At the beginning of the 2018 MLB season Shohei Ohtani was among the biggest story lines due to his success in Japan as both a pitcher and a hitter. While he continued to be one of the biggest stories as the season went on en route to taking home the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year Award winner, there was another developing story that probably had an even bigger impact on the overall strategy of the game. That would be the arrival of "The Opener" out of the bullpen.
During the 2018 season the first team that was brave and bold enough to put this new strategy of "The Opener" in play was the Tampa Bay Rays during a four game series in May against the Los Angeles Angels. In this particular series "The Opener" proved to be successful enough that soon after there were other teams such as the Athletics, Brewers and more who would follow suit in utilizing this new strategy.
While there would ultimately be more than one team that would make use of "The Opener" in 2018, no team would have as much success with it as the one which pioneered its usage in the Tampa Bay Rays. During the 2018 season the Rays win-loss record when using "The Opener" was a surprising 44 wins and 34 losses during that time.
The pitchers that the Rays used most often in this new role were closer Sergio Romo, Ryne Stanek and Hunter Wood. While both Stanek and Wood remained in the role of "The Opener" for the remainder of the season, Sergio Romo soon returned to the closer's role later on.All things considered, even though they fell short of securing a playoff berth during the 2018 season, the Rays ended up having a very nice season overall surprising many of the fans and so-called experts with a final record of 90 wins and 72 losses at the end of the season.
As I mentioned earlier, it wouldn't be long until some of the other teams in the league would follow suit start employing "The Opener" on their own such as the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers. Not only did both the Athletics and Brewers use openers during the regular season but they also used them once both teams made the postseason. For the Athletics they unfortunately were only given one opportunity to use an opener during the 2018 American League Wild Card game against the New York Yankees. That's because Liam Hendriks and the rest of the team in green and gold lost to the Bronx Bombers by a final score of 7 to 2.
The second team from the 2018 postseason that utilized "The Opener" was the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers also added a new name for this kind of strategy by referring to their opener as the "Initial Out Getter." Compared to the Athletics, the Brewers experience in using the "Initial Out Getter" turned out to be quite a success since they made it all the way to game 7 of the 2018 National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The team's most noteworthy use of with an opener in the series came during game 5 in Los Angeles when Wade Miley was used to face just one batter to start the game. After that one batter only match up Miley was brought back to start game 6 in Milwaukee on short rest. That strategy paid off for them in the sixth game as they ultimately beat the Dodgers to force a game 7. The Brewers good fortunes unfortunately ended though after the conclusion of that series as they lost to the Dodgers in the seventh game by a final score of 5 to 1.
The last team to put their own twist on "The Opener" during the 2018 MLB Postseason was the Boston Red Sox. When the Red Sox implemented it for the playoffs, they decided to do things a little differently than the previous teams who had experimented with openers. What the Red Sox did was to start a game with one of their traditional starters during the playoffs and then when it was time for a pitching change, they would then use one of their other starting pitchers in the role what manager Alex Cora called "The Rover."
The pitchers that the Red Sox used in "The Rover" position included Nathan Eovaldi, Rick Porcello, David Price and Chris Sale. During the 2018 postseason, some of the noteworthy performances that the Red Sox had with "The Rover" included game 5 of the 2018 American League Championship Series in which David Price helped to beat the Houston Astros to advance to the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. There was also Nathan Eovaldi's performance out of the bullpen during game 3 of the 2018 World Series in a losing effort. Lastly, Chris Sale appeared out of the bullpen in what would be the fifth and final game of the World Series to give the Red Sox their 4th World Series victory in the last 15 years.
Of those three rover performances, the one that was undoubtedly the most noteworthy and important was that of Nathan Eovaldi's. In that game even though the Red Sox lost it, Eovaldi put together a quality performance out the pen with a total of 97 pitches thrown. By the end of the game, the Red Sox lost the only game they would lose in the World Series thanks to a walk off solo home run by Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Overall the introduction of "The Opener" in 2018 proved to be very successful for the teams that chose to implement it. Looking ahead to the 2019 season, it will be interesting to see if any one of those same teams will continue to make it a part of their game plan. As the season rolls along it will also be interesting to see what other teams if any might follow in the footsteps of those who were the pioneers in year one of "The Opener."
Over the last few years the sport of Major League Baseball (MLB) has done something that it has either not done at all or has been been very slow to do in past years. That is to introduce some new strategies and innovations to the game that have previously been viewed as disrupting the overall tradition of the game itself. The biggest examples of change from past seasons were when replay review was introduced to help overturn calls that the umpires got wrong, the home plate collision rule and the take out slide rule at second base.
As the 2018 season got underway, another new rule that was implemented was the limit on the number of times that a player or coach could go out to the mound for a visit with the pitcher to either talk about strategy and what to do in a certain situation or to give a pitcher some time to catch their breath and take a break if they are in a tough situation. Starting in the 2018 season the number of mound visits for each team was limited to a total number of six per game for each team. If a game was still tied after nine innings of play and subsequently went into extra innings, each team would receive an additional mound visit in this situation. While the new mound visit rule of 2018 most certainly had a positive effect on the game in terms of the overall pace of the game, it wasn't the only new sighting or strategic innovation that made its presence felt to baseball fans around the world in the 2018 season.
The next big story that burst on the scene to start the 2018 season was a certain new baseball player from Japan who was going to attempt to do something that a major league player had never done before since a guy by the name of Babe Ruth. That was to be the first major league player since Mr. Ruth to both pitch and hit on a fairly regular basis. The player who would be attempting this very unique athletic feat would be the one and only Shohei Ohtani from Japan!
During the 2017-2018 offseason period of time, the question of which team would be the lucky recipient of the latest player from Japan to come over and play in the major leagues was one of, if not the biggest, story line of the offseason. That question was answered before the Christmas holiday in 2017 when Ohtani agreed to a deal to play with the Los Angeles Angels on December 8th. For full disclosure purposes I should mention that the Los Angeles Angels are my favorite sports team ever so I was pretty excited to find out that he chose to sign with and play for them!
After it was announced that he would sign with the Angels, the next part of the Shohei Ohtani story during the rest of the offseason focused on how good he could possibly as a player in Major League Baseball (MLB). During this time there were numerous discussions and debates in the sports media world about how successful he could be as a pitcher and a hitter and whether or not he should focus all of his energy and effort on being only pitcher or hitter or both.
At the time it seemed like most of the so-called "experts" weren't sure how long Mr. Ohtani would be able to do both jobs and do them well. The majority of these "experts" at the time predicted that both he and the team would end up utilizing his unique set of talents solely as a pitcher after a while. If Shohei Ohtani had not gotten injured during the 2018 season those predictions would have most likely turned out to be wrong. As the season unfolded however, the inevitable happened and Ohtani ended up injuring his elbow and needed to undergo Tommy John surgery as a result. Even though he could no longer be used as a pitcher for the rest of the year, the good news for the Angels and their fans was that he could still be used as a hitter. What was even better was in the game that was played against the Texas Rangers after it was announced that he would most likely need to have surgery on his elbow, Ohtani proceeded to hit a home run and have one of the best games of his Major League career up to that point.
For the rest of the season Ohtani appeared as a designated hitter and ended the season with 22 home runs and 4 wins en route to being named the winner of the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year award. Considering how he got off to a slow start in Spring Training before the start of the season both as a pitcher and a hitter, it was pretty exciting to find out that Shohei Ohtani ended up winning the award.
Even though he will most likely miss all of the 2019 season as a pitcher, it will be interesting to see if Ohtani can maintain his overall performance or be even better as a hitter next season. After that, hopefully he will be able to continue his excellence as a two-way player in 2020.
One of the biggest sports stories of 2017 was not about the many different athletes and teams from all sports who are on and off the field but rather about the writers and reporters whose job it is to cover them and their stories.
