Major League Baseball Game of the Week
Encyclopedia
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week (GOTW) is the de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

 title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season 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...

 games. The Game of the Week has traditionally aired on Saturday afternoons.

Significance of The Game of the Week

When the national networks began televising national games of the week, it opened the door for a national audience to see particular clubs. While most teams were broadcast, emphasis was always on the league leaders and the major market franchises that could draw the largest audience.

1950s

In , ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

-TV executive Edgar J. Scherick
Edgar J. Scherick
Edgar J. Scherick was one of the most prolific producers of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.-Life and career:...

 (who would later go on to create Wide World of Sports) broached a Saturday Game of the Week-TV sport's first network series. At the time, ABC was labeled a "nothing network" that had fewer outlets than CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 or NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

. ABC also needed paid programming or "anything for bills" as Scherick put it. At first, ABC hesitated at the idea of a nationally televised regular season baseball program. ABC wondered how exactly the Game of the Week would reach television in the first place and who would notice if it did?

In April 1953, Edgar Scherick set out to sell teams rights but instead, only got the Philadelphia Athletics
1953 Philadelphia Athletics season
The Philadelphia Athletics season involved the A's finishing 7th in the American League with a record of 59 wins and 95 losses.- Offseason :...

, Cleveland Indians
1953 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American League with a record of 92-62, 8½ games behind the New York Yankees.- Offseason :* December 11, 1952: Earl Averill, Jr...

, and Chicago White Sox
1953 Chicago White Sox season
The 1953 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 53rd season in the major leagues, and its 54th season overall. They finished with a record 89-65, good enough for third place in the American League, 11.5 games behind the first place New York Yankees....

 to sign on. To make matters worse, Major League Baseball barred the Game of the Week from airing within 50 miles of any ballpark. Major League Baseball according to Scherick, insisted on protecting local coverage and didn't care about national appeal. ABC though, did care about the national appeal and claimed that "most of America was still up for grabs."

In , ABC earned a 11.4 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...

 for their Game of the Week telecasts. 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...

 cities had 32%
Percentage
In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 . It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, or the abbreviation “pct”. For example, 45% is equal to 45/100, or 0.45.Percentages are used to express how large/small one quantity is, relative to another quantity...

 of households. In the rest of the United States, 3 in 4 TV sets in use watched Dizzy Dean
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

 and Buddy Blattner
Buddy Blattner
Robert Garnett Blattner , commonly known as "Buddy" or "Bud" Blattner, was an American table tennis and baseball player and radio and television sportscaster.-Playing career:Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the world men's doubles championship in 1936...

 call the games for ABC.

In , CBS took over the Game package, adding Sunday telecasts in . NBC began its own Saturday and Sunday coverage in 1957 and 1959
1959 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox ; Larry Sherry, MVP*All-Star Game , July 7 at Forbes Field: National League, 5-4*All-Star Game , August 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American League, 5-3...

, respectively. In , ABC resumed Saturday telecasts; that year the "Big 3" networks aired a combined 123 games. As ABC's Edgar Scherick later observed, "In '53, no one wanted us. Now teams begged for "Game"'s cash." That year, the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 began 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....

14.1 million revenue-sharing pact. Dean and Blattner continued to call the games for CBS, with Pee Wee Reese
Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...

 replacing Blattner in 1960.

1960s

By 1965
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...

, Major League Baseball ended the big-city blackout, got $6.5 million for exclusivity, and split the pot.

On March 17, 1965, Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...

 became the first black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 network broadcaster for Major League Baseball. According to ABC Sports producer Chuck Howard
Chuck Howard
Charles Howard was an American television executive, and a pioneer in television sports broadcasting.-Early life and career:Howard was born in 1933. He graduated from Duke University in 1955, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity....

, despite Robinson having a high, stabbing voice, great presence, and sharp mind, all he lacked was time.

In 1965
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...

, ABC provided the first-ever nationwide baseball coverage with weekly Saturday broadcasts on a regional basis. ABC paid $5.7 million for the rights to the 28 Saturday/holiday Games of the Week. ABC's deal covered all of the teams except the New York Yankees
1965 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 63rd season for the Yankees in New York and their 65th overall. The team finished with a record of 77-85, finishing 25 games behind the Minnesota Twins. New York was managed by Johnny Keane. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium.This season marked the beginning...

 and Philadelphia Phillies
1965 Philadelphia Phillies season
- Offseason :* October 15, 1964: Bill Heath and a player to be named later were traded by the Phillies to the Chicago White Sox for Rudy May. The Phillies completed the deal by sending Joel Gibson to the White Sox on November 23....

 (who had their own television deals) and called for three regionalized games on Saturdays, 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:...

. ABC blacked out the games in the home cities of the clubs playing those games. Chris Schenkel
Chris Schenkel
Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio...

, Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson is an American sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports , his coverage of college football , his style of folksy, down-to-earth commentary, and his distinctive voice, with its deep cadence, and operatic tone considered "like Edward R...

, and Merle Harmon
Merle Harmon
Merle Reid Harmon was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two in the American Football League and the World Football League's only full season of nationally syndicated telecasts.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Salem, Illinois,...

 were the principal play-by-play announcers for ABC's coverage.
In 1966
1966 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Frank Robinson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at Busch Stadium: National League, 2–1 ; Brooks Robinson, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Ohio State...

, the New York Yankees
1966 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 64th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 70-89, finishing 26.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. New York was managed by Johnny Keane and Ralph Houk. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium...

, who in the year before played 21 Games of the Week for CBS, joined NBC's package. The new package under NBC called for 28 games compared to 1960
1960 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...

's three-network combination of 123.

