ESPN has released 10 games of its 2014 Sunday Night Baseball schedule. The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals are slated to appear three times in that span. The Baltimore Orioles have two appearances.
For the fourth straight year, Sunday Night Baseball has a change in its announcing team, Orel Hershiser has left for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new regional sports network. In his place, bloviator Curt Schilling and he will join holdovers Dan Shulman and John Kruk. Buster Olney remains as the on-field reporter.
The season begins with with the Dodgers at the San Diego Padres. As usual, the Red Sox and Yankees will make an April appearance and the following Sunday, April 20, the Red Sox host the Orioles on the day before Patriots Day and the first Boston Marathon since the bombing.
As it stands now, May 4 is open and will be determined in a few weeks. The schedule does through May and has two games selected in July. The rest of the slate is open.
Here’s ESPN’s announcement on Sunday Night Baseball.
ESPN’s 25th Sunday Night Baseball Season
Multiple Appearances by World Series Champion Red Sox, NL Champion Cardinals, Dodgers, Yankees & Orioles Stars in Action: Miguel Cabrera, Yasiel Puig, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen Dan Shulman, the voice of Sunday Nights, leads new team with John Kruk, Curt Schilling & Buster Olney
ESPN’s historic 25th season of Sunday Night Baseball – Major League Baseball’s exclusive, national game of the week – will showcase baseball’s most exciting teams, best rivalries and brightest stars throughout 2014. The season will begin with an exclusive presentation of MLB’s Opening Night on ESPN – Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres – on March 30, at 8 p.m. ET. Baseball Tonight will precede the telecast with a special 90-minute pre-game show at 6:30 p.m. hosted by Karl Ravech.
The early season schedule will include three appearances each by the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. In addition, the game’s brightest stars, including Miguel Cabrera, Yasiel Puig, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen and more will take center stage on Sunday Night Baseball.
Dan Shulman, in his fourth season as the voice of Sunday Night Baseball, will lead a new team, with new analyst Curt Schilling, returning analyst John Kruk and reporter Buster Olney. Sunday Night Baseball airs every week at 8 p.m. and is available on ESPN, ESPN Radio (with Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton), ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio and via WatchESPN.
ESPN’s 25th Sunday Night Baseball Season
Date Game March 30 Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres April 6* San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers telecast (ESPN2) April 13 Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees April 20** Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (7 p.m.) April 27 Anaheim Angels at New York Yankees May 4 TBD May 11 St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates May 18 Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox May 25 St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds July 13 New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles July 20 Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals *ESPN2 telecast ** Special 7 p.m. start time The Sunday Night Baseball game selection for May 4 will be determined and announced in the next few weeks. Additionally, selections for June games and for July 6 and July 27 will be made three weeks in advance, while selections for August and September games will be made two weeks in advance.
More Sunday Night Baseball highlights:
- The Boston Red Sox will host the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park for a special telecast the night before Patriot’s Day – a Massachusetts state holiday one year removed from the Boston Marathon tragedy in 2013;
- The Pittsburgh Pirates return to Sunday Night Baseball for the first time since May 19, 2002 against the Houston Astros;
- The schedule includes several rivalry games: San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers (April 6), Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees (April 13), St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds (May 25);
Sunday Night Baseball background:
- Dan Shulman is entering his fourth season as the voice of Sunday Night Baseball. He debuted in 2011;
- John Kruk is celebrating his 10-year anniversary at ESPN and his second season in the Sunday Night booth (he joined ESPN in 2004);
- Curt Schilling, who has served as a Baseball Tonight analyst since 2010, makes his Sunday Night Baseball debut;
- Buster Olney is entering his 12th season as an ESPN MLB Insider. He joined ESPN in 2003 and has served as Sunday Night reporter since 2011;
- John Kruk and Curt Schilling re-unite as a “team” two decades after being teammates on the early-1990’s Philadelphia Phillies, who won the National League pennant in 1993.
Sunday Night Baseball history
ESPN’s inaugural Sunday Night Baseball telecast aired April 15, 1990. That night, the Montreal Expos defeated the New York Mets 3-1 at Olympic Stadium. Expos catcher Nelson Santovenia hit a home run off of Mets pitcher Ron Darling and Tim Raines drove in a run to lead the Expos to victory. John Miller and analyst Joe Morgan provided commentary.
Baseball Tonight’s 25th Season
In its 25th season, Baseball Tonight – ESPN’s baseball news and highlights studio show – will preview Sunday Night Baseball each week with one-hour telecasts at 7 p.m. Karl Ravech will serve as host with analysts from ESPN’s deep roster of MLB commentators, let by Hall of Famer Barry Larkin.
Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio – in its 17th MLB season – will continue its coverage as the exclusive, national radio home of Sunday Night Baseball. Play-by-play commentator Jon Sciambi and analyst Chris Singleton will return for their fourth season together calling Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN Radio. ESPN Radio’s weekly coverage starts at 7 p.m. and is also available on ESPNRadio.com and via the ESPNRadio app.
ESPN Deportes’ 11th Season of Sunday Night Baseball
ESPN Deportes will enter its 11th season as the Spanish-language home to Sunday Night Baseball. Commentators Ernesto Jerez and Luis Alfredo Alvarez will provide commentary throughout the season.
ESPN International coverage of Sunday Night Baseball
Sunday Night Baseball is available across Latin America, Caribbean and the Pacific Rim.
There you have it.
