Thursday Night Baseball
Encyclopedia
Thursday Night Baseball is the title of a presentation of Major League Baseball
on cable and satellite channel MLB Network
, that premiered on April 9, 2009. Longtime NBC Sports
broadcaster Bob Costas
is one of the play-by-play voices of the broadcasts. Matt Vasgersian
also does play-by-play on some games. Al Leiter
, Joe Magrane
, Dan Plesac
, Harold Reynolds
, Mitch Williams and Jim Kaat
provide color commentary. (Victor Rojas
also did play-by-play during the 2009 season, but left the MLB Network to join the LA Angels broadcast team in 2010.) The new network produces 26 non-exclusive live games a year on Thursday nights. Since one or both teams' local TV rights holders also carry the games, the MLB Network feed is subject to local blackouts. In that event, the cities in the blacked-out markets will instead see a simulcast
of another scheduled game via one team's local TV rights holder.
broadcast Major League Baseball games under the Thursday Game of the Week
banner.
The series began April 26, 1979 with a doubleheader
: Cleveland
at Kansas City
(Jim Woods
/Bud Harrelson
) followed by Baltimore
at California
(Monte Moore
/Maury Wills
). The second game of the night was typically, based out of the West Coast
. The games were usually blacked out
of the competing teams' cities. Once in a while, when USA did a repeat of the telecast late at night, local cities were allowed to show the rerun.
From 1980–1981, Woods and Nelson Briles
(replacing Harrelson) did the early games (except for a game at Montreal
on October 2, 1980, which reunited Woods with onetime Boston Red Sox
radio partner Ned Martin
), while Moore and Wes Parker
(replacing Wills) called the late game.
In 1982, doubleheaders
did not start until June 17. Prior to the doubleheaders starting, Moore and Parker did the individual game until then. When the doubleheaders finally began, Moore and Parker moved over to the late game for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Eddie Doucette
(replacing Jim Woods) and Nelson Briles were assigned to call the early game.
USA continued with the plan of not starting doubleheaders until June in the final year of the package in 1983. Steve Zabriskie and Al Albert filled in for Eddie Doucette in September 1982 (Steve Grad also occasionally substituted) while Albert replaced Doucette for a game or more in 1983.
since 1976. This was ABC's final year of consecutive baseball coverage (teaming with NBC, who broadcast Saturday afternoon games
since 1966 and Major League Baseball in general since 1947) due to CBS Sports signing a four year contract (spanning from 1990–1993) to become the exclusive national broadcast network provider for Major League Baseball games.
Al Michaels
was ABC's lead play-by-play commentator alongside color commentators Jim Palmer
and Tim McCarver
. Meanwhile, Gary Thorne
was the backup play-by-play man alongside Joe Morgan
(who had worked with Gary Bender
the previous season) on color commentary.
gained an additional outlet for its coverage. Its recently-launched cable sports network, Fox Sports Net
, was given rights to two Thursday night games per week, one for the Eastern and Central time zones and one for the Mountain and Pacific time zones. In 2000, as part of an exclusive contract Fox signed with MLB, that coverage passed to Fox Family Channel and was reduced to one game per week. After the 2000 season, Fox also gained rights to the entire postseason and moved a large portion of its Division Series coverage to Fox Family. This lasted for one season due to The Walt Disney Company
making a bid for Fox Family. As part of the negotiations Fox Family was renamed ABC Family
and ESPN
gained the rights to Fox Family and FX's MLB coverage, although the 2002 Division Series aired on ABC Family due to contractual issues, but with ESPN production, a sign of things to come at ABC Sports
. Control of the overall contract remained with Fox, meaning they could renegotiate following the 2006 season and not allow ESPN to retain its postseason coverage. For the 2007 season Fox did exactly that, and TBS is now the cable home of the postseason as part of its new baseball contract
.
or ESPN2
from 2003–2006 and featured one game per week. It aired every Thursday at either 1 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. ET or 8:00 ET. Castrol
served as the presenting sponsor for the telecasts.
The play-by-play commentator was Chris Berman along with either Joe Morgan
or Eric Karros as color commentator. In 2006, Duke Castiglione
joined the broadcast as the field reporter.
ESPN Thursday Night Baseball was discontinued after the 2006 season because the broadcast rights to the package were lost to TBS. TBS shows the games on Sunday afternoons that ESPN
previously aired on Thursday nights. This is largely because the games were a byproduct of a deal Fox made to air games on its own cable channels, before opting to sell what is now ABC Family
to Disney. The games were then moved to ESPN and ESPN2. Thursday Night Baseball was replaced with MLS Primetime Thursday
.
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...
on cable and satellite channel MLB Network
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
, that premiered on April 9, 2009. Longtime NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
broadcaster Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
is one of the play-by-play voices of the broadcasts. Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a host for the MLB Network and has served as an announcer for NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympics, and on Fox Sports' MLB coverage...
also does play-by-play on some games. Al Leiter
Al Leiter
Alois Terry "Al" Leiter is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is now a studio analyst for MLB Network, and a color commentator for the YES Network.-Early career :Leiter attended Central Regional High School....
