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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.

Derek Jeter is joining Fox Sports this season

Getty Images

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.)”

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Original Source

YES Network is working toward offering its service direct-to-consumer by Yankees Opening Day at the end of March, The Post has learned.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. While the aim is to be up and running by the time the Yankees face the Giants on March 30, YES won’t press go unless everything is lined up, so the start date could be moved. In late July, Yankees president and YES chairman Randy Levine said on WFAN’s “Carton & Roberts” that YES would have a DTC product “very soon.”

2. While a DTC offering would allow viewers to bypass cable and satellite providers, YES is working with its current distributors in an effort to make it work for all parties.

3. The price is not decided.

4. NESN jumped into the direct-to-consumer RSN game last year, pricing it at $30 a month for Red Sox and Bruins games, but also added eight tickets to games at Fenway. While the initial price was high enough to make it feel designed to keep people on cable, the tickets really sweetened the offer, which probably didn’t please NESN’s legacy distributors.

With the most valuable regional sports network product in the country, YES broadcasts of Yankees games with Michael Kay and David Cone may be available direct-to-consumer by Opening Day.

Robert Sabo for the NY POST

5. Where will YES DTC be available? Only in the local rights area, not everywhere. Maybe one day distribution will expand, but in the near term, if you are in the tri-state area where you can get Yankees games on YES, you’ll be able to buy this new product without cable.

Bottom line: The Yankees have the most valued regional sports product in the country. YES also has the Nets, but going direct-to-consumer with Yankees games and more will be a big deal for the business when the product launches.

It is no coincidence that the YES app logo has been part of network game broadcasts in the right hand corner for some time now. The Yankees, beginning last year, started streaming 21 games via Amazon Prime Video. So this would be a potential further expansion into the streaming world.

What about SNY?

Mets broadcasts featuring Ron Darling, Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez (assuming he signs a new deal with the network) aren’t slated to be available on a DTC product for at least another season.

From what we understand, SNY is most likely to wait another year before they jump into the direct-to-consumer game. It will happen. They are just taking it a bit slower.

The question that SNY, and each of these networks considering DTC has to ask: Are there a lot of people who must have games that don’t have access? If not, there might not be a need to rush. Eventually, all RSNs, leagues and networks will have it. You want to be a little ahead of the curve, but it is a needle that is being thread.

And MSG Network?

Post Business reporter Josh Kosman reported in November that MSG Network hoped to have its DTC product ready for the second half of the Knicks and Rangers seasons, and it would be priced at $20 to $25 per month.

The Post reported last fall that Rangers and Knicks broadcasts were expected to cost $20-$25 per month once MSG started its DTC service.

“We are progressing in the design and development of our direct-to-consumer offering, and remain on track to launch in the second half of the current NBA and NHL seasons,” MSG Network President and CEO Andrea Greenberg told Kosman in November. “So while the media landscape is certainly evolving, we continue to believe in the value of our premium content and our ability to innovate, to drive value for partners, advertisers and viewers alike.”

Quick clicks

Tony Romo and Jim Nantz seem to have lost the fundamentals of what once made them arguably the NFL’s top broadcasting booth.

The issue for CBS with Jim Nantz and Tony Romo is that the broadcast is not fundamentally sound. Until that improves, the calls of the games are going to be crucified by fans and experts alike because they are all over the place and lack cohesion. Romo has come under increasingly harsh criticism, and he’s earned it. What made him a success — his gunslinging approach from the booth — is a weakness now because he is not just off the field and doesn’t study enough to be off-the-cuff anymore. So he spends what seems like half his time gushing over quarterbacks, like Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. We get it, they are really good. Meanwhile, Nantz isn’t on the same page with Romo. For all the passion and skill Nantz has on golf, he lacks it on football. He also can’t volley quick enough and lead Romo to bring some continuity to the broadcast. Unless Nantz and Romo can somehow improve their fundamentals, they will have problems. … Nantz did make me laugh in the post-game. As usual, he came down from the booth to do the trophy presentation. At the end of the game, Nantz dubbed the Super Bowl the “Andy Reid Bowl.” When interviewing Reid, Nantz quoted himself. …

Brock Purdy’s elbow injury not only limited him essentially to handing the ball off after he returned, but gave Fox broadcasters a less-than-inspiring game to cover.