2017 was the year that signaled a definitive shift in how sportswriters and reporters would go about doing their jobs and how fans would consume their fair share of sports stories as a result of a significant amount of layoffs at ESPN, FOX Sports and other sports media outlets. The main reasons for these layoffs taking place appears to have been done in an effort to cut costs and salaries at ESPN while at FOX Sports, the head decision makers who were there and in charge at the time appeared to do so in an effort to change the overall look of the website to one that now shows video highlights and promotes the various personalities and shows that can be seen on FOX Sports. As a sports fan myself, I can tell you that I did not like it very much when I saw what the new look of the FOX Sports website now looks like. As a matter of fact, I have not really visited it very much at all since the changes were made.
While all of the writers and reporters have gotten back on their feet and have found a new job since being laid off or eliminated, not all of them have found a new job all at the same place. A vast majority of those writers and reporters though have found a new job at the one place which is relatively new to the online sports journalism landscape. This new media outlet is the the online sports news journalism website called The Athletic. The Athletic is a new paid subscription based sports news website that offers a wide variety of the latest news and coverage across all major professional sports leagues as well as most of the teams in each league in a wide number of cities across the United States and Canada. It was officially launched and created in 2016 in the city of Chicago, Illinois by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann.
If you are a sports fan like me and have already gotten a subscription to The Athletic then good for you. If you have not done so yet, I highly recommend that you get one as soon as possible. I have had one now myself for a little over a year now and it has been well worth my time and money spent.
Of the numerous professional sports leagues that are covered on The Athletic the one whose stories I follow the most are for Major League Baseball (MLB). While I have not looked at or read too many of the other stories from the other writers on The Athletic's roster who cover some of the other sports besides baseball, I do plan on checking out some of the other writers who cover the other sports and the stories that they have written at some point.
Furthermore, two of the writers who were affected in one way or another by the changes at both ESPN and FOX Sports now write stories and cover the sport of Major League Baseball (MLB)for The Athletic. Those two writers are Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark who both joined The Athletic after spending time at both FOX Sports and ESPN respectively.
In Ken Rosenthal's case it should be noted that while he is no longer serving in his role as a writer for FOX Sports, he is still a current member of the weekly MLB On Fox broadcasts on TV as a reporter. It is a different story for Jayson Stark who is no longer an employee at ESPN due to the layoffs. The good news though is that since then Mr. Stark has found a new job at both MLB Network (MLBN) and the Stadium network. Since they both cover the sport of Major League Baseball (MLB) I have read quite a few of the stories that they have written since they started working for The Athletic.
While it was somewhat disappointing to see companies like ESPN and FOX Sports layoff a large number of their writers and or reporters over the course of the last couple of years or so for one reason or another, it is nice to see that a majority of those same writers and or reporters have been able to get back on their feet fairly quickly thanks to the arrival of subscription based websites such as The Athletic.
The model of sports websites like The Athletic also illustrate another valuable lesson in terms of the overall impact that the profession of journalism and great in depth reporting can have on the consumers who choose to read about the latest news and developments. Hopefully that lesson is that the role of a sports writer or reporter can still be one that is very valuable today in an ever changing world in the workforce.
As a fan it is nice to know that there is now a new place where I can go to read some of the most in-depth sports stories from some of the top sportswriters in the country. I have enjoyed the experience so much to this point that I plan on being a loyal reader and subscriber to The Athletic for many years to come. During the year or so in which I have had a subscription, it has certainly been more fun and interesting that when the entire sports journalism landscape went dark for a few months when there was almost nothing to read about at all.
For every sports fan out there one of the most common questions that they have very likely been asked at some point is what team or teams do they like to root for. Finding out the answer to that question is likely more interesting if a particular city, state or country has more than one team that plays in the same league.
For example, in the greater Los Angeles area where my family and I live, both of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels (who play in Anaheim, California), play their games as members of the Major League Baseball (MLB)professional sports league. The Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers play in the City of Angels for the National Football League (NFL). Both of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers are yearly participants of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks call the National Hockey League (NHL)their home.
For those sports cities like Los Angeles who have more than one professional sports team in each league, fans will usually have only one team that is their favorite to root for most of the time. Up to this point in my life I don't think I have ever met or come across someone who has said that they root for both teams equally in a particular sport. They will usually have only one team or teams that they root for or are a fan of in a given sport. These various rooting interests for only one team in a particular sport served as the inspiration for this new series of blog posts at Tim's Sports World about crosstown rivalry fandom.
Without further ado I now present the first installment of this brand new series about crosstown rivalry fandom which will focus on the sports teams that play in the Southern California region or area!:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) Vs. Los Angeles Angels (LAA) (MLB)
Both of the Angels and Dodgers baseball teams of Major League Baseball (MLB) have called the Southern California area their home now for the last 50 to 60 years or so.
The Dodgers moved to the Los Angeles area from Brooklyn in New York in 1958 and played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 1958 to 1961 before moving in to Dodger Stadium in 1962, while the Angels franchise played their first ever season in team history in 1961 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. After the 1961 season the Angels played their home games at Chavez Ravine (A.K.A. Dodger Stadium) from 1962 to 1965. Since the 1966 season the Angels have called Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California their home ballpark.
Both teams also play their games in two separate leagues with the Dodgers playing in the National League while the Angels take on competitors from the American League. Even though these two teams have played in separate leagues throughout their history, there are times throughout the season each year when both teams have played each other. When that happens, those series of games are referred to as the "Freeway Series" due to the fact that many of the fans can go to the games by driving on the freeways in the Los Angeles area. As a matter of fact, the one freeway that has access to both cities and stadiums is the 5 Freeway.
When it comes to figuring out the rooting interest of both teams, this is probably the one that is the most easy call for me to make as a fan. Since my family and I have been fans of the Angels for as long as I can remember, it's a no-brainer that they would come out on top in this contest.
There was even a period of time for a few years during which my dislike for the Dodgers was so intense that I would be really mad or upset if they were either beating the Angels in the head-to-head match ups or were having a much better season than the Angels were.
If I remember things correctly, this was also around the same time that Frank McCourt owned the Dodgers which also added to the intensity of my animosity of the Boys in Blue. Now that Frank McCourt no longer owns the team however, my negative views of the Dodgers have changed considerably over the last few years but not enough to the point where I would choose to root for them over the Angels when they play against each other.
2. Los Angeles Rams (LAR) Vs. Los Angeles Chargers (LAC) (NFL)
This same city National Football League (NFL) sports rivalry is the newest one to have arrived recently in the Southern California area. For the Rams this is now the second time in their franchise history that they have played a large part of their games in the state of California after a long detour in St. Louis, Missouri while the Chargers are currently playing in only their second season ever in the city of Los Angeles. Before that of course, they spent their previous seasons playing in the city of San Diego, California.
In terms of now having not one, but two football teams in Los Angeles after an absence of over 20 years, I'm still not quite used to knowing that the NFLhas now had two teams come back and or move to the area once again and playing here over the last couple of years. As a sports fan when I was growing up, I actually got very used to not having a football team or teams in the city of Los Angeles for quite some time. As a result, I started to like the freedom of being able to choose which football team to root for if I wanted to do so. It was during that time that I became a fan of the Dallas Cowboys for a little while.
As of right now though, I have not really been a fan of any one football team in particular. That being said, if I had to choose which L.A. team football team that I currently prefer over the other, I guess I would have to go with the Rams due to their recent overall success. That endorsement however is not a ringing one when compared to some of the other rivalries that are included in this article.
3. Los Angeles Lakers (LAL) Vs. Los Angeles Clippers (also abbreviated as LAC) (NBA)
The next Southern California crosstown rivalry comes from the third of the four biggest professional sports leagues in North America. That is the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This is a Southern California sports rivalry that has, for the most part, been very one-sided throughout its overall history.
