On Sunday when Fox Sports formally announced it had hired Erin Andrews from ESPN, your humble blogger was told that she would make her Fox debut on September 1 when primetime college football games premiere on the network.
@fangsbites Saturday, September 1 on our brand new @CFBONFOX pregame show prior to Hawaii at USC game on FOX.
— Dan Bell (@danpbell) July 1, 2012
However, Fox Sports will have Erin make her debut much sooner than that. During a media conference call to discuss the MLB All-Star Game, Fox Sports President Eric Shanks announced that she will be seen covering the American League dugout next Tuesday night when the network airs the Mid-Summer Classic live from Kansas City.
Before she signed her last contract with ESPN, Ms. Andrews covered baseball and was part of the Alleged Worldwide Leader’s team that called the MLB Home Run Derby during All-Star Game weekend.
We have that announcement plus highlights of that aforementioned conference call below. Check it out.
FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
Erin Andrews & New and Improved Diamond Cam Make Debuts in Kansas City at 2012 MLB All-Star Game on FOX * Tuesday, July 10 – 7:30 PM ET
Transcribed Quotes from Today’s 2012 ASG ON FOX Preview Press Call Featuring Selig, McCarver, Buck, Goren & ShanksMLB ALL-STAR GAME MARKS FOX SPORTS DEBUT FOR ERIN ANDREWS & NEW DIAMOND CAM – During FOX Sports’ MLB All-Star game preview call this afternoon, FOX Sports Media Group Co-President & Executive Producer Eric Shanks announced that newcomer, Erin Andrews, makes her FOX Sports debut during its exclusive presentation of MLB’s 83rd Mid-Summer classic on Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET). Andrews, one of sports television’s brightest stars, reports from the dugouts and helps tell the story of players and their journey to Kansas City. Additionally, FOX Sports’ coverage of the All-Star extravaganza includes an updated and much improved version of “Diamond Cam,” a miniature camera embedded into different areas of the field. The views offered include: looking up from home plate at the batter & catcher; looking up at the pitcher; view from field to first base. First introduced at the All-Star Game in 2004, these new cameras are high-definition, creating striking images with wireless, radio frequency transmission meaning that no trenching on the field is necessary. The camera and power-source, a long-life lithium ion battery, is set up below ground at the edge of the infield grass and all that appears above ground is a tiny, specially crafted prism no larger than grains of infield soil.
Seven-time Emmy Award-winning play-by-play announcer Joe Buck serves as the event’s host as well as play-by-play announcer calling the action alongside 2012 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award and analyst Tim McCarver. Buck & McCarver are joined by MLB on FOX insider Ken Rosenthal reporting from the field during the game with an MLB on FOX analyst and the aforementioned Andrews contributing from the dugouts. MLB Network broadcasters Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds & Kevin Millar join analyst Eric Karros during the network’s pregame show from the field at Kauffman Stadium to set the scene for this special night in Kansas City. In addition to bringing fans live interviews and coverage of all the pageantry and celebration of baseball’s best, the special pregame show features a look back at the Negro Leagues through the eyes of some of its greatest living participants, MLB legends Hank Aaron, Willie Mays & Monte Irvin. The Hall of Famers reflect on the importance of the Negro Leagues in history and how they helped mold their Major League legacies. The first successful alliance, the Negro National League, was formed in Kansas City, MO in 1920.
SELIG, GOREN, SHANKS, BUCK & MCCARVER PREVIEW 2012 MIDSUMMER CLASSIC – MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, FOX Sports Vice Chairman Ed Goren, FOX Sports Co-President Eric Shanks, along with MLB on FOX’s Emmy Award-winning broadcast team of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver participated in a press call to preview coverage of Major League Baseball’s 83rd All-Star Game from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET).
Selig on how home field advantage has changed how the All-Star Game is played: “The fact is that years ago we ran into a period where there were a lot of players that tried to find excuses and didn’t want to play. We haven’t had any of that. There were some people who were critical of ‘this time it counts.’ It’s worked well and it worked well right from the beginning. You see players now that are happy to go. In fact, the only people unhappy now are some people who didn’t make it.”
Buck added: “It has had an impact on the way these guys manage games. They’re looking for specific matchups as opposed to just trying to get everybody in the game. It’s brought a competitive fire back to this game that for a while was lacking. It’s been a great change for this game that is by far the best of all the all-star games of the four major sports.”
McCarver on the story lines in the first half of the 2012 MLB season: “The infusion of young talent has been extraordinary. I am a huge fan of Giancarlo Stanton. I tell Joe about him about every other week and I follow him on a weekly basis. And of course everybody has to be excited about Bryce Harper who’s got a chance to be on the team. Mike Trout, I’ve never seen him play and I am really looking forward to that. That for me is going to really be one of the highlights of the All-Star Game.”
Buck on the challenges of broadcasting an All-Star Game: “There’s so much to talk about in this All-Star Game and that’s always the frustration when you do this game, because everybody’s got an individual story. We’ve got new cameras and we’re trying out new things and we’re promoting and talking about the second half. It’s a serious juggling act and we’ll try to get to as much of it as we can.”
Selig on MLB expanding use of social media in light of players being able to tweet after they leave the All-Star Game: “It’s after players are removed from the game. It’s another contact to our fans which is important to me. It’s a reason this sport is growing as much as it is. One thing I’ve learned in this job is never to say never. I like what we’re doing in the All-Star Game and I think this will contribute to our younger fans having the kind of contact they want to have with players. I’m very comfortable with where we are now.”
Goren added: “This is really an exciting step for the All-Star Game. It’s being handled properly by baseball. The player is out of the game and now here is an opportunity to reach out, through social media, to baseball fans. This is a fun experiment.”
HAMILTON SMASHES SINGLE-SEASON ALL-STAR BALLOTING RECORD AS ROSTERS ARE ANNOUNCED – As we approach the 83rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, airing Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET) on FOX, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton has set a new single-year mark for All-Star voting with an astonishing 11,073,744 ballots recorded to his name. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter prevailed in second place in the American League. Coming from behind in the final week of voting, San Francisco Giants’ catcher Buster Posey set a new National League single-season balloting mark to round off the top spot. Posey’s teammate Melky Cabrera followed him in a close second. In record-breaking fashion, this year’s voting entered the books with an overall 40.2 million votes registered; surpassing last year’s balloting by almost 8 million votes.
And that will do it.
