List of Major League Baseball wild card round broadcasters
The following is a list of the national television and radio networks and announcers who have covered the Major League Baseball wild card games throughout the years. It does not include any announcers who may have appeared on local radio broadcasts produced by the participating teams.
Television
[edit]2020s
[edit]Wild card series
[edit]Wild card game
[edit]| Year | Game | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Field reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | AL | ESPN[4] | Matt Vasgersian | Alex Rodriguez | Buster Olney |
| ESPN2 (Statcast alternate broadcast)[5] | Jason Benetti | Eduardo Pérez and Mike Petriello | |||
| NL | TBS | Brian Anderson | Ron Darling | Lauren Shehadi |
2020 wild card series
[edit]| League | Series | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) | Field reporter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL | Tampa Bay Rays/Toronto Blue Jays | TBS[6] | Rich Waltz | Jimmy Rollins | |
| Minnesota Twins/Houston Astros | ABC (Game 1) ESPN2 (Game 2)[7] |
Karl Ravech | Tim Kurkjian and Eduardo Pérez | ||
| New York Yankees/Cleveland Indians | ESPN[7] | Matt Vasgersian | Alex Rodriguez and Buster Olney | Marly Rivera | |
| Oakland Athletics/Chicago White Sox | Dave Flemming | Jessica Mendoza | |||
| NL | Los Angeles Dodgers/Milwaukee Brewers | Karl Ravech | Tim Kurkjian and Eduardo Pérez | ||
| Atlanta Braves/Cincinnati Reds | Matt Vasgersian | Alex Rodriguez and Buster Olney | Kiley McDaniel | ||
| Chicago Cubs/Miami Marlins | ABC[7] | Jon Sciambi | Chipper Jones | Jesse Rogers | |
| San Diego Padres/St. Louis Cardinals | ESPN2 (Game 1) ESPN (Game 2 and 3)[7] |
Tom Hart | Rick Sutcliffe Jessica Mendoza (Game 3) |
Pedro Gomez |
Notes
[edit]- ABC was scheduled to air at least four of the 24 possible daytime games in the 2020 season's one-time only expanded eight-series wild card round, that the networks of ESPN will air. Not only did this mean that ABC would be airing Major League Baseball games of any kind since Game 5 of the 1995 World Series,[8] but it would mark the first time since NBC's final game in 2000, that a Major League Baseball game had aired on any broadcast network other than Fox. The first game to definitely air on ABC on September 29, would be the #6 seed Houston Astros against the #3 Minnesota Twins from Target Field in Minneapolis.[9][10] The following day, ABC would air the #6 Miami Marlins against the #3 Chicago Cubs from Wrigley Field in Chicago. Karl Ravech provided play-by-play commentary for the Houston-Minnesota game with analysts Eduardo Pérez and Tim Kurkjian.[11] Meanwhile, Jon Sciambi, Chipper Jones, and Jesse Rogers called the Miami-Chicago Cubs game on September 30. ESPN also planned on utilizing ABC afternoon window[12] on Friday (October 2).[13] On October 2, ABC cut away from their broadcast Miami-Chicago Cubs game during the top of the 9th inning to deliver a special report on U.S. president Donald Trump being taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for COVID-19 treatment. The conclusion of the game was shifted to ESPN.[14]
- Beginning with the 2022 postseason, MLB allowed Sportsnet, the home network of the Toronto Blue Jays, to produce their own broadcasts of the team's games in Canada rather than a mere simulcast of the American network feed or an MLB International-produced broadcast.[15]
2010s
[edit]Radio
[edit]2020s
[edit]Wild card series
[edit]Wild card game
[edit]| Year | Game | Network | Play-by-play | Color commentator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | AL | ESPN | Dave O'Brien | Xavier Scruggs |
| NL | Jon Sciambi | Kyle Peterson |
2020 wild card series
[edit]2010s
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Feuz, Alex (2024-09-30). "ESPN MLB Wild Card Series Coverage for Tuesday, Oct. 1, Exclusively on Disney Platforms". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b c d Rajan, Ronce (2023-10-02). "2023 MLB Wild Card Series Exclusively on ESPN Platforms". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b c d Martin, Katie Hughes (2022-10-05). "ESPN Platforms to Exclusively Televise Entire 2022 MLB Wild Card Series". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Martin, Katie Hughes (2021-10-04). "ESPN to Provide Exclusive Coverage of 2021 American League Wild Card Game Presented by Hankook Tire: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox in Win or Go Home Game on October 5 at 8 p.m. ET". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (October 4, 2021). "Your 2021 MLB Wild Card announcing schedule". Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ "TBS to Exclusively Present American League Wild Card Series presented by Hankook Tire – Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 5 p.m. ET | Pressroom". press.wbd.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ a b c d Cafardo, Ben (2020-09-28). "ESPN to Exclusively Televise Seven of Eight MLB Wild Card Series Starting September 29". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Fisher, Eric (September 28, 2020). "MLB to be seen on ABC for first time since 1995". SportsBusiness.