, Joe Magrane
Joe Magrane
Joseph David Magrane is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and is currently a color commentary broadcaster for the MLB Network. He was teamed with play-by-play announcer Dewayne Staats from 1998 to 2008 as part of the Tampa Bay Rays television team.Magrane served as an analyst for NBC Sports'...
, Dan Plesac
Dan Plesac
Daniel Thomas Plesac is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with an 18-year career from to . He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Philadelphia Phillies...
, Harold Reynolds
Harold Reynolds
Harold Craig Reynolds is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played from 1983–1994, primarily for the Seattle Mariners.-High school:...
, Mitch Williams and Jim Kaat
Jim Kaat
James Lee "Jim" Kaat , nicknamed "Kitty", is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins , Chicago White Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , New York Yankees , and St...
provide color commentary. (Victor Rojas
Victor Rojas
Victor Rojas is an American baseball broadcaster, currently the TV voice of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. -Playing career:Rojas is the son of former major-league player and manager Cookie Rojas...
also did play-by-play during the 2009 season, but left the MLB Network to join the LA Angels broadcast team in 2010.) The new network produces 26 non-exclusive live games a year on Thursday nights. Since one or both teams' local TV rights holders also carry the games, the MLB Network feed is subject to local blackouts. In that event, the cities in the blacked-out markets will instead see a simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of another scheduled game via one team's local TV rights holder.
The USA Thursday Game of the Week (1979–1983)
From 1979–1983, the USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
broadcast Major League Baseball games under the Thursday Game of the Week
The USA Thursday Game of the Week
The USA Thursday Game of the Week is a former television program that broadcast Major League Baseball games on the USA Network.-Background:...
banner.
The series began April 26, 1979 with a doubleheader
Doubleheader (television)
Doubleheader is used by network television to refer to two games in any sport aired back-to-back on the same network, even though they do not involve the same two teams . A doubleheader purposely coincides with a league's scheduling of "early" and "late" games...
: Cleveland
1979 Cleveland Indians season
- Offseason :* October 3, 1978: Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern were traded by the Indians to the Texas Rangers for Len Barker and Bobby Bonds.* December 5, 1978: Carmen Castillo was drafted by the Indians from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1978 minor league draft....
at Kansas City
1979 Kansas City Royals season
The 1979 Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing second in the American League West with a record of 85 wins and 77 losses.- Offseason :...
(Jim Woods
Jim Woods
James M. Woods was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work on Major League Baseball broadcasts.-Early life:...
/Bud Harrelson
Bud Harrelson
Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers from to . After retiring, he served as a coach for the World Champion Mets, and as manager of the Mets in 1990 and 1991...
) followed by Baltimore
1979 Baltimore Orioles season
The 1979 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. The Orioles finished first in the American League East division of Major League Baseball with a record of 102 wins and 57 losses...
at California
1979 California Angels season
The 1979 California Angels season involved the Angels finishing first in the American League West with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. They went on to lose to the Baltimore Orioles in the 1979 American League Championship Series, three games to one....
(Monte Moore
Monte Moore
Monte Moore is a former radio and television broadcaster for the Kansas City Athletics and Oakland Athletics baseball teams.-Voice of the Athletics:...
/Maury Wills
Maury Wills
Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers , and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos...
). The second game of the night was typically, based out of the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. The games were usually blacked out
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
of the competing teams' cities. Once in a while, when USA did a repeat of the telecast late at night, local cities were allowed to show the rerun.
From 1980–1981, Woods and Nelson Briles
Nelson Briles
Nelson Kelley "Nellie" Briles was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , Kansas City Royals , Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles...
(replacing Harrelson) did the early games (except for a game at Montreal
1980 Montreal Expos season
- Offseason :* December 7, 1979: Dan Schatzeder was traded by the Expos to the Detroit Tigers for Ron LeFlore.* December 6, 1979: Rowland Office was signed as a free agent by the Expos....
on October 2, 1980, which reunited Woods with onetime 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"...
radio partner Ned Martin
Ned Martin
Edwin Martin was an American sportscaster, known primarily as a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from to...
), while Moore and Wes Parker
Wes Parker
Maurice Wesley Parker III is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from to...
(replacing Wills) called the late game.
In 1982, doubleheaders
Doubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
did not start until June 17. Prior to the doubleheaders starting, Moore and Parker did the individual game until then. When the doubleheaders finally began, Moore and Parker moved over to the late game for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, Eddie Doucette
Eddie Doucette
Eddie Doucette is the president of Doucette Promotions Inc. He is a former television and radio announcer. He was the original radio voice of the Milwaukee Bucks where he broadcast games for 16 years. He also broadcast games for Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Portland...
(replacing Jim Woods) and Nelson Briles were assigned to call the early game.