1960s

On October 19, 1966, NBC signed a three year contract with Major League Baseball. The year before, NBC lost the rights to the Saturday-Sunday Game of the Week. In addition, the previous deal limited CBS to covering only 12 weekends when its new subsidiary, 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...

, played at home.

Under the new deal, NBC paid roughly $
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....

6 million per year for 25 Saturday games and prime-time contests on 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
An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...

, 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:...

; $6.1 million for the 1967 World Series
1967 World Series
The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 1946 World Series, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall...

 and 1967 All-Star Game
1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 38th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 11, 1967 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. The game resulted...

; and $6.5 million for the 1968 World Series
1968 World Series
The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...

 and 1968 All-Star Game
1968 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1968 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 39th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball...

. This brought the total value of the contract (which included three Monday night telecasts) up to $30.6 million.

NBC, replacing CBS, traded a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

 for a seminar. Pee Wee Reese
Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...

 said "Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...

 was its guy (1966
1966 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Frank Robinson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at Busch Stadium: National League, 2–1 ; Brooks Robinson, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Ohio State...

1975
1975 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Boston Red Sox ; Pete Rose, MVP*All-Star Game, July 15 at County Stadium: National League, 6-3; Bill Madlock and Jon Matlack, MVPs-Other champions:...

), and didn't want [Dizzy] Dean
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

 – too overpowering. Curt was nice, but worried about mistakes. Diz and I just laughed."
Falstaff Brewery hyped Dean as Gowdy in return said "I said, 'I can't do "Wabash Cannonball
Wabash Cannonball
"The Wabash Cannonball" is an American folk song about a fictional train, thought to have originated in the late nineteenth century. Its first documented appearance was on sheet music published in 1882, titled "" and credited to J. A. Roff...

." Our styles clash'"
-then came Pee Wee Reese. Gowdy added by saying about the pairing between him and Reese "They figured he was fine with me, and they'd still have their boy."

To many, baseball meant CBS' – Game of the Week thoroughbred. A year later, NBC bought ABC's variant of a mule so to speak. "We had the Series and All-Star Game. 1966
1966 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Frank Robinson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at Busch Stadium: National League, 2–1 ; Brooks Robinson, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Ohio State...

1968
1968 in baseball
-The Year of the Pitcher:In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone beginning in 1963...

's "Game" meant exclusivity,"
said NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...

 head Carl Lindemann. Lindemann added by saying "[Colleague] Chet Simmons
Chet Simmons
Chester Robert "Chet" Simmons was an American sports executive, working at three different television networks sports divisions before becoming the first Commissioner of the United States Football League in 1982.Born in New York City on July 11, 1928, Simmons...

 and liked him [Gowdy] with the 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"...

 and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

"
-also, getting two network sports for the price of one. As his analyst, Gowdy wanted his friend Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...

. NBC's lead sponsor, Chrysler said no when Williams, a Sears
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...

 spokesman, was pictured putting stuff in a Ford truck.

A black and white kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...

 (saved by Armed Forces Television) of a July 12, between the Philadelphia Philles
1969 Philadelphia Phillies season
The Philadelphia Phillies season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the newly-established National League East with a record of 63-99, 37 games behind the division champion New York Mets.- Offseason :...

 and Chicago Cubs
1969 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season involved the Cubs finishing as "the most celebrated second-place team in the history of baseball.". In the first season after the National League was split into two divisions, the Cubs finished with a record of 92-70, 8 games behind the New York Mets in the...

 is believed to be the oldest surviving complete telecast of the Saturday afternoon Game of the Week.
1960s ratings

The Nielsen ratings
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...

 for the Game of the Week from – as well as the World Series fell by 10 and 19%, respectively. Only the All-Star Game nixed the seemingly growing view that baseball was too bland for a hip and inchoate age. Almost half (48%) in a Harris Poll named baseball as their favorite sport. Unfortunately, just 19% did a decade later. Part of the problem was that exclusivity began. Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson
Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...

 said "Think of the last decade. Mel
Mel Allen
Mel Allen was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Allen was arguably the most prominent member of his profession, his voice familiar to millions...

, Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...

, Diz
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

-and one guy replaces 'em."
As viewers grew tired, the Sporting News got so many unfavorable letters (mostly concerning their problems with Curt Gowdy)-"atrocity...a pallbearer...baseball is not dead, no thanks to Gowdy"-it routed them to NBC. Harry Caray
Harry Caray
Harry Caray, born Harry Christopher Carabina, was an American baseball broadcaster on radio and television. He covered four Major League Baseball teams, beginning with a long tenure calling the games of the St...

 wrote "As spectacle, baseball suffers on [TV]." He added by saying "The fan at the park [talk, drink, take Junior to the john] rarely notices the time span between pitches. Not to the same fan at home." Although not necessarily responsible, Gowdy was held accountable, becoming, as he did, more visible than even Dizzy Dean.

1970s

In , NBC paid $
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....

10.7 million per year to show 25 Saturday Games of the Week and the other half of the postseason (the League Championship Series in odd numbered years and World Series in even numbered years). NBC would continue this particular arrangement with ABC through .

Joe Garagiola was pushed to succeed Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...

, who by 1978
1978 in baseball
-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Indios de Mayagüez *College World Series: USC*Japan Series: Yakult Swallows over Hankyu Braves *Little League World Series: Pin-Kuang, Pin-Tung, Taiwan-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player...

 was reduced to being a roving World Series
1978 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 10, 1978 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaWith Yankee ace Ron Guidry unavailable at least until Game 3, the Dodgers pounded twenty-game winner Ed Figueroa. Figueroa left after two innings, allowing home runs to Dusty Baker and Davey Lopes. Lopes would add a...

 reporter, as NBC's #1 play-by-play announcer (and team with color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

 Tony Kubek) in . NBC hoped that Garagiola's charm and unorthodox dwelling on the personal would stop the a decade-long ratings
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...

 dive for the Game of the Week. Instead, the ratings bobbed from 6.7 via 7.5 to 6.3 (–). "Saturday had a constituency but it didn't swell" said NBC Sports executive producer Scotty Connal. Some believed that millions missed Dizzy Dean while local-team TV split the audience.