For the majority of time that this rivalry has been around, it has been dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers. Over the last few years though, the Clippers have done a good job at fielding some very competitive teams while the Lakers were not very competitive. That being said though, the overall dominance of the Lakers as one of the marquee franchises in the NBA cannot be ignored. From watching some of the greatest basketball players that have played for the purple and gold during my lifetime in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to enjoying the excellent deep playoff runs of the three-peat championship Lakers teams from 2000-2002, there is one clear winner in this rivalry and that is the Lakers!
Now that they have added LeBron James to the fold as a free agent to start the 2018-2019 season, it will be interesting to see if the team can be good enough once again to get back to the playoffs after a drought of a few years and compete for a championship.
Dustin Brown Photo (Below) Courtesy Of: Wikimedia and JulieAndSteve Under CC BY 2.0 License.
4. Los Angeles Kings (LAK) Vs. Anaheim Ducks (ANA) (NHL)
The last Southern California crosstown rivalry comes from the sport that I have watched the least of. That is the rivalry between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Even though I don't really watch that many hockey games to begin with, I have watched enough of them to have a favorite team to root for and follow in this rivalry. That team would be the Los Angeles Kings.
Since my dad has been a fan of the team throughout the years, that is one factor which made it easier for me to be a fan of the team as well. Another factor that also influenced me along the way were the few years that they put together a solid stretch of being in the Stanley Cup playoffs from 2009 to 2014. During this time the team would end up winning the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 seasons.
As for the Anaheim Ducks, even though they have also won a Stanley Cup championship in 2007 and did so before the Kings won a pair of their own a few years later, I have never really been a fan of that team at all since the time they were established in 1993 as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. At this point in my life when it comes to the Ducks team and how I view them, I probably feel a stronger connection to the Ducks' teams that were featured in the Disney movie franchise of the 1990's which served as the inspiration for the real team.
Since those teams weren't real ones though, I think I'll just stick with my original team allegiance pick of the Los Angeles Kings. That being said though, since my level of interest in the sport hasn't been at the same level of the other sports such as baseball, if either the Kings or Ducks are in the playoffs in a given year as has been the case previously, it wouldn't bother me too much to root for both of them. If that scenario were to happen in the future however, I would give a slight edge to the Kings.
Closing Thoughts: As the famous saying at the end of the Looney Tunes cartoon series goes, "That's all folks!" With the exception of the local college teams that are in the area as well as those other teams who play for the Major League Soccer (MLS)professional sports league, I have discussed all the professional sports teams that play their respective games in the Southern California area and my subsequent rooting interests for each of them. The main reason why I chose to not include any of the other college or pro sports teams in the Southern California area such as the UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans and the Los Angeles Galaxy is because I don't follow those sports as closely as I do when compared to the four main sports leagues that I chose to be a part of the discussion.
Now that you guys know where I stand as a fan with regards to those teams, it would be interesting to find out if we're on the same page or if there will have to be some lines drawn in the sand. In any case, feel free to continue rooting for whoever you want and I hope we can still be friends, even if we happen to be on opposite sides of the sports rivalry fence.
During the era of the "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers teams of the late '70's to early '90's, the big marquee name team players were Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar "Big Game James" Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper just to name a few.
From 1996 to 2004 there was the dynasty era of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. After that Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and the Lakers were essentially Kobe Bryant's team then for a few more years until 2016 when Bryant officially retired as a player.
Over the last couple of years since Kobe's retirement there have not been too many good or great individual players or teams that have led to the one thing that the entire franchise and its fans want at the end of the season which is an appearance in the NBA Finals round of the NBA Playoffs and a subsequent NBA Championship. The light at the end of the championship tunnel may be near in 2018 however with the arrival via free agency from the Cleveland Cavaliers of arguably the best basketball player in the NBA currently in LeBron James!
Sometime over the course of the next few years, LeBron James and company can hopefully bring the Lakers back to their glory days that the fans of the team have become so familiar with throughout their time in the city of Los Angeles. I know that I'm definitely very excited and am looking forward to seeing how the whole team will perform during this upcoming season as well as for years to come.
Over the last few years I have not watched too many Lakers games myself for a couple of reasons. The first is that out of all of the TV sports channels that my family and I do get at our house, Spectrum Sportsnet is not one of them. The other reason is that the team itself has not been doing very good over the last couple years for me to want to watch them and therefore become very interested in seeing how well they may or may not have been doing during the season. Now that LeBron James is about to start his first season as a player for the Lakers, I think there is a very good chance that I will want to watch them play on national game broadcasts such as those on ESPN/ABC, TNT and NBA TV at least.
Another interesting aspect of Lebron James choosing to join the Lakers over the summer was seeing all the billboards that were put up around the city of Los Angeles and the suburbs as part of a recruiting campaign by local attorney and Lakers fan Jacob Emrani. Unfortunately the Lakers did not end up winning the Paul George sweepstakes to go along with the addition of LeBron but I guess getting 1 out of 2 of the biggest players that were available during this past offseason is not bad, especially if the one player they did get just so happens to be the best player in the sport right now.
While it is still to be determined how well the Los Angeles Lakers will do during the upcoming NBA season, it has certainly been very interesting and exciting to see how the whole free agency period in 2018 has played out up to this point. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Rob Pelinka and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers front office team also deserve some credit for their efforts in trying to put together what looks like the start of a good team on paper after a few down years performance wise.
Hopefully with more moves like this being made over the next few years, the Lakers can get back to the promise land of the playoffs and the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. Until then I will wait very patiently to see how things unfold as the team will no doubt try its best to bring the Larry O'Brien trophy back to the city of Los Angeles and its fans for a 17th time in franchise history! For now I'll just say welcome to Los Angeles LeBron!
Once again, my own version of the Top 10 MLB Network Right Now series as inspired by the network's very own Top 10 Right Now is is back for a third year in a row in 2018. The purpose of this series is to of course rank the best of the on-air talent that MLB Network has to offer in its vast roster of Hosts and Reporters, Analysts and Insiders and Contributors.
I should point out that when I started these rankings about two years ago, I did it with the purpose of trying to provide a fun, informative and hopefully entertaining look and perspective of the people and faces who do their part in providing all fans of Major League Baseball like myself with all the latest news headlines and potential trade rumors throughout the season in a fun, informative and very entertaining way.
I also came up with the idea to do these lists some two years ago because I thought it would be cool to do so since there really were not any official or unofficial rankings of the on-air talent at MLB Network at the time. Once they started debuting shows that were and still are geared towards looking at the game of baseball with a Sabermetric point of view such as MLB Now and Top 10 Right Now, the wheels in my brain started turning. I guess a part of me figured that if the hard working men and women of MLB Network put in the effort to look at the sport itself with a Sabermetric viewpoint, then why can't a fan of the network like me take the time to put together a list of their own. So that's what I set out to do two years ago and what I've tried to do now for three years running.
I hope all of you have enjoyed reading this series of blog posts as much as I've enjoyed putting them together over the last few years.
NEW ADDITION FOR THE 2017 SEASON: The Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Right Now Broadcasting Sabermetrics Glossary Of Terms: (There will be instances where not every statistical category will be included and each individual has been evaluated on a case-by-case basis. For example, there will be some people who won't have a Hot Take Expressed (HTE) and so on.) Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Show Appearances Above Replacement Personality (D-S SHARP/D-S SAARP): Named after the Wins Above Replacement Player (WAR/WARP) sabermetrics statistic. The new Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP) statistic is a measurement of the total number of Daily Signature Shows (DSS) that any MLB Network (MLBN)personality appears on as either a host, analyst, insider or contributor or in any other capacity. The list of Daily Signature Shows (DSS) that are broadcast on MLB Network (MLBN)include the following:
1. MLB Central(airs Monday-Friday from 10 A.M. EST-1 P>M. EST from the start of the regular season through the Wild Card (WC) round of the playoffs during the postseason.): MLB Network's (MLBN)regular season morning show that features Matt Vasgersian (2015-2017), Robert Flores (2018-Present), Lauren Shehadi and Mark DeRosa. The first show of the day each week during the regular season that gets baseball fans and viewers ready for the day in baseball which includes looking at whatever games are on the schedule during a particular day, highlights and analysis from the previous day's action and keeping viewers informed and up-to-date on the latest news and notes from Major League Baseball (MLB). Interviews with players, coaches and so on are also a part of the show.
