday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
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See also
- Baseball TonightBaseball TonightBaseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
- Sunday Night BaseballSunday Night BaseballSunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN during the regular season...
- Monday Night BaseballMonday Night BaseballMonday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
- Wednesday Night BaseballWednesday Night BaseballWednesday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs every Wednesday night during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD...
- Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio
- ESPN Major League Baseball broadcasters
- Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio broadcastersMajor League Baseball on ESPN Radio broadcastersListed below is a list of Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio broadcasters by both name and year since the program's debut on ESPN Radio in .-Current:*Marc Kestecher: *Jon Sciambi:...
- Major League Baseball on Fox
- Major League Baseball on TBS
- MLB NetworkMLB NetworkMLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...