- ^ Kalibat, Natalie (September 28, 2020). "Game 1 of Astros-Twins to lead off MLB playoff coverage on ABC". WRIC.
- ^ Brown, Maury (September 28, 2020). "MLB Postseason Games Returning To ABC For First Time In 25 Years". Forbes.
- ^ "ESPN and ABC to Exclusively Televise 7 of 8 MLB Wild Card Series". Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk. September 28, 2020.
- ^ McMillan, Ken (September 27, 2020). "Live from WKEN sports broadcasting blog, Sept. 28". Times Herald-Record.
- ^ Campbell, Hope (September 28, 2020). "General Hospital Pre-Empted This Week For Major League Baseball". Soap Hub.
- ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (October 2, 2020). "ABC punted Marlins-Cubs to ESPN in the middle of the ninth for coverage of President Trump being taken to hospital". Awful Announcing.
- ^ a b Laskaris, Adam (October 3, 2022). "Buck Martinez to lead Sportsnet's Blue Jays' playoff broadcasts". Daily Hive. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
- ^ Martin, Katie Hughes (2019-09-26). "ESPN Provides Exclusive Coverage of the American League Wild Card Game presented by Hankook Tire October 2". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Hughes, Katie (September 26, 2019). "ESPN Provides Exclusive Coverage of the American League Wild Card Game presented by Hankook Tire October 2". ESPN Press Room. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
- ^ Cafardo, Ben (2018-10-01). "ESPN To Exclusively Televise Both MLB National League Tiebreaker Games On Monday". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Skarka, Michael (2018-09-27). "ESPN's Exclusive Coverage of the 2018 MLB National League Wild Card Game Presented by Hankook Tire". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (October 3, 2018). "ESPN2's NL Wild Card game Statcast broadcast drew rave reviews, especially compared to ESPN's regular telecast". awfulannouncing.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
- ^ Skarka, Michael (2017-09-28). "ESPN to Provide Comprehensive Coverage of 2017 American League Wild Card Game". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Cafardo, Ben (2016-09-28). "ESPN to Exclusively Televise the 2016 MLB National League Wild Card Game". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ "TBS to be Exclusive Home of the National League Throughout 2015 MLB Postseason Beginning with N.L. Wild Card Game Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 8 p.m. ET". Sports Media News. 2015-10-06. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ "TBS to be exclusive home of the American League throughout 2014 MLB Postseason beginning with A.L. Wild Card Game on Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. ET". MLB.com. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
- ^ Cafardo, Ben (September 11, 2014). "ESPN to Exclusively Televise MLB NL Wild Card Game Oct. 1". espnmediazone.com.
- ^ "TBS Announces Commentator Assignments for 2013 MLB Wild Card Games". thefutoncritic.com. September 30, 2013.