2. High Heat (airs Monday-Friday from 1 P.M. EST-2 P.M. EST throughout the year.): The second weekly Daily Signature Show (DSS) on MLB Network's (MLBN)daily programming schedule. High Heat features Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo as the main host with contributions from Bruce Schein and Elliot Kalb. On High Heat, Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo delivers his own one-of-a-kind and very unique take about the day's news in Major League Baseball (MLB). Interviews with coaches and general managers are also featured. 3. The Rundown(airs Monday-Friday from 2 P.M. EST-4 P.M. EST from the start of the regular season through the League Championship Series (LCS) round of the playoffs during the postseason.): MLB network's (MLBN)mid afternoon regular season show that airs during the week and is hosted Scott Braun or Stephen Nelson and Kelly Nash or Alexa Datt. Like the other shows on MLB Network (MLBN), The Rundown gets viewers ready for that day's schedule of games along with the latest baseball news and notes and includes interviews with players, coaches, general managers and beat writers.
4. MLB Now (airs Monday-Friday from 4 P.M. EST-5 P.M. EST throughout the year except during MLB Spring Training. During the off season, the start time of MLB Now moves up to 2 P.M. EST with a replay at 4 P.M. EST. During the MLB Winter Meetings it goes back to the 4 P.M. EST time slot instead of the 2 P.M. EST time slot.): MLB Network's (MLBN)first and only Daily Signature Show (DSS) that puts a Sabermetric spin on the game of baseball with analysis about the Sabermetric statistical numbers of the game such as Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and so on. It is hosted primarily by Brian Kenny. 5. Intentional Talk(airs Monday-Friday from 5 P.M. EST-6 P.M. EST throughout the year during the regular season and during the MLB Winter Meetings (MLB WM). During the Postseason, the start times of the show may vary. Lastly, the show is only a half hour long during the off season at 3:30 P.M. EST with a replay of it at 5 P.M. EST.): The first show on MLB Network's (MLBN)daily programming schedule that takes place during the early evening part of the day if you happen to live somewhere in the Eastern part of the United States or Canada. It is hosted by Chris Rose and Kevin Millar. During the show both Rose and Millar offer their takes on the latest news and notes about the game of baseball and conduct interviews with players and coaches as well. The show also does various baseball themed segments that put a spotlight on the lighter side of baseball such as Let's Fake A Deal, Kevin's Highlights and Got Heem!
6. MLB Tonight(During the regular season and postseason the flagship program of MLB Network (MLBN) airs 7 days a week and approximately 5 days a week during the off season. The hours that the show is on can vary from a maximum of 7 hours during the regular season (6 P.M. EST-1 A.M. EST) to a minimum of 1 hour during the off season (6 P.M. EST-7 P.M. EST).: MLB Network's (MLBN) flagship program. During the regular season MLB Tonightoffers viewers and fans more than enough insight and analysis about all the baseball games that take place on a particular day throughout the season. The coolest feature of the MLB Tonight show is the Live Look In segments in which viewers and fans are shown what is actually going on at a particular moment during a specific game.
MLB Tonight is hosted by a wide variety of the MLB Network (MLBN) hosts/reporters. During the regular season, the hosts/reporters who are on the show usually work in a total of 3 shifts consisting of 2-3 hours each. During the first shift from 6-8 P.M. EST a team of one host and two analysts will host the show during that time and then hand the duties off to a new time at 8 P.M. EST. The second team will then host the show for a couple more hours and then switch places with a third and final team of the night at 10 P.M. EST. The third and final hosting team will then be in charge of hosting the rest of the show until 1 A.M. EST.
7. MLB Network Showcase (airs periodically throughout the regular season): MLB Network Showcase is MLB Network's (MLBN) game of the week program that is similar to the MLB On FOXor Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN game broadcasts. It is usually hosted by Matt Vasgersian or Bob Costas as the Play-By-Play announcer, John Smoltz, Jim Kaat or someone else as the Color Analyst or Commentator and Tom Verducci, Jon Paul Morosi or Ken Rosenthal as the Field Reporter (FR). 8. Quick Pitch(airs throughout the regular season from 1 A.M. EST-2 A.M. EST or 12 A.M. EST-1 A.M. EST on weekends (live version). Replays of the show are aired throughout the rest of the night and early morning until 10 A.M. EST.): Quick Pitch is MLB Network's (MLBN) one hour highlights show that recaps all of the day's news and highlights of games from a particular day during the regular season. It is hosted by Heidi Watney, Jamie Hersch, Alexa Datt, Jackie Redmond and Stephen Nelson.
9. Hot Stove (airs Monday-Friday from 9 A.M.-11 A.M. EST during the off season. Replays from 11 A.M. EST-1 P.M. EST and from 3-3:30 P.M. EST.): Hot Stove is MLB Network's (MLBN) off season morning show. It is hosted by host Matt Vasgersian and analyst Harold Reynolds with contributions from Lauren Shehadi, Heidi Watney, Kelly Nash, Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman, Joel Sherman and Keith Costas.
10. MLB Network Countdown (airs mostly on weekends during the off season at various times.): MLB Network Countdown is a countdown show on MLB Network (MLBN) that counts down various baseball-related subjects and themes such as the top however many fan moments from the previous season or the top however many greatest bat flips of all time and so on. It is hosted by a wide variety of the MLB Network (MLBN) hosts/reporters. Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS): Measures the number of brand Brand Name Star Power Segments from the network's programming lineup of Daily Signature Shows (D-S-S BNSPS) that any MLB Network (MLBN)personality is a part of. Some examples of these show segments within a show include Matty V's Mix Tape, Central Scribbles, The Walkoff, Say Something, Hashtagging Up, The Brushback and many more. Hot Takes Expressed (HTE): This statistic measures how many timesany MLB Network (MLBN)personality says something exciting or interesting about the game of baseball throughout the year. Fun fact: whenever any MLB Network (MLBN)personality is credited with expressing a Hot Take (HTE), a graphic of a sign with the words "Hot Take" on it will usually appear on the TV screen. The best part of the "Hot Take" sign graphic that makes it fun and interesting to see of course are the flames that are included in the graphic which makes the sign complete and fun to look at. Marquee Events Score (ME Score): This is the one new broadcasting sabermetrics statistic that I've come up with which is one of the more interesting and exciting statistical categories for measuring sports broadcaster excellence and it is also something that each and every member on MLB Network's (MLBN) roster of talent should strive to be at or near the top of. That's because the Marquee Events Score or M.E. Score is a scoring measurement that takes into account exactly how many Marquee Events in Major League Baseball (MLB) a broadcasting talent member (i.e. Hosts/Reporters, Analysts or Insiders/Contributors) of MLB Network (MLBN)is assigned to cover throughout the regular season, postseason and off season. These Marquee Events of Major League Baseball (MLB) consists of all of the following big name marquee events:
-The 2017 MLB Spring Training (MLB ST) slate of team training campsfor the 30 Clubs In 30 Days show series segments on MLB Tonight.
-The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
-The 2017 MLB Opening Day (MLB OD) festivities.
-The 2017 MLB First Year Player Draft (MLB FYPD).
-The 2017 MLB All-Star Game (MLB ASG).
-The 2017 MLB National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (MLB HOF IC).
-The 2017 American League and National League Wild Card (ALWC, NLWC) games.
