Baseball in Primetime continues on Fox. The network will send out six games to the nation with the Mets at Dodgers being the showcase game beamed to 40% of the country. Once again, Joe Buck is on the case and he’ll be in Los Angeles along with Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal. It means Joe will have called 11 out of 13 Fox Saturday Baseball games.
Wondering where Tim McCarver will be? Wonder no longer. He’ll call Detroit at Tampa Bay with Dick Stockton.
Fox had to make a couple of substitutions in two of its games and this is regarding the Arizona Diamondbacks’ suspension of TV voice Daron Sutton. He had been scheduled to call the D’backs game against Milwaukee at Miller Park, but as he’s been off the job since last week, Fox honored the suspension and chose to remove him the game. So Eric Collins of Fox Sports West and the LA Dodgers who was scheduled to call the San Diego-Colorado game with Mark Grant, will instead do the Arizona-Milwaukee game with Brewers analyst Bill Schroeder.
And Fox has tapped Root Sports Rocky Mountain’s Drew Goodman to call Padres-Rockies with Fox Sports San Diego’s Mark Grant.
The other hybrid announcing team will be Fox Sports Kansas City’s Steve Physioc and Fox Sports North’s Bert Blyeven assigned to Kansas City-Minnesota.
We have the Fox Sports press release below.
FOX SPORTS NOTES, QUOTES & ANECDOTES
Baseball Night in America Is Ready for Primetime with Mets/Dodgers, Tigers/Rays
Joe Buck CenterStage Premieres on YES Network
BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA – BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA returns to intraleague play on Saturday, June 30 at 7:00 PM ET. East meets west as David Wright and the Mets visit the City of Angels to take on the Dodgers. Joe Buck, Eric Karros and Ken Rosenthal call the action from Dodger Stadium. The power-hitting duo of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder lead the Tigers into St. Pete to face the Rays. All-Star leading vote-getter Josh Hamilton leads the Rangers into a matchup with the A’s. While Ryan Braun entered the season on a controversial note, he has displayed his usual prowess at the plate. The 2011 NL MVP and the Brewers welcome the D-Backs to Milwaukee. Also, Padres visit the Rockies and the Twins host the Royals.
Coverage begins with the BASEBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA PREGAME SHOW, originating live from MLB Network’s state-of-the-art Studio 3 in Secaucus, NJ. The show is hosted by MLB Network studio host Matt Vasgersian, who is joined by analysts Harold Reynolds and Kevin Millar.
For instant updates throughout the week and during games from the entire MLB on FOX crew, follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MLBONFOX. Fans can gain more access to exclusive FOX Sports content by logging on to www.facebook.com/foxsports.
New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers — Joe Buck, Eric Karros & Ken Rosenthal, going to 40% of USA
Dodger Stadium – Los Angeles, CA
MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Buffalo, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Hartford, Knoxville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, St. Louis, Washington, West Palm Beach
Probable Pitchers: Johan Santana, LHP (5-4, 3.00 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi, RHP (0-4, 4.04 ERA)Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays — Dick Stockton & Tim McCarver, going to 17% of USA
Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL
MARKETS INCLUDE: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando, Providence, Tampa
Probable Pitchers: Rick Porcello, RHP (5-5, 4.71 ERA) vs. TBAOakland Athletics at Texas Rangers — Kenny Albert & Tom Verducci, going to 16% of USA
|Rangers Ballpark – Arlington, TX
MARKETS INCLUDE: Austin, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, Tulsa
Probable Pitchers: Tommy Milone, LHP (8-5, 3.83 ERA) vs. Justin Grimm, RHP (1-1, 11.57 ERA)Arizona Diamondbacks at Milwaukee Brewers — Eric Collins & Bill Schroeder, going to 12% of USA
Miller Park – Milwaukee, WI
MARKETS INCLUDE: Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Louisville, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Pittsburgh
Probable Pitchers: Wade Miley, LHP (9-3, 2.19 ERA) vs. TBASan Diego Padres at Colorado Rockies — Drew Goodman & Mark Grant, going to 7% of USA
Coors Field – Denver, CO
MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle
Probable Pitchers: TBA vs. Christian Friedrich, LHP (4-5, 5.86 ERA)Kansas City Royals at Minnesota Twins — Steve Physioc & Bert Blyleven, going to 7% of USA
Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
MARKETS INCLUDE: Kansas City, Memphis, Minneapolis
Probable Pitchers: Luke Hochevar, RHP (5-7, 5.07 ERA) vs. TBAHAMILTON ON THE BRINK OF BREAKING SINGLE-SEASON ALL-STAR BALLOTING RECORD –As we enter the final week of voting for the 83rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, airing Tuesday, July 10 (7:30 PM ET) on FOX, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton is on the verge of breaking Jose Bautista’s single-season balloting record from last year. With less than 150,000 votes keeping him from reaching the milestone, Hamilton is the leading vote-getter in All-Star Game balloting by a landslide. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter continues in second place in the American League. In the National League, Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Joey Votto has overtaken L.A. Dodgers’ outfielder Matt Kemp as leading vote-getter by some 300,000 votes. Votto, who has had an excellent voting week, has also surpassed Jeter and is now the second most voted player in Major League Baseball.
