Tag: derek jeter

The way baseball is played will be dramatically changed this year by the pitch clock, but it won’t be the only difference in how you see and hear the games.

The MLB sports media Hot Stove was burning this offseason, which means whom you see, what you hear and how you view games are going to be significantly different. Let’s go through the biggest MLB media storylines heading into 2023:

1. The Captain to Fox Sports

If you told Derek Jeter when he was a player that he’d one day be part of the media, he probably would have said, “Good one, buddy.” The 48-year-old has joined Fox Sports, however, and is expected to be on its big pregame shows for the London regular-season game in June, the All-Star Game and the postseason, including the World Series. He will be teammates again with Alex Rodriguez, who actually signed off on Jeter joining Fox Sports. Executives there, knowing the history between the two, wanted to make sure it was cool with Rodriguez, according to sources. It was. Now, he, Jeter and David Ortiz will be joking around with host Kevin Burkhardt.

2. YES’ old new look

YES abandoned ship on trying something different, giving up on Carlos Beltran and Cameron Maybin as game analysts after a one-year run.

Beltran was going to be demoted to the studio, but instead fled to work in the Mets’ front office. Maybin, while he wasn’t perfect, strangely wasn’t brought back. He’s doing games in Detroit after he and YES president of programming and production John Filippelli had a falling out, according to sources, and that was that.

Meanwhile, Paul O’Neill, after working from his basement last season due to his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, is expected back in the booth.

While whether he has been vaccinated or not is not known, O’Neill is expected to be standing next to Michael Kay in the booth for games. David Cone, John Flaherty and Jeff Nelson will also call games, with Bob Lorenz and Jack Curry manning the studio and some appearances from newcomer Todd Frazier. Filippelli has made a run at Jeter to be in the Yankees’ booth, but so far has been unsuccessful.

Ryan Ruocco will return on play-by-play when Kay is out, while Meredith Marakovits will be on sideline duty. Justin Shackill will pinch-hit on reporting and host duties. 

3. YES going direct to consumer

Let’s be clear: If you have YES on cable or satellite and you figured out how to use Amazon Prime Video last season, nothing will change in that regard. As The Post previously reported, YES hoped to unveil its new direct-to-consumer option by Opening Day.

While they haven’t said yet if it will be ready by then, it is expected soon. That means if you don’t have cable, you will be able to watch the YES games. How much will it cost? That is not yet known. In Boston, the Red Sox network, NESN, charged $30 per month and included eight tickets to games at Fenway.

Meanwhile, Apple TV+ now will require a subscription to watch their Friday night games. The Yankees and Mets are slated to be on four times each.

4. Boone for Jomboy

For decades, the Yankees manager has had a paid radio appearance on WFAN or ESPN New York. In a sign of the changing media times, Aaron Boone will appear on the podcast from the fan-created Jomboy Media. Boone will do his 15-20 minutes via Zoom for the “Talkin’ Baseball” pod with Jimmy “Jomboy” O’Brien and Jake Storiale on Tuesdays.

5. Howie Rose has new partners

The sound of the Mets on WCBS radio will be dramatically different. The great Howie Rose returns on a 125-game schedule, while Wayne Randazzo is doing TV for the Angels.

Keith Raad, 29, will replace Randazzo as Rose’s main partner. Raad will be the lead play-by-player when Rose is off. Meanwhile, Pat McCarthy, 26, is the new pregame and postgame host and will call games with Raad when Rose, 68, is off.

6. Shack attack on Yankees radio

While John Sterling, who will turn 85 in July, will still call the bulk of the Yankees’ games, Shackil, 36, will be on play-by-play for around 30 contests. Shackil will put himself in position to potentially replace Sterling when Sterling retires in 2057, when he turns 119.

Shackil will handle the pregame and postgame shows, replacing Sweeny Murti, who moved on to a job with MLB.

Youngster in the booth Suzyn Waldman, 76, will return as the full-time radio analyst, a position she began in 2005.

7. Gary, Keith and Ron set record

Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling are entering their 18th season, making them the longest-running Mets TV team, surpassing Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner, according to SNY. The trio didn’t need that accomplishment to be considered legendary.

Funny sidenote: Nearly two decades ago, when SNY was figuring out its crew, Cohen was SNY’s second choice after Dave O’Brien, while SNY basically passed on Darling, who had struggled during a previous stint in Washington. After David Cone turned down SNY, Darling got his shot. The rest is New York sportscasting history.

8. The pitch clock will impact the broadcasts

The 15-second pitch clock will impact how games are called. We asked Rose over text what he thought.

“I actually find myself relying to a certain extent on my hockey broadcasting skills,” Rose said. “It’s a somewhat different, more intense focus on multiple things simultaneously. It’s no longer enough to simply check the length of a baserunner’s lead, or the way the defense is shading a hitter.

“I now have to devise a system to track the number of picks or step-offs by the pitcher, a timeout by the hitter, whether that hitter is ‘alert’ when the clock reaches :08 or, of course, the time remaining on the pitch clock. I was caught [once during spring training] having forgotten the number of previous picks during a specific plate appearance, unsure if one had come during the previous or current one. It has also forced me to edit myself while telling a story, relating an anecdote or relaying a fact. Brevity has never been a strength of mine. (As proven by this response.)”