-The 2017 American League Division Series and National League Division Series (ALDS, NLDS) games. -The 2017 American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) games.
-The 2017 MLB World Series (MLB WS).
-The 2017 Major League Baseball World Series (MLB WS) games and the 2017 MLB Winter Meetings (2017 MLB WM). -The 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement (2018 MLB HOF EA).
-The 2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST) season.
-The 2018 MLB Opening Day (2018 MLB OD) festivities.
-The 2018 MLB All-Star Game (2018 MLB ASG) festivities.
-The 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2018 MLB HOF IC).
-The 2018 July 31st MLB Non Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD).
-The 2018 National League Central Game 163 Tiebreaker (NL Central Game 163 Tiebreaker) game between the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) and the Chicago Cubs (CHC). (NL Central Game 163 Tiebreaker) game between the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) and the Chicago Cubs (CHC). (NL Central Game 163 Tiebreaker game was played on October 1, 2018. The final score was 3 to 1 in favor of the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL)). (Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 National League West Game 163 Tiebreaker (NL West Game 163 Tiebreaker) game between the Colorado Rockies (COL) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD). (NL West Game 163 Tiebreaker game was played on October 1, 2018. The final score was 5 to 2 in favor of the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD)). (Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 National League Wild Card (2018 NLWC-Colorado Rockies (COL) Vs. Chicago Cubs (CHC)) game. (2018 NLWC was played on October, 2, 2018. The final score was 2 to 1 in favor of the Colorado Rockies (COL) in 13 innings.) (Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 American League Wild Card (2018 ALWC-Oakland Athletics (OAK) Vs. New York Yankees (NYY)) game. (2018 ALWC game was played on October 3, 2018. The final score was 7 to 2 in favor of the New York Yankees (NYY).) (Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 National League Division Series (2018 NLDS): (Best of 5 games)-Colorado Rockies (COL Vs. Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) (The Brewers defeated the Rockies3 games to 0); Atlanta Braves (ATL) Vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD)) (The Dodgers defeated the Braves 3 games to 1.) (Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 American League Division Series (2018 ALDS): (Best of 5 games)-New York Yankees (NYY) Vs. Boston Red Sox (BOS) (The Red Sox defeated the Yankees 3 games to 1); Cleveland Indians (CLE) Vs. Houston Astros (HOU)) (The Astros defeated the Indians 3 games to 0.)(Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 National League Championship Series (2018 NLCS): (Best of 7 games)-Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) Vs. Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) (The Dodgers defeated the Brewers 4 games to 3.)(Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 American League Championship Series (2018 ALCS): (Best of 7 games)-Houston Astros (HOU) Vs. Boston Red Sox (BOS) (The Red Sox defeated the Astros 4 games to 1.)(Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 MLB World Series (2018 MLB WS): (Best of 7 games)-Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) Vs. Boston Red Sox (BOS)(The Red Sox defeated the Dodgers 4 games to 1.)(Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
-The 2018 MLB Winter Meetings (2018 MLB WM) inLas Vegas, Nevada). (Statistics have been updated to reflect overall performance.)
It should be noted that any MLB Network (MLBN) personality will only be given credit for any marquee events that they covered for MLB Network (MLBN). If a network personality covered a marquee event for another network throughout the year, those will not be counted in this category. They will instead be reflected as part of their Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP) as shown below.
Social Media Platforms and Followers Reached (SMPFR): A measurement of how many Social Media Platforms and Follower Reached (SMPFR) that each MLB Network (MLBN)personality has or does not have. The various types of Social Media Platforms (SMP) include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on. Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP): Measures the number of other broadcast networks that an MLB Network (MLBN)personality is a part of besides MLB Network (MLBN).
NOTE: Analysts placement in rankings is based on their complete body of work and overall performance during the 2017 Major League Baseball regular season and postseason as well as their cumulative body of work from 2015-17 which includes their entire body of work during the regular season, postseason and the hot stove off season period of team and player trade rumors and free agent signings.
I should also point out that this list ranking series is from one fan's perspective and is meant to be fun, informative and entertaining and is not meant to be taken too seriously. I should also point out that as a fan of MLB Network, I am an in no way affiliated with them as an employee. These are just my own views and opinions. Most of all, this series of posts is meant to be fun and entertaining! With that being said, let's get this 2018 MLB Network Top 10 Right Now rankings party started with the Top 10 MLB Network Analysts Right Now!
1. Eric Byrnes-In the 2018 edition of the Top 10 MLB Network Analysts Right Now, the race for the top two spots went down as one the one of the closest races that I have seen happen since I started doing this Top 10 countdown blog post series some three years ago or so.
As a matter of fact, the competition for the top two spots in the Analysts group of my countdown series has been so close for the last couple of years that if the MLB Network TV show that this countdown blog post series is based on also called Top 10 Right Now would allow for the naming of co-champions, then I would go ahead and do just that. Unfortunately, that show's current format does not really allow for there to be co-champions for any of its countdown category lists. Since I've been doing these lists in pretty much the same way as the actual Top 10 Right Now TV show series, that means there can only be one champion that occupies the number one spot for 2017. That lucky gentleman is the one and only Mr. Eric Byrnes.
The biggest factors that gave Eric Byrnes' a slight edge atnumber one atop the 2018 Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Analysts Right Now was that the vast majority of his Daily Signature Show Appearances (DSSA) on MLB Network (MLBN)during the early part of the 2017 MLB Seasonwere made on MLB Tonight. This is an important item to take note of as part of the final Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Right Nowrankings in 2018 since the MLB Tonight show is considered to be what is known in the TV and Radio business as the network's flagship program. The term flagship in this case is defined as the finest, largest or most important one of a series, network or chain according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Since the MLB Tonight show is widely considered to be the finest, largest or most important show on the network as the flagship program, any appearances made on that show will definitely carry more weight as compared to an appearance on any other program on MLB Tonight.
Furthermore, since the race for the number one spot among the network's analysts in 2018 was so close between the top two individuals, the early season appearances on MLB Tonight during the 2017 season for Eric Byrnes were more than enough to give him the edge over Mark DeRosa who was primarily on the MLB Central morning show during 2017. While those early season appearances from 2017 on MLB Tonight certainly didn't hurt his case to be the number one MLB Network (MLBN) analyst right now heading into this season, the one thing that will be interesting to see going forward is if Eric will be given more appearances across MLB Network's other Daily Signature Shows (DSS). Due to his very passionate and fiery personality as an analyst, it would be very nice to see him being given even more playing time than he has already earned so to speak because he most definitely makes any show that he hosts or appears on much more exciting and interesting.
Another thing that cemented Eric's number one spot on this year's countdown is that he added the job title of author to his resume. That's because shortly before the 2018 MLB season began he apparently wrote a book that came out earlier this year in March called The F*It List: Life Lessons from a Human Crash Test Dummy. While I have not read the book yet myself as of right now, I do plan on reading it sometime in the future.
Eric Byrnes's 2018 Broadcasting Sabermetrics Profile: Time Spent At MLB Network (MLBN): 2010-Present (9th year)
1. 2017-2018 Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (2017-2018 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): MLB Central + High Heat + MLB Now + MLB Tonight=4 D-S-SHARP/SAARP in 2017-2018 for Eric Byrnes.
Eric Byrnes appeared on most of the daily signature shows that are currently on MLB Network (MLBN) during the 2017-2018 period of time. I think he even made at least one or two guest hosting appearances on Intentional Talk over the course of the last year or so. Unfortunately those appearances did not consist of a sample size that was sufficient enough to be included in the final total for 2017-2018. Career Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (Career D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): Pretty much the same as the 2017-2018 total from up above with some additional appearances on Play Ball, which brings the career total of daily signature shows/hosted/appearances (Career D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP) to 5 total career shows for Eric Byrnes at MLB Network (MLBN).
2. Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS): 9 D-S-S BNSPS for Eric Byrnes in 2017-2018. -On The Scene With Eric James Byrnes -Byrning Questions -Point/Counterpoint -Fill The Plate -Oppo Taco Tuesday -The 5 Train -Diamond Demo -Live Look In -7 Minute Stretch
All of the at least 9Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS) that Eric Byrnes is a part of come from more than one of the daily signature shows that he has either hosted or appeared on. The On The Scene and Byrning Questions show segments are from the Hot Stove and High Heat programs respectively while the rest of them are from MLB Central and MLB Tonight.
Of all those show segment that feature Eric Byrnes, the two that stand out the most are the On The Scene segment. The On The Scene from the Hot Stove show consists of a variety of clips that show Eric Byrnes doing a number of different things while he is on location or supposedly on the scene from somewhere. The way that this segment is introduced each time always makes it look like Eric is supposed to be a news reporter on T.V. doing a liveshot. Of course the actual clips of Eric that are shown during the particular segment have nothing to do with him being an actual news reporter and instead show him doing something funny or weird.
During the Byrning Questions segment from High Heat, Eric Byrnes will usually make occasional appearances on the High Heat show throughout the year to talk about various baseball related topics alongside Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo. While this segment is for the most part fairly interesting and entertaining, it will almost always end up with the two participants screaming and yelling at each other in order to get their point across at some point.
3. Hot Takes Expressed (HTE): 4 Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) (3 in 2017-2018 + 1 career Hot Takes Expressed (HTE)=4 total.
1. The first of Eric Byrnes' 2 Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) was when he reiterated his stance in favor of having an automated strike zone in an appearance on High Heat during the 2017-2018 off season. While I haven't really been in favor of baseball having an automated strike zone up to this point myself, I admire that this is one aspect of baseball in which Byrnes is not afraid to speak his mind and have an opinion that some baseball fans may or may not agree with.
2. The second Hot Take Expressed (HTE) for Eric Byrnes was also during the 2017-2018 off season period when he asked about who he would have voted for on the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame (2018 MLB HOF) election ballot during MLB Network's (MLBN) of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement(2018 MLB HOF EA). When he did reveal the players on the 2018 ballot that he would have voted for if he was an actual Hall of Fame voter, it only had 2 names on it. Those 2 players were Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens whose names have been associated and linked to Major League Baseball's (MLB) performance enhancing drugs (PED) scandal over the last several years. After he revealed his 2 choices for the Hall of Fame, Eric also said something along the lines of how if it was up to him that he would not vote for any other players for the Hall of Fame until those two players are elected into the Hall of Fame.
3. The third and final of Eric's Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) for 2017-2018 was about his charitable efforts for the Let Them Play foundation. This consisted of doing a bike ride across the United States of America in an effort to bring the subject of Physical Education or P.E. back to school for kids to enjoy.
While I would have voted for more than 2 players on the ballot if I had a vote, it sure takes a lot of guts and courage to say that you would vote for only 2 players for the Hall of Fame if you were given the chance to do so. I should point out that Eric Byrnes does not have an actual vote on who or who does not make it into the Hall of Fame. When he disclosed that he would have only voted for those two players mentioned above, it was just his opinion and not an actual voting ballot. Nonetheless, this kind of opinion is a perfect example of analysis that shows how Eric Byrnes is not afraid to speak his mind and express how he feels about something even if may or may not be well received by fans and viewers.
3. The third of Eric's Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) for 2017-2018 was about his charitable efforts for his Triathlon Across America and his very own Let Them Play foundation. This consisted of doing a swim/bike ride/run triathlon across the United States of America from July 22, 2018-September 15, 2018 in support of the Let Them Play foundation and their efforts to bring the subject of Physical Education back to schools and the students in the United States of America.
4. Career wise during his time at MLB Network (MLBN) Eric Byrnes has also had a tradition of making some very memorable and epic appearance entrances on MLB Central throughout the last few years that could also be considered hot takes as well. Beginning with the 2018 season however, those MLB Central appearance entrances have not been a part of the show. In honor of those entrances and also as a way to remember them, here is a sampling of some of the most memorable ones featuring Eric Byrnes:
4. Marquee Events Score (ME Score): 8 Marquee Events (ME) covered for Eric Byrnes so far in 2017-2018. 1. Appeared onMLB Centralduring MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the2017 National League Wild Card (2017 NLWC)game between the Colorado Rockies (COL) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI). 2. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 American League Championship Series (2017 ALCS)between the New York Yankees (NYY) versus the Houston Astros (HOU) as well as the2017 National League Championship Series (2017 NLCS)between the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD). 3. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 MLB World Series (2017 MLB WS)between the Houston Astros (HOU) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD).
4. Appeared on MLB NowduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement (MLB HOF EA). 5. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST)season from the Cactus (CACTUS) League in Arizona. 6. Appeared on The Rundown, MLB Now and MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Division Series (2018 NLDS/ALDS) between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL)/Atlatna Braves (ATL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) in the National League (NL) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE) versus the Houston Astros (HOU)/New York Yankees (NYY) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
7. Hosted Intentional Talk and appeared on The Rundown, MLB Now and MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Championship Series (2018 NLCS/ALCS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) in the National League (NL) and the Houston Astros (HOU) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
8. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB World Series (2018 MLB WS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS).
For Eric Byrnes this is one area where his numbers could be better heading into the 2018 season. Given how strong he is as an analyst overall, I think MLB Network (MLBN) should feature him on more than 8 Marquee Events (ME).
5. Social Media Platforms and Followers Reached (SMPFR): Facebook + Twitter + Instagram=3 SMPFR.
On his Facebookpage, Eric Byrnes is liked by 3,831 and counting people and followed by 3,854 and counting followers. On Twitterhe is followed by 45.1 thousand and counting followers while having a total of 4,324 and counting tweets. Finally on his Instagrampage, Eric Byrnes has a total of 35.1 thousand and counting followers and 1,221 and counting posts.
During the 2018 season Eric was also a color commentator for a few of the MLB Live game of the week broadcasts that have been viewed exclusively on Facebook. 6. Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP): 0 MBNSAP for Eric Byrnes in 2017-2018.
During the 2017-2018 period of time, Eric Byrnes has appeared on only one other network in addition to MLB Network (MLBN):
1. Travel Channel-During the 2018 season Eric Byrnes made an appearance on an episode of Food Paradise from AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.
2. Harold Reynolds-Having been with the MLB Network (MLBN) since its inception in 2009, the overall performance of Harold Reynolds as an analyst in 2017-2018 was excellent enough and worthy of the number twospot amongst the MLB Network (MLBN) analysts in the Top 10 Right Now countdown for 2018. Since his debut in 2009 as part of MLB Network's (MLBN)inaugural class of on-air talent, Reynolds has become a very consistent fixture and figure on MLB Network's (MLBN) programming schedule of Daily Signature Shows (DSS) over the last few years throughout an entire year's worth of programming. For instance, during the regular season and postseason Harold spends the majority of his on-air time on MLB Tonight. When the network transitions to its off season programming schedule after the end of the postseason, Harold Reynolds will then usually shift gears and serve as a host of the Hot Stove as well as on MLB Tonight during a select number of the network's off season Marquee Events (ME) coverage such as the yearly MLB Winter Meetings (MLB WM) and the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement (MLB HOF EA).
Harold Reynolds' 2018 Broadcasting Sabermetrics Profile (BSP): Time Spent At MLB Network (MLBN): 2009-Present (10th year) 1. 2017-2018 Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (2018 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): MLB Tonight + Hot Stove + Play Ball(Note: this show airs only once a week during the weekend.)=3 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP in 2017-2018.