Fans can vote for their hometown superstar and get more information on this year’s ballots by visiting www.allstargame.com or www.royals.com/asg. Spanish-language ballots are also available at lasmayores.com.
ROSENTHAL: BRAUN LOOKING BETTER THAN EVER – Following the uproar over his positive test for elevated levels of testosterone — and successful appeal; many wondered how 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun would respond in 2012. As MLB on FOX & FOXSports.com insider Ken Rosenthal notes; “it’s as if nothing changed. Braun, 28, is almost exactly the player he was a year ago at this time,” Rosenthal writes. “The uproar over his positive test for elevated levels of testosterone — and successful appeal and avoidance of a 50-game suspension — long has subsided. Check his stats: Braun’s 20 homers, 52 RBI and .596 slugging percentage (as of 6/26) surpass his numbers in those categories after the same amount of games last season, when he was voted National League MVP.”
To read more on Braun’s 2012 from Rosenthal, click here: http://on-msn.com/MX6Ig9
MCCARVER CHANNELS HIS INNER BRYCE HARPER IN ALL-STAR GAME PROMOS SHOT AT MLB FAN CAVE – Last week, MLB All-Star broadcasters Joe Buck & Tim McCarver paid a visit to the MLB Fan Cave in downtown New York City where they signed autographs, met with the Cave Dwellers and recorded a few promotional spots for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game. It is the 14th MLB All-Star Game broadcast by Buck & McCarver (1997, 1999, 2001-12) which is a record for a broadcasting duo. The promos appear in select campaigns leading up to the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 10th (7:30 PM ET). To view these unique promos, visit: http://bit.ly/LOGCwL.
JOE BUCK CENTERSTAGE PREMIERES ON YES NETWORK – MLB ON FOX lead play-by-play announcer Joe Buck is Michael Kay’s guest on an all-new CenterStage premiered this week on YES NETWORK. Among the highlights is Buck on why the All-Star Game is his hardest to broadcast and opening up on the death of his father, legendary Cardinals announcer Jack Buck.
Buck’s opinion on the new one-game playoff in Major League Baseball: “I don’t know. I want to see it play out once before I have a real firm opinion on it…I do like sweetening the pot at the end of the year and opening the door for another team…I think it’s good to add a team…If you can replicate what happened at the end of last season—… where it’s play-in’s all over the place and this crazy day of baseball, then I’m all for it, because that’s when baseball is great.”
Buck on why the All-Star game is the hardest game to call: “I love the All-Star Game. It is—by far—the hardest game to do during the course of the year. If you are doing a World Series Game Seven, you think “Oh, that’s gonna be the most intense, the hardest one to do.” That’s the easiest one to do…Because it does itself; you just kinda get out of the way. In an All-Star Game, whoever is at the plate has got a story why they are there [and] whoever is on the mound has got a story why they are there, so it gets a little hectic. [Also] it’s more of a TV show really a game. But it’s fun because it is a celebration of the sport that we love and to be there in Kansas City this year will be a blast.”
That’s all.
