Al Michaels & Bob Costas To Call Game For MLB Network in July

You know this was bound to happen. With Bob Costas calling games on MLB Network, you knew he would recruit his good friend Al Michaels to join him in the booth for one contest and it’s going to happen on July 8 when the New York Mets take on San Francisco. It will mark the first time to the two broadcasters will call a game together. They both called the 1995 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians for the old Baseball Network, a joint venture between ABC Sports and NBC Sports, but Michaels and Costas called the games for their respective networks with Michaels calling 3 games on ABC and Costas 3 for NBC.

So here’s the press release and I’ll post the schedule as well.

AL MICHAELS AND BOB COSTAS TO CALL NEW YORK METS AT SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ON MLB NETWORK ON FRIDAY, JULY 8

Telecast Marks the First Time Michaels and Costas Will Call an MLB Game Together
MLB Network’s July Game Schedule Also Features July 4th Holiday Doubleheader with Blue Jays at Red Sox and Yankees at Indians

Secaucus, N.J., June 29, 2011 – Legendary sports broadcaster Al Michaels will join MLB Network’s Bob Costas in the broadcast booth when the two call the New York Mets at NL West first-place San Francisco Giants at 10:00 p.m. ET on Friday, July 8, part of MLB Network’s live game schedule in July. The game marks the first time Michaels and Costas will call an MLB game together and the first MLB game Michaels will call since 1995. Costas and Michaels will also make special appearances on SNY’s broadcast and on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s broadcast in the game’s middle innings, while Mets announcers Gary Cohen and Ron Darling and Giants announcers Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow will appear in MLB Network’s booth during that time, as its telecast will not be available in the Giants’ and Mets’ home television markets.

MLB Network will host a media conference call with Michaels and Costas, who are expected to be joined by Cohen, Darling, Kuiper and Krukow, on Tuesday, July 5 to discuss the game telecast. Additional details on the call will be sent to media from MLB Network.

Throughout his renowned career, Michaels has called eight World Series, including Game Three of the 1989 World Series at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park that was interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake. He began his play-by-play career with the Hawaii Islanders in the Pacific Coast League in 1968, later joining the Cincinnati Reds in 1971, the San Francisco Giants’ broadcast booth in 1974 and ABC Sports in 1977. Michaels is currently the voice of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” has covered more major sports events than any sportscaster, and was recently honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Sports Emmy Awards.

In 2010, the SNY and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area on-air teams were ranked by GQ as the top two local broadcast booths in all of baseball, following only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Vin Scully. Cohen has called Mets game coverage for 23 seasons and is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for SNY’s Mets game broadcasts. Darling, a former All-star Mets pitcher, 1986 World Series champion and Gold Glove Award winner, is in his sixth season as a game and studio analyst for SNY. In 2006, Darling won a local Emmy Award for best analyst in New York.

Kuiper, a seven-time local Emmy Award winner and former Major League infielder for the Cleveland Indians (1974-1981) and Giants (1982-1985), has been broadcasting with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area for 18 seasons. Krukow, color analyst for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, is spending his 21st season in the TV booth after a 14-year career pitching in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs (1976-81), Philadelphia Phillies (1982) and Giants (1983-89).

MLB Network’s live game telecasts in July begin with an Interleague matchup between the Mets hosting their cross-town rival New York Yankees on Friday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET.  The schedule continues with an American League holiday doubleheader on Monday, July 4 featuring the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox at 1:00 p.m. ET and the AL East first-place Yankees visiting the Cleveland Indians at 6:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network will also showcase division leaders throughout the month, including the Giants at AL Central first-place Detroit Tigers, NL Central first-place Milwaukee Brewers at Cincinnati Reds and the NL East first-place Philadelphia Phillies at Chicago Cubs. Later in the month, MLB Network will feature a rematch of the 2010 NLCS with the defending World Champion Giants against the 2009 National League Champion Phillies on July 26 and July 28.

Games will be blacked out in each team’s home television territory unless otherwise announced. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will be provided with an alternate game telecast or other programming.

The schedule is after the jump.

And here’s the July schedule for MLB Network.

Game Date Time (ET)** Away Team Home Team
Fri., July 1 7:00 p.m. Or: New York Yankees
San Francisco Giants
@
@
New York Mets
Detroit Tigers
Sat., July 2 8:00 p.m. Or: San Francisco Giants
Boston Red Sox
@
@
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Mon., July 4 1:30 p.m. Or: Toronto Blue Jays
Houston Astros
@
@
Boston Red Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates
6:30 p.m. Or: New York Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
@
@
Cleveland Indians
Florida Marlins (6:00 p.m.)
Tues., July 5 10:00 p.m. Or: San Diego Padres
Detroit Tigers
@
@
San Francisco Giants
L.A. Angels of Anaheim
Thurs., July 7 1:00 p.m. Colorado Rockies*** @ Atlanta Braves
7:00 p.m. Or: Tampa Bay Rays
Baltimore Orioles
@
@
New York Yankees
Boston Red Sox
Fri., July 8 10:00 p.m. Or: New York Mets
Seattle Mariners
@
@
San Francisco Giants*
L.A. Angels of Anaheim
Sat., July 9 7:00 p.m. Or: Cincinnati Reds
Baltimore Orioles
@
@
Milwaukee Brewers
Boston Red Sox
Thurs., July 14 7:00 p.m. Or: New York Yankees
Cleveland Indians
@
@
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
Fri., July 15 7:00 p.m. Or: Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
@
@
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Sat., July 16 7:00 p.m. Or: St. Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals
@
@
Cincinnati Reds
Atlanta Braves
Tues., July 19 8:00 p.m. Or: Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
@
@
Chicago Cubs
Colorado Rockies (8:30 p.m.)
Thurs., July 21 12:00 p.m. Or: St. Louis Cardinals
San Diego Padres***
@
@
New York Mets
Florida Marlins
7:00 p.m. Or: New York Yankees
Detroit Tigers
@
@
Tampa Bay Rays*
Minnesota Twins (8:00 p.m.)
Fri., July 22 7:00 p.m. Or: Atlanta Braves
San Diego Padres
@
@
Cincinnati Reds
Philadelphia Phillies
Sat., July 23 9:00 p.m. Or: Milwaukee Brewers
Colorado Rockies
@
@
San Francisco Giants
Arizona D-backs (8:00 p.m.)
Tues., July 26 7:00 p.m. Or: San Francisco Giants
Seattle Mariners
@
@
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Yankees
Thurs., July 28 12:30 p.m. Or: New York Mets
Florida Marlins
@
@
Cincinnati Reds
Washington Nationals
7:00 p.m. Or: San Francisco Giants
Pittsburgh Pirates
@
@
Philadelphia Phillies*
Atlanta Braves
Fri., July 29 8:00 p.m. Or: Boston Red Sox
San Francisco Giants
@
@
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds (7:00 p.m.)
Thurs., July 23 8:00 p.m. Or: San Francisco Giants
Baltimore Orioles
@
@
Cincinnati Reds
New York Yankees (Gm 2, 7 p.m.)

That’s it.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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