Fox Sports was served a dud of a championship game with the depleted 49ers, but its broadcast got better as the game went along. They were a little slow on whether or not Brock Purdy could return to the game or not, which was quickly the biggest story. With Purdy out with an elbow injury, Fox showed video of him warming up. Sideline reporters, even one as accomplished as Erin Andrews, can only do so much, because the teams decide during games what information they feed, but we needed some analysis about what possibly was going on. To start the second quarter, analyst Greg Olsen did a fine job explaining that the elbow injury could be impacting the feeling in Purdy’s right throwing hand. Purdy did eventually return, but didn’t really throw the ball. Throughout the game, Burkhardt gave Olsen a lot of room to analyze, and, overall, Olsen did well. … Burkhardt grew up an Eagles’ fan in Bloomfield, NJ. In two weeks, he’ll call the Eagles in his first Super Bowl. … Chris Fowler furthered the mockery that was ESPN not sending its top play-by-players and analysts to the Australian Open. During the men’s semifinals, ESPN tried to fool the audience in its open by positioning Fowler and John McEnroe in front of a screen with the Australian Open crowd behind them. To a trained eye, it may have been obvious that they weren’t there, but most people are watching for the sport. After the high temperatures were noted by a sideline reporter in Melbourne, Fowler said it was 35 degrees in Bristol. And the ruse was over. Hopefully, next year, ESPN treats the Australian Open like a grand slam and not a second rate event. …

Soon to be 85, John Sterling may need Sweeny Murti’s eventual successor to be able to pinch-hit for him on occasion over the long season.

WFAN plans on replacing Sweeny Murti. It hopes to have someone who can do the post-game and be a pinch-hitter if — when? — John Sterling needs some days off. As is his nature, Sterling, 85 in July, is currently pushing to do all the games, but there is a good chance that he will change his mind when the grind of the season starts to be felt. That is why someone like Justin Shackil could be the choice for FAN. Shackil filled in for Sterling on games last year and did well. He has been working on Yankees-related shows from in-stadium to a Jomboy podcast with David Cone, while also doing boxing work for DAZN. …Mike Francesa’s appearance on Wednesday with his former partner Chris Russo on ESPN’s “First Take” is a win for … Stephen A. Smith. You could argue that Smith has already surpassed “Mike & the Mad Dog” in his career impact, but for Smith, who has toiled in and out of New York radio, where Russo and Francesa have been kings, it has to be pretty sweet to have the duo on his program.

Knicks ratings disaster

Even with Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson guiding the Knicks into playoff contention, MSG viewers have not guided themselves to watch the team as much as last season.

The Knicks ratings on MSG Network are down 22 percent compared to this time last year, according to a source with access to the Nielsen ratings. MSG, unlike most other networks, does not release its ratings. This secretiveness is unsurprising for a James Dolan company.

The Knicks are averaging 110,000 viewers per game, which is better than the Nets at 66,000. The Nets are down, but just six percent.

Anyway, with all the drama around the Garden, this may not be a big worry, but that is a significant drop year-over-year. The Garden doesn’t acknowledge the ratings, so if it has a reason for the plunge, it is unknown. It probably doesn’t help that MSG Network remains off Comcast systems, but that was the case last year, too.

Pac-12 dilemma

The Pac-12 TV deal is something to watch, because, while I think it has some suitors in Amazon, ESPN and Fox Sports, the sense I keep getting is none of them view it as a must-have. So where does the conference find leverage? In theory, it could look outside those three, but others all come with issues — namely exposure — because NBC, CBS and Apple TV+ would want to make it mostly a streaming deal, if they were even interested. Apple, of course, doesn’t have a broadcast network, while NBC has its new prime time Big Ten games starting in the fall and Notre Dame home games in the afternoon. And CBS has afternoon Big Ten on broadcast. Maybe there is an opening for a Saturday night Pac-12 schedule on broadcast TV, but it doesn’t feel like a match; at least not for big money.

The Pac-12 may find more exposure in its next media rights deal as part of a streaming package more than on traditional broadcasts, many of which have already been scheduled with other conference games.

The idea of Amazon Prime Video taking on the tonnage of the Pac-12 may not fully line up unless it is at the right price. Amazon doesn’t have a linear lineup to fill out, so it doesn’t need programming. ESPN and Fox Sports do, but between their other deals (ESPN with the SEC, ACC and Big 12, and Fox Sports with the Big Ten and the Big 12), they don’t necessarily need the extra games the Pac-12 would provide. With the economy in question, no one is looking to break the bank.

Amazon did well with Thursday Night Football, but, beyond the obvious fact that the NFL is a far different animal than the Pac-12, TNF also is a standalone game. Pac-12 matchups are in competition with endless other college games.

There are going to be deals to be made for the Pac-12, but will they be strong enough to stave off more realignment; especially with the Big 12’s agreement with ESPN allowing for further payments if Power 5 schools are added? The Pac-12 should be able to get close to the nearly $32 million per school that the Big 12 received, but the Pac-12 will have to realize that is more the comp, not the Big Ten.

On top of all of this, the Pac-12 may owe Comcast $50 million for overcharging. Not good.