In addition to those shows listed above, Harold Reynolds made what I'm pretty sure was his first and only appearance on MLB Central during the July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (July31st MLB NWTD) in 2017. As usual though, since it was only one appearance, it was not a large enough sample size to be included in the final total number for 2017-2018. Over the last few seasons Harold Reynolds has also served as the main host of the weekly Play Ball signature show that is geared towards a younger audience such as teenagers and young kids. The biggest difference with this show in terms of the schedule is that it only airs during the weekend for the most part and is therefore technically not on the network's programming schedule as a daily show of the signature variety.
Career Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (Career D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): MLB Tonight + Hot Stove + MLB Now + Play Ball(Note: this show airs only once a week during the weekend.)=4 Career D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP since 2009 for Harold Reynolds.
Broadcasting career wise, Harold Reynolds has either hosted or appeared on a total of 4 Daily Signature Shows (DSS). The additional show that is included as part of his career total in this category is MLB Now since he was on that show during its first season along with Brian Kenny and then show moderator Kristina Fitzpatrick whose last name at that time was Akra.
2. Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS):
-Diamond Demo -Mystery Caller -Mr. Reynolds Goes To Washington -Hot Stove Slot Machine -Say Something -7 Minute Stretch
When looking at the 6 Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS) for Harold Reynolds most of them come from the Hot Stove morning show that he is a host of during the off season. Among each of those show segments, the most popular ones that have been featured over the last few years are probably the Mystery Caller one, Hot Stove Slot Machine and Say Something. Of those three show segments, they are all very good and entertaining but the Mystery Caller is probably my favorite one. The Mr. Reynolds Goes To Washington segment is also a pretty good one that was introduced during the 2017-2018 off season in which the name was inspired by the Mr. Smith Goes To Washington movie with James Stewart. The Mr. Reynolds Goes To Washington segment featured Harold Reynolds supposedly going all the way to Washington, D.C. to "speak" to various members of the United States government about various issues. In actuality those segments would always end with Harold telling a baseball story of some kind to the various "officials" of the U.S. government. Even though it is a fairly new show segment, it would be nice to see more of those on future episodes of Hot Stove.
In addition to all those show segments listed above, there is one more that is shown from time to time that includes Harold Reynolds. The last segment is one in which Harold is supposed to teach the viewer about all the different languages that he apparently knows how to speak. I can't remember the actual name of it, but I think it is called either Learning Linguistics With Harold Reynolds or Linguistics With Harold Reynolds.
3. Hot Takes Expressed (HTE): 1 Hot Take Expressed (HTE) in 2017-2018.
1. In the Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) department, the one that stood out among the rest for Harold Reynolds and was the most noteworthy for him in 2017-2018 were his thoughts in general on Hot Stove about the slow moving pace of team transactions and activity in the 2017-2018 free agency period during the off season.
4. Marquee Events (ME) Score: 27 Marquee Events (ME) covered in 2017-2018 for Harold Reynolds. (NOTE: Some of the following Marquee Events (ME) that are listed below for Harold ended up being placed out of order for one reason or another. The events that are listed below from numbers 10-16 actually took place before the events that are listed between the numbers of 7-9.)
1. Hosted Hot Stove and appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB Spring Training (2017 MLB ST) and 2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST)seasons. As one of the hosts of Hot Stove, he took part in the network's coverage from Studio K of both the Cactus (CACTUS) and Grapefruit (GRPFRT) leagues in Arizona and Florida respectively. When he appeared on MLB Tonight, Harold was on location from the Cactus (CACTUS)League in Arizona in 2017 and the Grapefruit (GRPFRT) League in Florida in 2018.
2. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 World Baseball Classic (2017 WBC) from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
3. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB Opening Day (2017 MLB OD) festivities.
4. Appeared on MLB Network (MLBN) during their coverage of the 2017 MLB First Year Player Draft (2017 MLB FYPD) 5. Appeared on MLB Network (MLBN) during their coverage of the 2017 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2017 MLB HOF IC).
. 6. Appeared on MLB Central and on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2017 July 31st MLB NWTD).
7. Hosted Hot Stove during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB Winter Meetings (MLB WM) from Orlando, Florida.
8. Hosted Hot Stove and appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement (2018 MLB HOF EA).
9. Hosted Hot Stove during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST) season.
10. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 American League Wild Card (2017 ALWC) game between the Minnesota Twins (MIN) and the New York Yankees (NYY).
11. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 National League Wild Card (2017 NLWC) game between the Colorado Rockies (COL) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI).
12. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 American League Division Series (2017 ALDS) between the New York Yankees (NYY) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE).
13. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 National League Division Series (2017 NLDS) between the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Washington Nationals (WSH).
14. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 American League Championship Series (2017 ALCS) between the New York Yankees (NYY) and the Houston Astros (HOU).
15. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 National League Championship Series (2017 NLCS) between the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD).
16. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) of the 2017 MLB World Series (2017 MLB WS) between the Houston Astros (HOU) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California and Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
17. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST) season from the Grapefruit (GRPFRT) League in Florida.
18. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Opening Day (2018 MLB OD) festivities.
19. Appeared on MLB Network (MLBN) during their coverage of the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft (2018 MLB FYPD).
20. Color commentator for the 2018 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and hosted the 2018 MLB All-Star Red Carpet show during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB All-Star Game (2018 MLB ASG) week festivities from Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.. He also made several appearances on MLB Tonight for both pregame and postgame coverage as well during this time.
21. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2018 MLB HOF IC) and also hosted MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2018 MLB HOF IC).
22. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD). (NOTE: Appeared on the July 31st, 2018 morning/afternoon episode of MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD).
23. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Wild Card (2018 NLWC/ALWC) games that were played between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Chicago Cubs (CHC) in the National League (NL) and the Oakland Athletics (OAK) versus the New York Yankees (NYY) in the American League (AL).
24. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Division Series (2018 NLDS/ALDS) between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL)/Atlatna Braves (ATL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) in the National League (NL) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE) versus the Houston Astros (HOU)/New York Yankees (NYY) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
25. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Championship Series (2018 NLCS/ALCS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) in the National League (NL) and the Houston Astros (HOU) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
26. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB World Series (2018 MLB WS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
27. Hosted Hot Stove and appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Winter Meetings (2018 MLB WM) from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Among the analysts at MLB Network (MLBN), Harold Reynolds is by far the one who is assigned to cover the most Marquee Events (ME) in Major League Baseball (MLB) throughout the year on a fairly consistent basis. It was no different in 2017-2018 when he was assigned go cover or be a part of 27 of them for MLB Network (MLBN) When looking at this aspect of his on-air performance and comparing it in relation to his other colleagues, the only other personalities who come close to that excellent track record of consistency are Greg Amsinger, Chris Rose, Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo, Kevin Millar and Mark DeRosa.
5. Social Media Platforms and Followers Reached (SMPFR): 0 SMPFR for Harold Reynolds.
Harold Reynolds does not have a single official social media page of any kind so therefore his total SMPFR is 0. There is nothing wrong with that total by the way when it comes to this countdown as it didn't really a substantial effect on where he landed on it in the end. 6. Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP): NHL Network (NHLN)=1 MBNSAP for Harold Reynolds in 2017-2018..
1. NHL Network (NHLN)-During the 2017-2018 off season, Harold Reynolds made one appearance on the NHL Network (NHLN) along with Ron Darling as part of the latest installment of the MLB Network (MLBN) Vs. NHL Network (NHLN) skills challenge program.
3. Mark DeRosa-After beating out the rest of the competition last year, Mark DeRosa moves down two spots below number one to number three heading into the 2018 season.
While DeRosa, or DeRo for short, had yet another strong season as an analyst for MLB Network (MLBN) in 2017, his place in the number one spot for 2018 was relinquished to Eric Byrnes based on the number of appearances on MLB Network's MLB Tonight flagship show that Byrnes made on it during the early part of last season. Add in the fact that he only is on the MLB Network (MLBN) for only a half part of the year during the regular season and postseason for the most part as the main reason why Mark comes in at number three on the countdown in 2018. If he had more of an off season presence on the network besides the occasional appearance at the annual MLB Winter Meetings (MLB WM) or the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement (MLB HOF EA), he probably would have been able to still have a spot somewhere in the top two portion of the countdown. Due to that very minimal off season presence, I am therefore exercising my right to use the Broadcasting Shredder (BS) machine to move Mark DeRosa down a couple spots in this year's edition of my Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Right Now countdown.