Scotty Connal believed that the team of Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek were "A great example of black and white." Connal added by saying "A pitcher throws badly to third, Joe says, 'The third baseman's fault.' Tony: 'The pitcher's'" Media critic Gary Deeb termed theirs "the finest baseball commentary ever carried on network TV."

In late , Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 announcer Merle Harmon
Merle Harmon
Merle Reid Harmon was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two in the American Football League and the World Football League's only full season of nationally syndicated telecasts.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Salem, Illinois,...

 left Milwaukee completely in favor of a multi-year pact with NBC. Harmon saw the NBC deal as a perfect opportunity since according to The Milwaukee Journal he would make more money, get more exposure, and do less traveling. At NBC, Harmon did SportsWorld
Sportsworld
Sportsworld was an Australian Sunday morning sports information program shown on Seven Network. The program was broadcast from 9.00am - 11.00am following Weekend Sunrise on a Sunday morning, from Seven's Martin Place streetfront studios in Sydney....

, the backup Game of the Week, and served as a field reporter for the 1980 World Series
1980 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 14, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Royals jumped on Philly rookie starter Bob Walk early with a pair of two run bombs—one by Amos Otis in the second and another by Willie Aikens in the third...

. Harmon most of all, had hoped to cover the American boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

 from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. After NBC pulled out of their scheduled coverage of the 1980 Summer Olympics, Harmon considered it to being "A great letdown." To add insult to injury, NBC fired Harmon in in favor of Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

. Incidentally, long time NBC Game of the Week announcer Curt Gowdy replaced Harmon, who was working with ABC a year earlier.

1980s

On September 26, 1981, the scheduled Major League Baseball Game of the Week between the Detroit Tigers
1981 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers finished in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 31-26 in the first half of the season, and in third place with a record of 29-23 in the second half, for an overall record of 60-49. They outscored their opponents 427 to 404...

 and Milwaukee Brewers
1981 Milwaukee Brewers season
The Milwaukee Brewers' 1981 season involved the Brewers' finishing 1st in American League East during the second half of the split schedule with an overall record of 62 wins and 47 losses. They proceeded to lose to the New York Yankees in the ALDS...

 had ended, and the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 affiliate in Buffalo, NY, WGRZ, picked up the network's backup game, a Houston Astros
1981 Houston Astros season
The Houston Astros' 1981 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League West.- Offseason :* December 4, 1980: Don Sutton was signed as a free agent by the Astros....

-Los Angeles Dodgers
1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The Los Angeles Dodgers season got off to a strong start when rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day, starting the craze that came to be known as "Fernandomania." Fernando went on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards.The season was divided into two...

 contest in which Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....

 was pitching his lone National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 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"...

. However, the coverage suddenly ended just as the ninth inning started, when the local station cut away to regular programming. WGRZ felt duty-bound to present a naval training film--Life Aboard an Aircraft Carrier. (Baseball Hall of Shame 2 (1986), by Nash and Zullo; pp. 108–09)

By 1983
1983 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies ; Rick Dempsey, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Mike Boddicker*National League Championship Series MVP: Gary Matthews...

, Joe Garagiola had stepped aside from the play-by-play duties for Vin Scully
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...

 while Tony Kubek
Tony Kubek
Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....

 was paired with Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

 on NBC telecasts. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

observed the performance of the team of Scully and Garagiola by saying "The duo of Scully and Garagiola is very good, and often even great, is no longer in dispute." A friend of Garagiola's said "He understood the cash" concerning NBC's 1984
1984 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Detroit Tigers over San Diego Padres ; Alan Trammell, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Kirk Gibson*National League Championship Series MVP: Steve Garvey...

1989
1989 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants ; Dave Stewart, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Rickey Henderson*National League Championship Series MVP: Will Clark...

 407%
Percentage
In mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100 . It is often denoted using the percent sign, “%”, or the abbreviation “pct”. For example, 45% is equal to 45/100, or 0.45.Percentages are used to express how large/small one quantity is, relative to another quantity...

 Major League Baseball hike. At this point the idea was basically summarized as Vin Scully "being the star" whereas, Joe Garagiola was Pegasus
Pegasus
Pegasus is one of the best known fantastical as well as mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing...

 or NBC's junior light.

When NBC inked 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....

550 million contract for six years in the fall of 1982, a return on the investment so to speak demanded Vin Scully to be their star baseball announcer. Vin Scully reportedly made $2 million a year during his time with NBC in the 1980s. NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...

 head Thomas Watson said about Scully "He is baseball's best announcer. Why shouldn't he be ours?" Dick Enberg
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...

, who did the Game of the Week the year prior to Vin Scully's hiring mused "No room for me. "Game" had enough for two teams a week."

Vin Scully had to wait over 15 years to get his shot at calling the Game of the Week. Prior to 1983
1983 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies ; Rick Dempsey, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Mike Boddicker*National League Championship Series MVP: Gary Matthews...

, Scully only announced the 1966
1966 World Series
The 1966 World Series matched the Baltimore Orioles against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Orioles sweeping the Series in four games to capture their first championship in franchise history...

 and 1974 World Series
1974 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 12, 1974 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaReggie Jackson put the A's on the board first with a solo homer in the top of the second off 20-game winner Andy Messersmith...

 for NBC (during the time-frame of NBC having the Game of the Week) since they both involved Scully's Dodgers. Henry Hecht once wrote "NBC's Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek, and Monte Moore sounded like college radio rejects vs. Scully."

