Sunday Night Baseball
Encyclopedia
Sunday Night Baseball is the Major League Baseball
exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET (or occasionally at 7 p.m. ET) on ESPN during the regular season. (The official name is ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Taco Bell
; previous presenting sponsors included Nextel
and Bank of America
.)
The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show Baseball Tonight
. Both Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball are also televised in high definition
on ESPNHD. A few telecasts each season appear on ESPN2
and ESPN2HD rather than ESPN due to conflicts with other programming.
, and from its inception through 2010
featured the broadcast team of play-by-play commentator Jon Miller
and color commentator
Joe Morgan
. Steve Phillips
joined them for the 2009
season, and Orel Hershiser
did so for the 2010
season following Phillips' dismissal by the network. From 2004
until 2006
, Sam Ryan served as the field reporter, but she left to join New York City
's WCBS-TV
and CBS Sports
in June 2006. On July 2, 2006 Bonnie Bernstein joined the crew as the new field reporter, but did not return in 2007 primarily due to her request to cut back her schedule because of her continued recovery from a bout with deep vein thrombosis
in October 2006. Beginning in 2006, Peter Gammons
joined the broadcasts as a field reporter in the scouts position. Gammons, however, suffered a brain aneurysm and didn't return until September 2006.
In 2010, Miller and Morgan began their 21st consecutive season working together for ESPN. Among U.S. network television sportscasters, only Pat Summerall
and John Madden
(who called NFL
games for CBS
and Fox
from 1981
to 2001
) have had a similar length partnership in the booth. Following the 2010 season, ESPN announced that the television contracts of Miller and Morgan would not be renewed. Miller was offered, but chose to decline, a continued role with ESPN Radio.
Play-by-play announcer Dan Shulman
joined color commentators Hershiser and Bobby Valentine
as the new Sunday Night Baseball crew beginning in 2011
.
is also used; it is usually mounted 20 feet above the stands in foul territory and travels back and forth along the first base line from behind home plate to the foul pole.
' historic comeback against the Seattle Mariners
on August 5, 2001. The Indians trailed 14–2 after six innings, but scored twelve runs in the final three innings before winning in the bottom of the eleventh, 15–14. The twelve-run comeback tied the Major League record for largest deficit overcome in a game.
On May 28, 2000, Pedro Martinez
and Roger Clemens
faced off in an epic pitchers duel at Yankee Stadium. Both pitchers threw complete games and combined for 22 strikeouts, 13 for Clemens, 9 for Martinez. The game was scoreless until Trot Nixon
hit a two run home run in the top of the ninth inning. Martinez then got the final three outs in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory.
On September 2, 2001, Mike Mussina
of the New York Yankees
came within one strike of a perfect game
against the Boston Red Sox
. The effort was broken up on a single by Carl Everett
, with Mussina settling for a one-hitter. The game itself was an exciting pitchers' duel, with the Red Sox' David Cone
also shutting out the Yankees for eight innings, before allowing an RBI double by Enrique Wilson
in the ninth. It was the only scoring of the Yankees' 1–0 win. Additionally, Cone was the most recent pitcher to record a perfect game having done so 2 years earlier as a Yankee against the Montreal Expos
.
Rafael Furcal
completed an unassisted triple play
for the Atlanta Braves
against the St. Louis Cardinals
on August 10, 2003. It was the 12th such play in baseball history. In the fifth inning, the shortstop caught pitcher Woody Williams
' liner with the runners moving in a hit and run attempt, stepped on second base to retire catcher Mike Matheny
and tagged Orlando Palmeiro
before he could return to first.
On April 22, 2007, the Red Sox
became the fifth team in Major League history to hit four consecutive home runs, doing so in the third inning of a 7–6 victory over the Yankees
.
On April 29, 2007, A canceled broadcast occurred between the Chicago Cubs
and St. Louis Cardinals
when Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock
was killed in a car accident earlier in the day at 12:35 A.M. while driving under the influence. In place of the game, special programming hosted by Miller and Morgan was shown. The game was later made up on September 10, 2007, where the Cubs defeated the Cardinals 12–3, though the game was not broadcast as the Game of the Week.