USA continued with the plan of not starting doubleheaders until June in the final year of the package in 1983. Steve Zabriskie and Al Albert filled in for Eddie Doucette in September 1982 (Steve Grad also occasionally substituted) while Albert replaced Doucette for a game or more in 1983.
ABC Thursday Night Baseball (1989)
In 1989, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) aired Thursday night Major League Baseball games after broadcasting Monday Night BaseballMonday Night Baseball
Monday Night Baseball is a live game telecast of Major League Baseball that airs most Monday nights during the regular season on ESPN and is also available in high definition on ESPNHD. The official name of the game is Monday Night Baseball presented by Vonage. The game starts at 7 p.m...
since 1976. This was ABC's final year of consecutive baseball coverage (teaming with NBC, who broadcast Saturday afternoon games
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
since 1966 and Major League Baseball in general since 1947) due to CBS Sports signing a four year contract (spanning from 1990–1993) to become the exclusive national broadcast network provider for Major League Baseball games.
Al Michaels
Al Michaels
Alan Richard "Al" Michaels is an American television sportscaster. Now employed by NBC Sports after nearly three decades with ABC Sports, Michaels is one of the most prominent members of his profession...
was ABC's lead play-by-play commentator alongside color commentators Jim Palmer
Jim Palmer
James Alvin "Jim" Palmer , nicknamed "Cakes", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .As of 2008, Palmer and his wife Susan have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and...
and Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
. Meanwhile, 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...
was the backup play-by-play man alongside 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...
(who had worked with Gary Bender
Gary Bender
Gary Bender is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee in to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona network after 18 years calling the NBA Phoenix Suns games.-Early career:...
the previous season) on color commentary.
Fox Sports Net coverage (1997-2001)
In 1997, as part of the contract with Major League Baseball it had signed the year before, FoxFox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
gained an additional outlet for its coverage. Its recently-launched cable sports network, Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
, was given rights to two Thursday night games per week, one for the Eastern and Central time zones and one for the Mountain and Pacific time zones. In 2000, as part of an exclusive contract Fox signed with MLB, that coverage passed to Fox Family Channel and was reduced to one game per week. After the 2000 season, Fox also gained rights to the entire postseason and moved a large portion of its Division Series coverage to Fox Family. This lasted for one season due to The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
making a bid for Fox Family. As part of the negotiations Fox Family was renamed ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
and 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....
gained the rights to Fox Family and FX's MLB coverage, although the 2002 Division Series aired on ABC Family due to contractual issues, but with ESPN production, a sign of things to come at ABC Sports
ESPN on ABC
ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports programming on the ABC television network. Officially the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged with ESPN, a sports cable network majority-owned by ABC's parent, The...
. Control of the overall contract remained with Fox, meaning they could renegotiate following the 2006 season and not allow ESPN to retain its postseason coverage. For the 2007 season Fox did exactly that, and TBS is now the cable home of the postseason as part of its new baseball contract
MLB on TBS
Major League Baseball on TBS is a presentation of Major League Baseball games produced by Turner Sports and airing on the television channel TBS.-Pre-2007: relationship with the Braves:...
.
ESPN Thursday Night Baseball (2003–2006)
ESPN Thursday Night Baseball aired on either 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....
or 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,...
from 2003–2006 and featured one game per week. It aired every Thursday at either 1 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. ET or 8:00 ET. Castrol
Castrol
Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications...
served as the presenting sponsor for the telecasts.
The play-by-play commentator was Chris Berman along with either 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...
or Eric Karros as color commentator. In 2006, Duke Castiglione
Duke Castiglione
Joseph "Duke" Castiglione Jr. is an American sports journalist working for WNYW Fox 5 in New York City. He is also the host of Sports Extra on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. Before WNYW, he worked as a fill-in sports anchor and reporter at WHDH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Boston...
joined the broadcast as the field reporter.
ESPN Thursday Night Baseball was discontinued after the 2006 season because the broadcast rights to the package were lost to TBS. TBS shows the games on Sunday afternoons that ESPN
ESPN Major League Baseball
ESPN Major League Baseball is a promotion of Major League Baseball on ESPN and ESPN2, with simulcasts on ESPNHD or ESPN2HD. ESPN's MLB coverage debuted on April 9, 1990 with three Opening Day telecasts. ESPN Major League Baseball is guaranteed to remain on air until 2013.The title is derived from...
previously aired on Thursday nights. This is largely because the games were a byproduct of a deal Fox made to air games on its own cable channels, before opting to sell what is now ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
to Disney. The games were then moved to ESPN and ESPN2. Thursday Night Baseball was replaced with MLS Primetime Thursday
MLS Primetime Thursday
MLS Primetime Thursday is a weekly presentation of Major League Soccer games on ESPN2 that began in 2007. The program is presented by Adidas. ESPN and MLS had previously had a contract where ESPN2 televised live games at 4PM on Saturdays. Play-by-play was usually handled by JP Dellacamera, with...
.