When Tony Kubek first teamed with Bob Costas in 1983
1983 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies ; Rick Dempsey, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Mike Boddicker*National League Championship Series MVP: Gary Matthews...

, Kubek said "I'm not crazy about being assigned to the backup game, but it's no big ego deal." Costas said about working with Kubek "I think my humor loosened Tony, and his knowledge improved me." The team of Costas and Kubek proved to be a formiadable pair. There were even some who preferred the team of Kubek and Costas over the musings of Vin Scully and the asides of Joe Garagiola.

One of Bob Costas and Tony Kubek's most memorable broadcasts came on June 23, 1984
1984 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Detroit Tigers over San Diego Padres ; Alan Trammell, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Kirk Gibson*National League Championship Series MVP: Steve Garvey...

. The duo were at Chicago's Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

 to call an unbelievable 12–11 contest between the Chicago Cubs
1984 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 1984 season was the 109th season for the Cubs. The team finished with a record of 96-65 in first place of the National League Eastern Division. Chicago was managed by Jim Frey and the general manager was Dallas Green...

 and St. Louis Cardinals
1984 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 1984 season was the team's 103rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 93rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 84-78 during the season and finished 3rd in the National League East, 12½ games behind their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs...

. Led by second baseman Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Dee Sandberg , nicknamed "Ryno" is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During a 16-year baseball career, he played from 1981–1994 and 1996–97, spending nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best...

, the Cubs rallied from a 9–3 deficit before winning it in extra innings. After Sandberg hit his second home run in the game (with two out in the bottom of the 9th to tie it 11–11), Costas cried "That's the real Roy Hobbs because this can't be happening! We're sitting here, and it doesn't make any difference if it's 1984
1984 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Detroit Tigers over San Diego Padres ; Alan Trammell, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Kirk Gibson*National League Championship Series MVP: Steve Garvey...

 or '54
1954 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:* World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians * All-Star Game, July 13 at Municipal Stadium: American League, 11-9-Other champions:* Caribbean World Series: Caguas Creoles [Criollos de Caguas]...

-just freeze this and don't change a thing!"


The end of an era


NBC's final edition of the Game of the Week was televised on October 9, 1989; Game 5 of the National League Championship Series
1989 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 4, 1989 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IllinoisThe Giants entered the series as slight favorites due to the MVP season of Kevin Mitchell, the solid play of Will Clark, and the best ERA in baseball by pitcher Scott Garrelts...

 between the San Francisco Giants
1989 San Francisco Giants season
The 1989 San Francisco Giants season saw the Giants finish in first place in the National League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses. It was their second division title in three years. The Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs in five games in the National League Championship Series...

 and Chicago Cubs
1989 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season marked the last time the Cubs would win their division prior to the realignment to six divisions in which moved the Cubs to the National League Central, in which they would not win until 2003. Winning the division put the Cubs in the playoffs, which they would not return...

 from Candlestick Park. Vin Scully said "It's a passing of a great American tradition. It is sad. I really and truly feel that. It will leave a vast window, to use a Washington
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....

 word, where people will not get Major League Baseball and I think that's a tragedy."
Scully added that "It's a staple that's gone. I feel for people who come to me and say how they miss it, and I hope me."

Bob Costas said "Who thought baseball'd kill its best way to reach the public? It coulda kept us and CBS-we'd have kept the "Game"-but it only cared about cash." Costas added that he would rather do a Game of the Week that got a 5 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...

 than host a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

. "Whatever else I did, I'd never have left "Game of the Week"" Costas claimed.

The final regular season edition of NBC's Game of the Week, by the way, was televised on September 30, 1989. That game featured the Toronto Blue Jays
1989 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses...

 beating Baltimore Orioles
1989 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. The team was known as the Comeback Kids as they rebounded from the 54 wins and 107 losses of the 1988 season...

 4–3 to clinch the AL East title from the SkyDome
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

. It was the 981st edition of NBC's Game of the Week overall. Tony Kubek reacted by saying "I can't believe it" when the subject came about NBC losing baseball for the first time since 1947
1947 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 8 at Wrigley Field: American League, 2-1-Other champions:*First College World Series: California...

. Coincidentally, from 1977
1977 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays season was the first year of Major League Baseball played by the Toronto-based expansion franchise. The Blue Jays finished 7th in the American League East with a record of 54 wins and 107 losses.- Offseason :...

1989
1989 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses...

, Tony Kubek (in addition to his NBC duties) worked as a commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays.

NBC's Game of the Week facts

The Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

 only appeared on NBC's Game of the Week twice, in 1979
1979 Seattle Mariners season
The 1979 Seattle Mariners season was the franchise's third since its creation. The Mariners ended the season in sixth place in the American League West, finishing with a record of 67-95...

 against Boston
1979 Boston Red Sox season
The 1979 Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing third in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 69 losses...

 and in 1981
1981 Seattle Mariners season
The Seattle Mariners 1981 season was their 5th since the franchise creation, and ended the season finishing 6th in the American League West, finishing with a record of 44-65. Due to the 1981 player's strike, the division's were split in half, pre-strike and post-strike results...

 against Detroit
1981 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers finished in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 31-26 in the first half of the season, and in third place with a record of 29-23 in the second half, for an overall record of 60-49. They outscored their opponents 427 to 404...

. NBC never aired a Saturday afternoon game from Seattle
Kingdome
The Kingdome was a multi-purpose stadium located in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood. Owned and operated by King County, the Kingdome opened in 1976 and was best known as the home stadium of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League , the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball , and the...