On August 5, 2007, Tom Glavine
of the New York Mets
became the 23rd pitcher in history to record his 300th win. He did it in a 8–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Sunday Night Baseball broadcasted the Washington Nationals
' very first game at Nationals Park on March 30, 2008. The Nationals
beat the Atlanta Braves
, 3–2, on Ryan Zimmerman
's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. President George W. Bush
, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game, joined Jon Miller and Joe Morgan in the ESPN booth during the telecast.
The final game played at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008, pitting the New York Yankees
against the Baltimore Orioles
, was broadcast on Sunday Night Baseball.
The Mariano Rivera
500th career save (and also his 1st lifetime RBI) was broadcasted on Sunday Night Baseball from Citi Field (home of the New York Mets
).
During the May 1, 2011 broadcast between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, ESPN announced the death of Osama bin Laden
at the end of the 8th inning. At the top of the 9th inning with 1 out and Daniel Murphy at bat, fans at Citizens Bank Park
erupted with U-S-A! chants despite not hearing the broadcast nor of the fact that no announcement of the news in the stadium.
On July 17, 2011, a game between the Boston Red Sox
and Tampa Bay Rays
went scoreless into the 16th inning before the Red Sox scored in the top of the inning, leading to a 1-0 victory. This game was also notable for a foul ball hit by the Rays' Sean Rodriguez
that hit and broke a lamp in the catwalks of Tropicana Field
. As the grounds crew cleaned up the broken glass that fell onto the field, the stadium PA system played the music from The Natural
.
and Baltimore Orioles
from Oriole Park at Camden Yards
on September 20, 1998. However, 1998 was the first year of ESPN's contract to air Sunday Night Football
through the entire season, as opposed to the second half of the year as in previous years, and the NFL games took precedence. ESPN sought permission from Major League Baseball
to move the game, as well as two other late-season contests, to ESPN2
, but Major League Baseball denied the request (They had never objected when early season games were bumped to ESPN2 by events such as the Women's Final Four
and the Stanley Cup playoffs
, perhaps because those are championship-deciding events). As such, ESPN missed televising the game where Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr.
elected to end his consecutive games played streak at 2,632.
Major League Baseball finally gave ESPN permission to move the late season games in 2000
, and ESPN continued that practice until its loss of the Sunday night football package to NBC
at the end of the 2005 season.
, ESPN Domingo de Grandes Ligas (Major League Sunday) is also broadcast on ESPN Deportes
, the Spanish version of ESPN
. On ESPN Deportes, Ernesto Jerez
does play-by-play, former baseball player Candy Maldonado
is the color commentator, and Guillermo Celis is the field reporter. This version is also presented on the Spanish feed of ESPN Latin America
. The Brazilian feed, in Portuguese, has Everaldo Marques doing the play-by-play and Paulo Antunes as the analyst. They broadcast from ESPN Brasil
studios in São Paulo
.
ESPN Radio also has a weekly radio broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball. Currently, Jon Sciambi
calls play-by-play on the ESPN Radio broadcasts. Sciambi succeeded Gary Thorne
, who called the radio broadcasts in 2008-09; Thorne, in turn, was preceded by Dan Shulman
(2002–07) and Charley Steiner
(1998–2001). Chris Singleton
will serve as the color commentator on ESPN Radio's Sunday night games beginning in 2011, succeeding Dave Campbell, who had held the role since 1999; Campbell was preceded by Kevin Kennedy
in the network's inaugural season of 1998.
Prior to 1998, CBS Radio
aired Sunday night games, usually with Jerry Coleman
and John Rooney
announcing.
Outside the USA, this weekly game was also broadcast live on Five in the UK from 1997 until 2008 and at the time was the longest running programme on the channel. In Latin America the game is broadcast on ESPN Latin America
. When the NFL season begins, the game is moved to ESPN Dos
only for the audience in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia and the Caribbean Islands.
