MLB Network’s first-ever game show, Baseball IQ, is now down to the Elite Eight. Tonight and tomorrow, the show will whittle down the teams to the Final Four and then the Championship. Representatives from all MLB teams, MLB.com and the Baseball Hall of Fame took part in a single-elimination tournament that brought us to the quarterfinal round this week.
Tonight, Baseball IQ will air the Angels vs. Hall of Fame and the Diamondback vs. the Rockies. And on Thursday, it’ll be the Mets vs. the Cubs and the Red Sox vs. the White Sox.
It all leads to the two semifinals and the championship next Thursday night. MLB Network provides the details.
MLB NETWORK’S FIRST-EVER GAME SHOW BASEBALL IQ DOWN TO TOP EIGHT PARTICIPANTS
Participants Competing in Bracket-Style Tournament to Win $45,000 For Charity
Quarter-Final Round Begins February 21; Championship Game to Air February 23Secaucus, N.J., February 17, 2012 – MLB Network’s first-ever game show Baseball IQ is down to its top eight participants, with the quarter-final round of the bracket-style tournament beginning on Tuesday, February 21. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Assistant Equipment Manager Shane Demmitt will match up against National Baseball Hall of Fame Director of Communications Craig Muder at 9:00 p.m. ET, immediately followed by Arizona Diamondbacks dbTV Graphics Supervisor Josh DeFamio competing against Colorado Rockies Director of Retail Operations Aaron Heinrich at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The remaining quarter-final matches will pair New York Mets Statistical Analyst Ben Baumer against Chicago Cubs Account Executive, Corporate Partnerships Ryan Balogh on Wednesday, February 22 at 9:00 p.m. ET, followed by Boston Red Sox Video Coordinator Billy Broadbent facing Chicago White Sox Director of Baseball Operations Dan Fabian at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Hosted by Matt Vasgersian, MLB Network’s Baseball IQ is a recall-based trivia show featuring two participants, 30 minutes and a chance to win up to $45,000 for charity. Questions cover all things baseball, from current players and managers to World Series champions, MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, Hall of Famers, milestones and more.
MLB Network surveyed all 30 Clubs, MLB.com and the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum for the best and brightest trivia minds in their organizations to represent them, and thirty-two participants were matched up in a bracket-style tournament across 31 episodes. New episodes will air every Tuesday through Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. ET through February 23, leading up to the start of Spring Training.
Baseball IQ features participants including front office personnel, equipment managers, scoreboard operators and museum curators. The winning player of each episode will win $5,000 for the organization’s charity they represent. The championship episode will award $25,000 for the winner’s organization’s charity and $15,000 to the runner-up’s organization’s charity.
MLB Network’s programming schedule for the remainder of Baseball IQ is available below. The complete bracket and information on rules, participants and charities can be found here. Additional show information and programming updates will be posted to MLB Network’s Facebook page and Twitter feed via #MLBNBaseballIQ.
MLB Network’s Baseball IQ – Episode Schedule (all times Eastern)
Tuesday, February 21:
9:00 p.m. – Angels (Shane Demmitt, Asst. Equipment Manager) vs. Hall of Fame (Craig Muder, Dir. of Communications)
9:30 p.m. – D-backs (Josh DeFamio, Supervisor, dbTV Graphics) vs. Rockies (Aaron Heinrich, Dir. of Retail Operations)
Wednesday, February 22:
9:00 p.m. – Mets (Ben Baumer, Statistical Analyst) vs. Cubs (Ryan Balogh, Account Exec., Corporate Partnerships)
9:30 p.m. – Red Sox (Billy Broadbent, Video Coordinator) vs. White Sox (Dan Fabian, Dir. of Baseball Operations)Thursday, February 22:
9:00 p.m. – Semi-Final Round 1
9:30 p.m. – Semi-Final Round 2
10:00 p.m. – Championship Round
There you go.