, though the network did telecast the 1979 All-Star Game
1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 50th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 17, 1979, at The Kingdome in Seattle, Washington the home of the...

 played there.

On April 7, 1984, the Detroit Tigers
1984 Detroit Tigers season
The Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1. The season was their 84th since they entered the American League in 1901 and their fourth World Series championship. Detroit relief pitcher Willie Hernandez won the Cy Young Award and was chosen as the...

' Jack Morris
Jack Morris
John Scott "Jack" Morris is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in 18 big league seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career...

 no-hit the Chicago White Sox
1984 Chicago White Sox season
The 1984 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 84th season in the major leagues, and their 85th season overall. They finished with a record 74-88, good enough for 5th place in the American League West, 10 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals....

 at Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park
Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games...

; the game was the 1984 season opener for NBC's baseball coverage, and it was the only no-hit game thrown in the series' history.

NBC's Game of the Week announcers

  • Buddy Blattner
    Buddy Blattner
    Robert Garnett Blattner , commonly known as "Buddy" or "Bud" Blattner, was an American table tennis and baseball player and radio and television sportscaster.-Playing career:Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the world men's doubles championship in 1936...

     (1969)
  • Bob Costas
    Bob Costas
    Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

     (1983–1989)
  • Dick Enberg
    Dick Enberg
    Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...

     (1977–1982)
  • Curt Gowdy
    Curt Gowdy
    Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...

      (1965–1975)
  • Joe Garagiola (1975–1988)
  • Sandy Koufax
    Sandy Koufax
    Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...

     (1967–1972)
  • Tony Kubek
    Tony Kubek
    Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster....

     (1966–1989)
  • Merle Harmon
    Merle Harmon
    Merle Reid Harmon was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play voice for five Major League Baseball teams, two in the American Football League and the World Football League's only full season of nationally syndicated telecasts.-Early life and career:Born and raised in Salem, Illinois,...

     (1980–1981)
  • Tim McCarver
    Tim McCarver
    James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...

     (1980)
  • 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...

     (1986–1989)
  • 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...

     (1986–1987)
  • Monte Moore
    Monte Moore
    Monte Moore is a former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams.-Voice of the Athletics:...

     (1978–1980; 1983)
  • Bill O'Donnell
    Bill O'Donnell (sportscaster)
    William "Bill" O'Donnell, Jr. was an American sportscaster.-Biography:A native of The Bronx, New York, O'Donnell attended Fordham Preparatory School and Fordham University...

     (1969–1976)
  • Pee Wee Reese
    Pee Wee Reese
    Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...

     (1966–1968)
  • Ted Robinson
    Ted Robinson (sportscaster)
    Theodore "Ted" Robinson is an American sportscaster. He is currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers, having taken over for longtime 49ers announcer, Joe Starkey, following Starkey's retirement in 2009.-Early life:Ted Robinson grew up in Rockville Centre, New York and...

     (1986–1989)
  • Vin Scully
    Vin Scully
    Vincent Edward Scully is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio...

     (1983–1989)
  • Tom Seaver
    Tom Seaver
    George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...

     (1989)
  • Jim Simpson
    Jim Simpson (sportscaster)
    Jim Simpson is a retired American sportscaster, known for his smooth delivery as a play-by-play man and his versatility in covering many different sports. In 1997, he won the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2000 he was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters...

     (1966–1977)
  • Maury Wills
    Maury Wills
    Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...

     (1973–1977)

CBS takes over (1990–1993)

CBS alienated and confused fans with their sporadic treatment of regular season telecasts. With a sense of true continuity destroyed, fans eventually figured that they couldn't count on CBS to satisfy their needs (thus poor ratings were a result). CBS televised about 16 regular season Saturday afternoon games (not counting back-up telecasts) which was 14 less than what NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 televised during the previous contract. CBS used the strategy of broadcasting only a select amount of games in order to build a demand in response to supposedly sagging ratings. In addition, CBS angered fans by ignoring the division and pennant races; instead, their scheduled games focused on games featuring major-market teams, regardless of their record.

Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...

, who hosted NBC's studio baseball pre-game show
Major League Baseball: An Inside Look
Major League Baseball: An Inside Look was a pregame show for NBC's Game of the Week telecasts. It featured one-on-one interviews with the players, and other on-going news and notes relating to Major League Baseball...

 for many years said about CBS' baseball coverage "You wouldn't see a game for a month. Then you didn't know when CBS came back on." Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

joked that CBS stood for Covers Baseball Sporadically. USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

added that Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...

 and Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...

 "may have to have a reunion before [their] telecast." Mike Lupica
Mike Lupica
Michael Lupica is an American newspaper columnist, best known for his provocative commentary on sports in the New York Daily News and his appearances on ESPN.-Biography:...

 of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....

took it a step further by calling CBS' baseball deal "The Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 of sports television."


NBC play-by-play man Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...

 believed that a large bulk of the regular season coverage beginning in the 1990s shifted to cable (namely, ESPN
ESPN Major League Baseball
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...

) because CBS, the network that was taking over from NBC the television rights 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...

, didn't really want the Saturday Game of the Week. Many fans who didn't appreciate CBS' approach to scheduling regular season baseball games believed that they were only truly after the marquee events (i.e. 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...

, 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 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...

) in order to sell advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 space (especially the fall entertainment television schedule).

Regular season (Saturday afternoons: April–September)

Year Network Rating
1987
1987 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...

NBC 5.9
1988
1988 in baseball
See also: 1988 Major League Baseball season-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Athletics ; Orel Hershiser, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dennis Eckersley...