In Canada
, Sunday Night Baseball has aired on TSN2
since May 16, 2010, under a sublicensing agreement with Rogers Sportsnet
, the Canadian rightsholder for Major League Baseball. That deal came in exchange for TSN
/TSN2 transferring their remaining rights to Toronto Blue Jays
games to Sportsnet, which is now the exclusive carrier of Blue Jays games. However, individual SNB games may be reclaimed by Sportsnet in the event both TSN and TSN2 have other programming commitments. Previous carriers of Sunday Night Baseball were TSN (1990–2000), The Score
(2001–2002), and Sportsnet (2003
–May 9, 2010).
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
exclusive game of the week that is televised Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET (or occasionally at 7 p.m. ET) on ESPN during the regular season. (The official name is ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Taco Bell
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items...
; previous presenting sponsors included Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
and Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
.)
The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight
Baseball Tonight is a program that airs on ESPN. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.-Air times:...
. Both Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball are also televised in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
on ESPNHD. A few telecasts each season appear on ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
and ESPN2HD rather than ESPN due to conflicts with other programming.
Brief history
The series debuted in 19901990 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Oakland Athletics ; José Rijo, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP Dave Stewart*National League Championship Series co-MVPs: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers...
, and from its inception through 2010
2010 Major League Baseball season
The 2010 Major League Baseball season began Sunday, April 4, when the Boston Red Sox defeated their long-time rivals, the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees at Fenway Park, 9–7; the regular season ended on October 3. The 2010 All-Star Game was played on July 13 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim...
featured the broadcast team of play-by-play commentator Jon Miller
Jon Miller
Jon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
and color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
Joe Morgan
Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
. Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips
Steve Phillips is a former American baseball analyst for ESPN and baseball executive. He served as the general manager of the New York Mets from 1997–2003...
joined them for the 2009
2009 Major League Baseball season
The 2009 Major League Baseball season began on Sunday, April 5, 2009 with the Atlanta Braves defeating the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies 4–1. The regular season ended on October 6, extended two days for a one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins to...
season, and Orel Hershiser
Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
did so for the 2010
2010 Major League Baseball season
The 2010 Major League Baseball season began Sunday, April 4, when the Boston Red Sox defeated their long-time rivals, the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees at Fenway Park, 9–7; the regular season ended on October 3. The 2010 All-Star Game was played on July 13 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim...
season following Phillips' dismissal by the network. From 2004
2004 Major League Baseball season
* Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *...
until 2006
2006 Major League Baseball season
In , the Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular season victory total in history. The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game; the A.L. has won nine...
, Sam Ryan served as the field reporter, but she left to join New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
and CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
in June 2006. On July 2, 2006 Bonnie Bernstein joined the crew as the new field reporter, but did not return in 2007 primarily due to her request to cut back her schedule because of her continued recovery from a bout with deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein. Deep vein thrombosis commonly affects the leg veins or the deep veins of the pelvis. Occasionally the veins of the arm are affected...
in October 2006. Beginning in 2006, Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
joined the broadcasts as a field reporter in the scouts position. Gammons, however, suffered a brain aneurysm and didn't return until September 2006.
In 2010, Miller and Morgan began their 21st consecutive season working together for ESPN. Among U.S. network television sportscasters, only Pat Summerall
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...
and John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
(who called NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
games for CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
and Fox
NFL on FOX
NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports...
from 1981
1981 NFL season
The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:...
to 2001
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
) have had a similar length partnership in the booth. Following the 2010 season, ESPN announced that the television contracts of Miller and Morgan would not be renewed. Miller was offered, but chose to decline, a continued role with ESPN Radio.
Play-by-play announcer Dan Shulman
Dan Shulman
Daniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....
joined color commentators Hershiser and Bobby Valentine
Bobby Valentine
Robert John "Bobby V" Valentine is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is currently the manager of the Boston Red Sox. He previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan...
as the new Sunday Night Baseball crew beginning in 2011
2011 Major League Baseball season
The 2011 Major League Baseball season began on Thursday, March 31, and ended on Wednesday, September 28. This marked the first time a season began on a Thursday since , and the first time a regular season ended on a Wednesday since...
.
Features
The telecasts also utilize the K Zone, a computer-generated on-screen graphic that accurately outlines the strike zone and pitch location. A SkycamSkycam
Skycam is the trademarked brandname of a patented, computer-controlled, stabilized, cable-suspended camera system. The system, similar to Steadicam, but maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium or arena by computer-controlled cable-drive system, is...
is also used; it is usually mounted 20 feet above the stands in foul territory and travels back and forth along the first base line from behind home plate to the foul pole.
Commentators
A complete list of broadcasters, with their period of tenure on the show (beginning years of each season shown).Current
- Dan ShulmanDan ShulmanDaniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....
: (play-by-play, 2011–present) - Orel HershiserOrel HershiserOrel Leonard Hershiser IV is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for...
: (analyst, 2010–present) - Buster OlneyBuster OlneyRobert Stanbury "Buster" Olney III is a columnist for ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN.com, and covered the New York Giants and New York Yankees for The New York Times. He is also a regular analyst for the ESPN's Baseball Tonight...
: (field reporter, 2011–present) - Wendi NixWendi Nix-Professional:Wendi primarily handles coverage for NFL and College Football games featuring teams from the New England area. Prior to working for ESPN, Nix was a weekend sports anchor at WHDH in Boston and previously reported for Fox Sports Net, NESN and WPDE in South Carolina...
: (field reporter, 2011–present)
Former
- Bonnie Bernstein: (field reporter, July–September 2006)
- Peter GammonsPeter GammonsPeter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
: (field analyst, 2006–2008) - Alvaro Martin: (field reporter, 2000–2001)
- Jon MillerJon MillerJon Wallace Miller is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. He is currently employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer on ESPN until the network chose not to renew his contract following the...
: (play-by-play, 1990–2010) - Joe MorganJoe MorganJoe Leonard Morgan is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the...
: (analyst, 1990–2010) - Steve PhillipsSteve PhillipsSteve Phillips is a former American baseball analyst for ESPN and baseball executive. He served as the general manager of the New York Mets from 1997–2003...
: (analyst, 2009) - Sam Ryan: (field reporter, 2004–2006)
- Bobby ValentineBobby ValentineRobert John "Bobby V" Valentine is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is currently the manager of the Boston Red Sox. He previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan...
: (analyst, 2011)
Notable games aired on Sunday Night Baseball
ESPN was on hand for the Cleveland Indians2001 Cleveland Indians season
-Offseason:* December 28, 2000: Fausto Carmona was signed by the Indians as an amateur free agent.* January 9, 2001: Juan González was signed as a free agent by the Indians.-Regular season:...
' historic comeback against the Seattle Mariners
2001 Seattle Mariners season
The Seattle Mariners' 2001 season was the 25th since franchise inception, and ended with the Mariners winning their third American League West division title, with a record of 116-46. The team set an American League record for single-season wins, and tied the Major League record set by the Chicago...
on August 5, 2001. The Indians trailed 14–2 after six innings, but scored twelve runs in the final three innings before winning in the bottom of the eleventh, 15–14. The twelve-run comeback tied the Major League record for largest deficit overcome in a game.
On May 28, 2000, Pedro Martinez
Pedro Martínez
Pedro Jaime Martínez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion...
and Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens , nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over...
faced off in an epic pitchers duel at Yankee Stadium. Both pitchers threw complete games and combined for 22 strikeouts, 13 for Clemens, 9 for Martinez. The game was scoreless until Trot Nixon
Trot Nixon
Christopher Trotman Nixon is an American retired professional baseball right fielder. He played from 1996-2008 for three different teams, but is noted primarily for his time with the Boston Red Sox...
hit a two run home run in the top of the ninth inning. Martinez then got the final three outs in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory.
On September 2, 2001, Mike Mussina
Mike Mussina
Michael Cole Mussina , nicknamed Moose, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees ....
of the New York Yankees
2001 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 2001 season was the 99th season for the Yankees. The team finished with a record of 95-65 finishing 13.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. New York was managed by Joe Torre. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. Roger Clemens had sixteen straight wins, tying an American...
came within one strike of a perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
against the Boston Red Sox
2001 Boston Red Sox season
The 2001 Boston Red Sox season involved the Red Sox finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 82 wins and 79 losses.-Offseason:...
. The effort was broken up on a single by Carl Everett
Carl Everett
Carl Edward Everett III is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently an outfielder for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League. A switch hitter, he played with the Chicago White Sox on their 2005 World Series winning team...