NBC 5.5
1989
1989 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants ; Dave Stewart, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Rickey Henderson*National League Championship Series MVP: Will Clark...

NBC 4.9
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...

CBS 4.7
1991
1991 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves ; Jack Morris, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Kirby Puckett*National League Championship Series MVP: Steve Avery...

CBS 4.1
1992
1992 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves ; Pat Borders, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Roberto Alomar*National League Championship Series MVP: John Smoltz...

CBS 3.4
1993
1993 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies ; Paul Molitor, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series MVP: Curt Schilling...

CBS 3.4

Hiatus period (1994–1995)

From –, there was no traditional Saturday Game of the Week coverage.

The Fox era (1996–present)


Major League Baseball made a deal with the Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 on November 7, 1995. Fox paid a fraction less of the amount of money that CBS paid for the Major League Baseball television rights for the 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...

1993
1993 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies ; Paul Molitor, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series MVP: Curt Schilling...

 seasons. Unlike the previous television deal, "The Baseball Network
The Baseball Network
The Baseball Network was a short-lived television broadcasting joint venture between ABC, NBC, and Major League Baseball. Under the arrangement, beginning in the 1994 season, the league produced its own in-house telecasts of games, which were then brokered to air on ABC and NBC...

," Fox reverted to the format of televising regular season games (approximately 16 weekly telecasts that normally began on 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...

 weekend) on Saturday afternoons. Fox did however, continue a format that "The Baseball Network" started by offering games based purely on a viewer's region. Fox's approach has usually been to offer four regionalized telecasts, with exclusivity from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. in each time zone. When Fox first got into baseball, it used the motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

 "Same game, new attitude."

Like NBC and CBS before it, Fox determined its Saturday schedule by who was playing a team from one of the three largest television markets: New York, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, or Chicago. If there was a game which combined two of these three markets, it would be aired.

In Fox's first season of Major League Baseball coverage in , they averaged a 2.7 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...

 for its Saturday Game of the Week. That was down 23% from CBS' 3.4 in 1993
1993 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies ; Paul Molitor, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series MVP: Curt Schilling...

 despite the latter network's infamy for its rather haphazard Game of the Week schedule.

In , Fox's Game of the Week telecasts only appeared three times after August 28, due to ratings competition from 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...

 (especially since Fox affiliates may have had syndicated college football broadcasts). One unidentified former Fox broadcaster complained by saying "Fox is MIA
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...

 on the pennant race, and Joe [Buck] doesn't even do [September 18's] Red Sox-Yankees. What kind of sport would tolerate that?"
By this point, Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...

 was unavailable to call baseball games, since he became Fox's #1 NFL
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...

 announcer (a job he has held since ). The following two seasons saw similar interruptions in Fox's September coverage.

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 ...

, Fox signed a new multi-year contract with Major League Baseball; one of the terms of the deal was that, beginning with the 2007
2007 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion – [Boston Red Sox]*Postseason – October 2 to October 28Click on any series score to link to that series' page....

 season, the Saturday Game of the Week coverage was extended over the entire season rather than starting after Memorial Day, with most games being aired in the 3:30–7:00 P.M. (EDT) time slot, changed to 4:00 to 7:00 after Fox cancelled its in-studio pre-game program for the 2009 season
2009 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champions – New York Yankees**American League Champions – New York Yankees**National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies*Postseason – October 7 to November 4...

. Exceptions were added in 2010 with 3:00 to 7:00 for Saturday afternoons where Fox would broadcast a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in prime time (which starts at 7:30) and 7:00 to 10:00 when Fox broadcasts the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

 soccer final (which starts at 3:00).

Television broadcasters throughout the years

  • ABC
    American Broadcasting Company
    The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

    : 1953
    1953 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 14 at Crosley Field: National League, 5-1-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce *College World Series: Michigan...

    1954
    1954 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:* World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians * All-Star Game, July 13 at Municipal Stadium: American League, 11-9-Other champions:* Caribbean World Series: Caguas Creoles [Criollos de Caguas]...

    ; 1960
    1960 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...

    ; 1965
    1965 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...


  • CBS
    CBS
    CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

    : 1955
    1955 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Brooklyn Dodgers over New York Yankees ; Johnny Podres, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at County Stadium: National League, 6-5 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce...

    1965
    1965 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...

    ; 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...

    1993
    1993 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies ; Paul Molitor, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series MVP: Curt Schilling...


  • Fox
    Fox Broadcasting Company
    Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

    : 1996
    1996 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves ; John Wetteland, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Bernie Williams**American League Division Series*National League Championship Series MVP: Javy López...

    –present

  • NBC
    NBC
    The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

    : 1957
    1957 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Milwaukee Braves over New York Yankees ; Lew Burdette, MVP*All-Star Game, July 9 at Busch Stadium: American League, 6-5-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: California...

    1964
    1964 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7–4; Johnny Callison, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Minnesota...

    ; 1966
    1966 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Baltimore Orioles over Los Angeles Dodgers ; Frank Robinson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 12 at Busch Stadium: National League, 2–1 ; Brooks Robinson, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Ohio State...

    1989
    1989 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants ; Dave Stewart, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Rickey Henderson*National League Championship Series MVP: Will Clark...



The Game of the Week on radio

From 1985
1985 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

 to 1997
1997 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...

, the CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio was the de facto title for the CBS Radio Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. Produced by CBS Radio Sports , the program was the official national radio broadcaster for the All-Star Game and the postseason from 1976 to 1997.-Contracts:CBS first covered...

 network aired its own incarnation of the Game of the Week, broadcasting games at various times on Saturday afternoons and/or Sunday nights. In 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...