, with Mussina settling for a one-hitter. The game itself was an exciting pitchers' duel, with the Red Sox' David Cone
David Cone
David Brian Cone is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1986-2003 for six different teams. Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history. He also set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons. He was a member of five...
also shutting out the Yankees for eight innings, before allowing an RBI double by Enrique Wilson
Enrique Wilson
Enrique Wilson Marte is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He batted switch and threw right-handed....
in the ninth. It was the only scoring of the Yankees' 1–0 win. Additionally, Cone was the most recent pitcher to record a perfect game having done so 2 years earlier as a Yankee against the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
.
Rafael Furcal
Rafael Furcal
Rafael Antonio Furcal , is a Major League Baseball shortstop who is currently a free agent.-Early career:...
completed an unassisted triple play
Unassisted triple play
In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three putouts by himself in one continuous play, without any teammates touching the ball . In Major League Baseball , it is one of the rarest of individual feats, along with hitting four home runs in one game and the...
for the Atlanta Braves
2003 Atlanta Braves season
-Offseason:*November 20, 2002: Donzell McDonald was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.*December 18, 2002: Paul Byrd was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.*December 19, 2002: Greg Maddux was signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves....
against the St. Louis Cardinals
2003 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 2003 season was the team's 122nd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 112th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 85-77 during the season and finished 3rd in the National League Central division...
on August 10, 2003. It was the 12th such play in baseball history. In the fifth inning, the shortstop caught pitcher Woody Williams
Woody Williams
Gregory Scott "Woody" Williams is a former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He made his major league debut for the Toronto Blue Jays on May 14, 1993.-Baseball career:...
' liner with the runners moving in a hit and run attempt, stepped on second base to retire catcher Mike Matheny
Mike Matheny
Michael Scott Matheny is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. He is also a former baseball catcher, playing for four different teams during his thirteen years in the major leagues...
and tagged Orlando Palmeiro
Orlando Palmeiro
Orlando Palmeiro is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He attended high school at Miami Southridge High School and played college baseball at the University of Miami....
before he could return to first.
On April 22, 2007, the Red Sox
2007 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox' 2007 season began with the Boston, Massachusetts-based Major League Baseball team trying to rebound after a disappointing 2006 season, in which they finished third in the American League East behind the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, and missed the postseason for...
became the fifth team in Major League history to hit four consecutive home runs, doing so in the third inning of a 7–6 victory over the Yankees
2007 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 2007 season was the Yankees' 105th in New York and their 107th overall dating back to their origins in Baltimore. The season started with the Yankees trying to win the AL East championship, a title they had won every season since after the 1997 season, but ultimately they came...
.
On April 29, 2007, A canceled broadcast occurred between the Chicago Cubs
2007 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs' 2007 season began with the Cubs trying to rebound after a season in which they finished last in their division for the first time since .-Offseason:...
and St. Louis Cardinals
2007 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals 2007 season was the team's 126th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 116th season in the National League. The season started with the team trying to defend their 2006 World Series championship. During the offseason, the Cardinals were faced with the challenge of handling...
when Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock
Josh Hancock
Joshua Morgan Hancock was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Cleveland, Mississippi, he lived in St. Louis during the off-season...
was killed in a car accident earlier in the day at 12:35 A.M. while driving under the influence. In place of the game, special programming hosted by Miller and Morgan was shown. The game was later made up on September 10, 2007, where the Cubs defeated the Cardinals 12–3, though the game was not broadcast as the Game of the Week.
On August 5, 2007, Tom Glavine
Tom Glavine
Thomas Michael Glavine is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine was the second winningest pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176...
of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
became the 23rd pitcher in history to record his 300th win. He did it in a 8–3 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Sunday Night Baseball broadcasted the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
' very first game at Nationals Park on March 30, 2008. The Nationals
2008 Washington Nationals season
The Washington Nationals' 2008 season was the 4th season for the franchise in the District of Columbia, and the 40th since the original team was started in Montreal, Quebec, in . It also marked the first season the Nationals played at Nationals Park.-March:...
beat the Atlanta Braves
2008 Atlanta Braves season
The Atlanta Braves' 2008 season featured the team's attempt to reclaim a postseason berth for the first time since 2005. The Braves were once again skippered by Bobby Cox, now in his 19th season managing Atlanta...
, 3–2, on Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Wallace Zimmerman is a Major League Baseball third baseman with the Washington Nationals. A 6-foot 3-inch player from the University of Virginia and Kellam High School, Zimmerman has been a member of the Nationals since his debut on September 1, 2005...
's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game, joined Jon Miller and Joe Morgan in the ESPN booth during the telecast.
The final game played at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008, pitting the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
against the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, was broadcast on Sunday Night Baseball.
The Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer...
500th career save (and also his 1st lifetime RBI) was broadcasted on Sunday Night Baseball from Citi Field (home of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
).
During the May 1, 2011 broadcast between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, ESPN announced the death of Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
at the end of the 8th inning. At the top of the 9th inning with 1 out and Daniel Murphy at bat, fans at Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park
Citizens Bank Park is a 43,647-seat baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, and home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Citizens Bank Park opened on April 3, 2004, and hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 12 of the same year, with the...
erupted with U-S-A! chants despite not hearing the broadcast nor of the fact that no announcement of the news in the stadium.
On July 17, 2011, a game between the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
went scoreless into the 16th inning before the Red Sox scored in the top of the inning, leading to a 1-0 victory. This game was also notable for a foul ball hit by the Rays' Sean Rodriguez
Sean Rodriguez
Sean John Rodriguez is a Cuban American Major League Baseball short stop for the Tampa Bay Rays.-High school career:...
that hit and broke a lamp in the catwalks of Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college...
. As the grounds crew cleaned up the broken glass that fell onto the field, the stadium PA system played the music from The Natural
The Natural (film)
The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
.
History missed
ESPN was scheduled to televise the game between the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
from Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...
on September 20, 1998. However, 1998 was the first year of ESPN's contract to air Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
through the entire season, as opposed to the second half of the year as in previous years, and the NFL games took precedence. ESPN sought permission from Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
to move the game, as well as two other late-season contests, to ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
, but Major League Baseball denied the request (They had never objected when early season games were bumped to ESPN2 by events such as the Women's Final Four
NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Women's Division I Championship is an annual college basketball tournament for women. Held each April, the Women's Championship was inaugurated in the 1981–82 season...
and the Stanley Cup playoffs
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
, perhaps because those are championship-deciding events). As such, ESPN missed televising the game where Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
elected to end his consecutive games played streak at 2,632.
Major League Baseball finally gave ESPN permission to move the late season games in 2000
2000 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*Regular Season Champions*World Series Champion - New York Yankees*Postseason - October 3 to October 26Click on any series score to link to that series' page....
, and ESPN continued that practice until its loss of the Sunday night football package to NBC
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
at the end of the 2005 season.
Other networks
In addition to the game being on ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, ESPN Domingo de Grandes Ligas (Major League Sunday) is also broadcast on ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes is a cable television and radio network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day to the Spanish-speaking community in the United States...
, the Spanish version of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. On ESPN Deportes, Ernesto Jerez
Ernesto Jerez
Ernesto Jerez is a sportscaster from the Dominican Republic.His parents are Angel Alejandro Jerez Matos, and Dulce María Bueno Núñez. He is the 3rd...
does play-by-play, former baseball player Candy Maldonado
Candy Maldonado
Candido Maldonado Guadarrama is a former Major League Baseball outfielder from to for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. Chris Berman, a fellow ESPN analyst, called him the "Candyman"...
is the color commentator, and Guillermo Celis is the field reporter. This version is also presented on the Spanish feed of ESPN Latin America
ESPN Latin America
ESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
. The Brazilian feed, in Portuguese, has Everaldo Marques doing the play-by-play and Paulo Antunes as the analyst. They broadcast from ESPN Brasil
ESPN Brasil
ESPN Brasil is a Brazilian cable television network. Launched in June 1995 through a joint venture between ESPN Inc. and Grupo Abril's television arm TVA, ESPN Brasil was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States. Today, the network has 12.2 million subscribers...
studios in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
.