, national radio rights went to ESPN Radio, which airs Saturday afternoon games during the season as well as 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...

and Opening Day and holiday broadcasts.

Earlier, the Mutual
Major League Baseball on Mutual
Major League Baseball on Mutual was the de facto title of the Mutual Broadcasting System's national radio coverage of Major League Baseball games. Mutual's coverage came about during the Golden Age of Radio in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. During this period, television sports broadcasting was in its...

 and Liberty networks had aired Game of the Day broadcasts to non-major-league cities in the late 1940s and 1950s.

CBS

  • Joe Buck
    Joe Buck
    Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...

     (1993
    1993 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Philadelphia Phillies ; Paul Molitor, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series MVP: Curt Schilling...

    1995
    1995 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:...

    )
  • Gary Cohen
    Gary Cohen
    Gary Cohen is an American sportscaster, best known as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball....

     (1986
    1986 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox ; Ray Knight, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marty Barrett*National League Championship Series MVP: Mike Scott...

    ; 1994
    1994 in baseball
    -Headline events of the year:As a result of a players' strike, the MLB season ends prematurely on August 11, 1994. No postseason is played...

    1997
    1997 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...

    )
  • Jerry Coleman
    Jerry Coleman
    Gerald Francis "Jerry" Coleman is a former Major League Baseball second baseman for the New York Yankees. Currently, he is an analyst and former play-by-play radio announcer for the San Diego Padres...

     (1985
    1985 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

    1997
    1997 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...

    )
  • Gene Elston
    Gene Elston
    Gene Elston is a former Major League Baseball broadcaster, primarily with the Houston Astros.-Early life and career:A native of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Elston's first job in announcing was high school basketball in 1941. From there he progressed to minor league baseball starting in 1946...

     (1987
    1987 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals ; Frank Viola, MVP**American League Championship Series: Gary Gaetti, MVP**National League Championship Series: Jeff Leonard, MVP...

    1995
    1995 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:...

    )
  • Curt Gowdy
    Curt Gowdy
    Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...

     (1985
    1985 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

    1986
    1986 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox ; Ray Knight, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marty Barrett*National League Championship Series MVP: Mike Scott...

    )
  • Hank Greenwald
    Hank Greenwald
    Howard "Hank" Greenwald is a former Major League Baseball announcer, known best for being a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants.-Early career:...

     (1997
    1997 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...

    )
  • Ernie Harwell
    Ernie Harwell
    William Earnest "Ernie" Harwell was an American sportscaster, known for his long career calling play-by-play of Major League Baseball games. For 55 years, 42 of them with the Detroit Tigers, Harwell called the action on radio and/or television...

     (1992
    1992 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Toronto Blue Jays over Atlanta Braves ; Pat Borders, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Roberto Alomar*National League Championship Series MVP: John Smoltz...

    1997
    1997 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...

    )
  • Jim Hunter
    Jim Hunter (sports broadcaster)
    Jim Hunter is a sports announcer, currently with the Baltimore Orioles baseball team. He has been with the Orioles since 1997.-Biography:Hunter was with CBS Radio Sports from 1982 to 1996. While with CBS Radio he called the baseball Game of the Week from 1986 to the end of his tenure there...

     (1986
    1986 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox ; Ray Knight, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marty Barrett*National League Championship Series MVP: Mike Scott...

    1996
    1996 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves ; John Wetteland, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Bernie Williams**American League Division Series*National League Championship Series MVP: Javy López...

    )
  • Bob Murphy
    Bob Murphy (announcer)
    Robert Allan Murphy was an American sportscaster who spent 50 years doing play-by-play of Major League Baseball games on television and radio. The Oklahoman was best known for announcing the New York Mets, from their inception in 1962 until his retirement in 2003...

     (1985
    1985 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

    1986
    1986 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox ; Ray Knight, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marty Barrett*National League Championship Series MVP: Mike Scott...

    ; 1988
    1988 in baseball
    See also: 1988 Major League Baseball season-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Athletics ; Orel Hershiser, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dennis Eckersley...

    )
  • John Rooney
    John Rooney
    John Rooney is an American sportscaster, currently best known for his role as a radio broadcaster for Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.-Early career:...

     (1985
    1985 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

    1997
    1997 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...

    )
  • Lindsey Nelson
    Lindsey Nelson
    Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...

     (1985
    1985 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

    1986
    1986 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Mets over Boston Red Sox ; Ray Knight, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Marty Barrett*National League Championship Series MVP: Mike Scott...

    )
  • Bill White (1985
    1985 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals ; Bret Saberhagen, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: George Brett*National League Championship Series MVP: Ozzie Smith...

    1989
    1989 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over San Francisco Giants ; Dave Stewart, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Rickey Henderson*National League Championship Series MVP: Will Clark...

    )

ESPN

  • Dave Campbell (1999
    1999 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves ; Mariano Rivera, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Orlando Hernández**American League Division Series:*National League Championship Series MVP: Eddie Pérez...

    –present)
  • Kevin Kennedy
    Kevin Kennedy (baseball)
    Kevin Curtis Kennedy is a former manager in American Major League Baseball and a former television host for Fox Sports' baseball coverage. He was given the nickname "The Skipper" by Fox Sports due to his prior managerial career...

     (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...

    )
  • 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...

     (2010
    2010 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champions - San Francisco Giants**American League Champions - Texas Rangers**National League Champions - San Francisco Giants*Postseason - October 7 to November 4...

    –present)
  • Dan Shulman
    Dan Shulman
    Daniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....

     (2002
    2002 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion - Anaheim Angels*Postseason - October 1 to October 27Click on any series score to link to that series' page....