ESPN Radio also has a weekly radio broadcast of Sunday Night Baseball. Currently, Jon Sciambi
Jon Sciambi
Jon "Boog" Sciambi is an American sportscaster for ESPN. He has worked extensively as a baseball play-by-play announcer, calling games for ESPN television in 2005 and 2006 and currently on ESPN Radio. Sciambi's nickname, "Boog," was given to him owing to his physical resemblance to former major...
calls play-by-play on the ESPN Radio broadcasts. Sciambi succeeded Gary Thorne
Gary Thorne
Gary Thorne is a play-by-play announcer for ESPN and ABC, working Major League Baseball, College football and Frozen Four hockey contests. He is also the television play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles...
, who called the radio broadcasts in 2008-09; Thorne, in turn, was preceded by Dan Shulman
Dan Shulman
Daniel "Dan" Shulman is a Canadian sportscaster, currently employed with the American network ESPN as well as Canadian network TSN....
(2002–07) and Charley Steiner
Charley Steiner
Charles Harris "Charley" Steiner is an American sportscaster and broadcast journalist. He is currently the main play-by-play voice for the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network, paired with Rick Monday.-Early career:...
(1998–2001). Chris Singleton
Chris Singleton (baseball)
Christopher Verdell Singleton is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. During his six-year major league career , he played for the Chicago White Sox , Baltimore Orioles , Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Devil Rays . During his playing career, his listed height and weight were 6'2",...
will serve as the color commentator on ESPN Radio's Sunday night games beginning in 2011, succeeding Dave Campbell, who had held the role since 1999; Campbell was preceded by Kevin Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy (baseball)
Kevin Curtis Kennedy is a former manager in American Major League Baseball and a former television host for Fox Sports' baseball coverage. He was given the nickname "The Skipper" by Fox Sports due to his prior managerial career...
in the network's inaugural season of 1998.
Prior to 1998, CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio was the de facto title for the CBS Radio Network's coverage of Major League Baseball. Produced by CBS Radio Sports , the program was the official national radio broadcaster for the All-Star Game and the postseason from 1976 to 1997.-Contracts:CBS first covered...
aired Sunday night games, usually with Jerry Coleman
Jerry Coleman
Gerald Francis "Jerry" Coleman is a former Major League Baseball second baseman for the New York Yankees. Currently, he is an analyst and former play-by-play radio announcer for the San Diego Padres...
and John Rooney
John Rooney
John Rooney is an American sportscaster, currently best known for his role as a radio broadcaster for Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals.-Early career:...
announcing.
Outside the USA, this weekly game was also broadcast live on Five in the UK from 1997 until 2008 and at the time was the longest running programme on the channel. In Latin America the game is broadcast on ESPN Latin America
ESPN Latin America
ESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
. When the NFL season begins, the game is moved to ESPN Dos
ESPN Dos
ESPN Dos, best known as ESPN2 , is a cable television network operated by ESPN International broadcasting in Mexico, Venezuela, Central America and Dominican Republic....
only for the audience in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia and the Caribbean Islands.
In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Sunday Night Baseball has aired on TSN2
TSN2
TSN2 is a secondary feed of the Canadian English language Category C specialty channel TSN, owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc., a joint venture of Bell Media and ESPN...
since May 16, 2010, under a sublicensing agreement with Rogers Sportsnet
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
, the Canadian rightsholder for Major League Baseball. That deal came in exchange for TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
/TSN2 transferring their remaining rights to Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
games to Sportsnet, which is now the exclusive carrier of Blue Jays games. However, individual SNB games may be reclaimed by Sportsnet in the event both TSN and TSN2 have other programming commitments. Previous carriers of Sunday Night Baseball were TSN (1990–2000), The Score
The Score (television network)
The Score Television Network is a Canadian English-language cable television specialty channel providing primarily sports news, highlights, information and analysis programming along with live event sports coverage...
(2001–2002), and Sportsnet (2003
2003 Major League Baseball season
*World Series MVP: Josh Beckett**American League Championship Series MVP: Mariano Rivera**National League Championship Series MVP: Iván Rodríguez*All-Star Game, July 15 at U.S...
–May 9, 2010).