    2007
    2007 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion – [Boston Red Sox]*Postseason – October 2 to October 28Click on any series score to link to that series' page....

    )
  • Charley Steiner
    Charley Steiner
    Charles Harris "Charley" Steiner is an American sportscaster and broadcast journalist. He is currently the main play-by-play voice for the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network, paired with Rick Monday.-Early career:...

     (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...

    2001
    2001 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion - Arizona Diamondbacks*Postseason - October 9 to November 4Click on any series score to link to that series' page....

    )
  • Rick Sutcliffe (1999
    1999 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Atlanta Braves ; Mariano Rivera, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Orlando Hernández**American League Division Series:*National League Championship Series MVP: Eddie Pérez...

    )
  • 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...

     (2008
    2008 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:* Regular Season Champions* World Series Champions – Philadelphia Phillies** American League Champions – Tampa Bay Rays** National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies* Postseason – October 1 to October 29...

    2009
    2009 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champions – New York Yankees**American League Champions – New York Yankees**National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies*Postseason – October 7 to November 4...

    )

Liberty

  • Bud Blattner (1950
    1950 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies *All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4-3 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Carta Vieja *College World Series: Texas...

    1951
    1951 in baseball
    -Headline Event of the Year:Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Major League Baseball:...

    )
  • Jerry Doggett
    Jerry Doggett
    Jerry Doggett was an American sportscaster who called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1987.-Early days:...

     (1950
    1950 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies *All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4-3 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Carta Vieja *College World Series: Texas...

    1951
    1951 in baseball
    -Headline Event of the Year:Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Major League Baseball:...

    )
  • Gordon McLendon
    Gordon McLendon
    Gordon Barton McLendon was a radio pioneer and pirate radio broadcaster. He has been coined the Maverick of Radio. McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, with great commercial success, the Top 40 radio format during the 1950s and 1960s which was first invented by Todd Storz and for developing...

     (1949
    1949 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 12 at Ebbets Field: American League, 11-7-Caribbean leagues:*Cuba - Almendares Scorpions*Panama - Spur Cola*Puerto Rico - Mayaguez Indians...

    1952
    1952 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 8 at Shibe Park: National League, 3-2 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: La Habana *College World Series: Holy Cross...

    )
  • Lindsey Nelson
    Lindsey Nelson
    Lindsey Nelson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of college football and New York Mets baseball.-Early life and career:...

     (1950
    1950 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies *All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4-3 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Carta Vieja *College World Series: Texas...

    1951
    1951 in baseball
    -Headline Event of the Year:Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Major League Baseball:...

    )

Mutual

  • Bud Blattner (1952
    1952 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 8 at Shibe Park: National League, 3-2 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: La Habana *College World Series: Holy Cross...

    ; 1954
    1954 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:* World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians * All-Star Game, July 13 at Municipal Stadium: American League, 11-9-Other champions:* Caribbean World Series: Caguas Creoles [Criollos de Caguas]...

    )
  • Dizzy Dean
    Dizzy Dean
    Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in one season. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953....

     (1951
    1951 in baseball
    -Headline Event of the Year:Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.-Major League Baseball:...

    1952
    1952 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers *All-Star Game, July 8 at Shibe Park: National League, 3-2 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: La Habana *College World Series: Holy Cross...

    )
  • Gene Elston
    Gene Elston
    Gene Elston is a former Major League Baseball broadcaster, primarily with the Houston Astros.-Early life and career:A native of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Elston's first job in announcing was high school basketball in 1941. From there he progressed to minor league baseball starting in 1946...

     (1958
    1958 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves ; Bob Turley, MVP*All-Star Game, July 8 at Memorial Stadium: American League, 4-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Marianao *College World Series: USC...

    1960
    1960 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...

    )
  • Al Helfer
    Al Helfer
    George Alvin Helfer was an American radio sportscaster.Nicknamed "Mr. Radio Baseball", Helfer worked six World Series, ten All-Star Games, and regular season broadcasts for several teams and the Mutual network...

     (1950
    1950 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Philadelphia Phillies *All-Star Game, July 11 at Comiskey Park: National League, 4-3 -Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Carta Vieja *College World Series: Texas...

    1954
    1954 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:* World Series: New York Giants over Cleveland Indians * All-Star Game, July 13 at Municipal Stadium: American League, 11-9-Other champions:* Caribbean World Series: Caguas Creoles [Criollos de Caguas]...

    )
  • Van Patrick
    Van Patrick
    Van Patrick was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work with the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers....

     (1960
    1960 in baseball
    -Major League Baseball:*World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates over New York Yankees ; Bobby Richardson, MVP*All-Star Game , July 11 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5-3*All-Star Game , July 13 at Yankee Stadium: National League, 6-0...

    )

A Games and B Games

The A Game is generally the nickname for the baseball game that's broadcasted to approximately 80% of the country. The B Game (also known as the Backup Game) only aired in the participants' home markets. For example, if the Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 were playing the Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

, only the Chicago and St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 television markets would get a chance to see the game. The B Game also generally existed as a backup in case of rainouts/delays at the A Game.

Previously (i.e. pre-1980s), NBC typically had the A Game going to most of the country (but not to the markets of the participating teams). While the B Game only went to the home markets of the teams in the A Game. In those days, the TV rules did not allow a market to see its local team play on NBC. However, in situations where the B Game got rained out, the rules would relax.

In the early years of ABC's 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...

broadcasts (circa 1976
1976 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees ; Johnny Bench, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Veterans Stadium: National League, 7-1; George Foster, MVP-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Naranjeros de Hermosillo...

), the rules changed to allow the home market of the A Game's road team to see the A Game. Meanwhile, the A Game's home team got the B Game.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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