Having said that, Mark DeRosa still made a very good impression with a couple of Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) on MLB Central during the 2017 season.
The first of the Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) for Mark DeRosa came out when both he and Preston Wilson got into a very spirited debate about whether bunting to break up a perfect game or no-hitter is an appropriate thing to do or if it somehow goes against the so-called unwritten rules of baseball after Jarrod Dyson of the Seattle Mariners did just that when facing Justin Verlander who was with the Detroit Tigers at the timeto successfully break what was a perfect game up to that point during a game at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington on June 21, 2017. At the time that Dyson bunted for the Mariners first hit of the game that night, the game had reached the bottom of the sixth inning. When the game was over, the Mariners would be victorious in a come from behind victory by a final score of 7 to 5.
For the purposes of this blog post however, the final score of that game was not the big story. No sir! The big story the next day on the MLB Central morning show was the debate that got started about if it is acceptable or not for a perfect game or no-hitter to be broken up with a player trying to bunt for a hit. During the discussion that occurred between Mark DeRosa and Preston Wilson about the game, Mark commented that if it were him in that situation, he would have preferred that a player get a hit in that situation in the old fashioned way by swinging the bat instead of squaring around to bunt.
On the other hand, Preston Wilson didn't have too much of a problem with the bunt in that situation since it was still in the early part of the game and also because a player like Dyson was trying to get on base in any way that he could and since speed is one of Dyson's best skills as a player, he didn't seem to see anything wrong with the bunt in that situation for the most part. For me personally in this kind of game situation, while I have no problem with a player trying to bunt for a hit to break up a perfect game or a no-hitter at any point, I would prefer that they try to swing their way through an at-bat to get on base first before trying to bunt.
The second of the Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) that stood out for Mark DeRosa during the 2017 season was the player trading scenario that he came up as part of DeRo Demo Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segment (D-S-S BNSPS). During one particular installment of a DeRo Demo that aired on MLB Central sometime before the 2017 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2017 July 31st MLB NWTD), DeRosa came up with a trade proposal that would have sent Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles (BAL) to the Houston Astros (HOU)! While that exact trade scenario did not actually happen at any point during the 2017 season, it was still noteworthy in the sense that Mark DeRosa actually included a big name player like Manny Machado in any kind of trade scenario. Even though a Manny Machado trade did not happen during the 2017 or even up to this point as of now , DeRosa has definitely done a very good job in the Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) as an analyst over the last few years at MLB Network (MLBN).
Mark DeRosa's 2018 Broadcasting Sabermetrics Profile (BSP): Time Spent At MLB Network (MLBN): 2014-Present (5th year) 1. 2017-2018 Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (2018 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): MLB Central + MLB Tonight=2 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP in 2017-2018. During the 2017 season and the 2017-2018 off season, Mark DeRosa also made a couple appearances on MLB Now, but the sample size of his appearances on that show was too small to be included in the final total. If he continues to make even more appearances on MLB Nowin 2018, then the total number of signature show appearances for him can and probably will be adjusted. Career Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (Career D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): Pretty much the same as the 2017-2018 total in this category with the addition of occasional appearances on Intentional Talk from a few years ago when DeRosa was a player for the Toronto Blue Jays (TOR) to bring the career show total up to 3 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP for Mark. Those occasional Intentional Talk from a few years ago were noteworthy because he made some of those appearances alongside then teammate Munenori Kawasaki who was from Japan. These appearances also helped to showcase what Mark DeRosa was like as a person and probably helped him later on when he was hired as an analyst for MLB Network (MLBN) in 2014. 2. Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS): -The D-Train -The 5 Train -DeRo Demo -Dr. DeRo -DeRo's Deep Dives -Hitters' Meeting -Point/Counterpoint -Central Scribbles -Believe/Make Believe (and all other classroom-themed related segments) -Just Playin' -Worried or Whatever -Klub Kluber -Soapbox -Who Can It Be Now?
In the Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS) department, the majority of show segments that Mark DeRosa has been involved in or is a part come from his time as a host on the MLB Central regular season morning show. Some of those noteworthy show segments include The D-Train, DeRo Demo and Dr. DeRo. 3. Hot Takes Expressed (HTE): 2 Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) in 2017-2018.
1. As mentioned from earlier up above, the first of Mark DeRosa's 2 Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) in 2017-2018 came during an episode of MLB Central in 2017 when both he and guest analyst Preston Wilson debated whether or not it is against the so-called unwritten rules of baseball to bunt for a hit in a game during a no-hitter when discussing that exact situation in a 2017 baseball game between the Kansas City Royals (KC) and the Seattle Mariners (SEA) that took place at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. From his perspective, Mark thought that bunting for a hit in that situation was not necessarily the right thing to do. On the other hand, Preston Wilson did not have a problem with it regardless of the point and time that the game was in.
2. The second of Mark DeRosa's Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) from the 2017 season was when he did a DeRo Demoshow segment on MLB Central about which players the Baltimore Orioles (BAL) should have considered trading away to other teams leading up to the 2017 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline(2017 July 31st MLB NWTD). During this particular DeRo Demo show segment, Mark came up with a pretty exciting trade proposal that would have sent Manny Machado to the Houston Astros (HOU) in exchange for some other players who I can't remember that would have gone to the Baltimore Orioles (BAL). Unfortunately that particular trade scenario never came to fruition during the 2017 season but it was definitely fun and exciting to think about what could have possible from the hypothetical trade scenario that Mark DeRosa came up with.
While the Manny Machado trade discussions never resulted in an actual trade during the 2017 season, that was not the case in 2018 as Mr. Machado was finally traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) a few days before the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD) for a group of minor league prospects.
4. Marquee Events Score (ME Score): 18 Marquee Events (ME) covered in 2017-2018. 1. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 World Baseball Classic (2017 WBC)from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
2. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the 2017 MLB Spring Training (2017 MLB ST) seasonfrom the Grapefruit (GRPFRT) League in Florida.
3. HostedMLB CentralduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 MLB Opening Day (2017 MLB OD)festivities.
4. HostedMLB CentralduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the 2017 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2017 July 31st MLB NWTD).
5. HostedMLB CentralduringMLB Network's (MLBN)pre game coverage of the2017 American League Wild Card (2017 ALWC)game between the Minnesota Twins (MIN) and the New York Yankees (NYY).
6. HostedMLB CentralduringMLB Network's (MLBN)pre game coverage of the2017 National League Wild Card (2017 NLWC)game between the Colorado Rockies (COL) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI).
7. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 American League Division Series (2017 ALDS)between the New York Yankees (NYY) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE).
8. Appeared onMLB NowandMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 MLB World Series (2017 MLB WS)between the Houston Astros (HOU) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California and Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
9. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 MLB Winter Meetings (2017 MLB WM)from Orlando, Florida. NOTE: From what I can remember, I think he only made one total appearance onMLB Tonightbecause I think he may have gotten sick while he was there.That single appearance on MLB Tonight was good enough to still be counted as part of his final Marquee Events (ME) covered score though.
10. Appeared onMLB Network (MLBN)during their coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Election Announcement (2018 MLB HOF EA).
11. HostedMLB CentralduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2018 MLB Opening Day (2018 MLB OD)festivities.
12. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2018 MLB HOF IC) and also hosted MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2018 MLB HOF IC).
13. Hosted MLB Central during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD). (NOTE: Hosted both of the July 30th-31st episodes of MLB Central during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD).
14. Hosted MLB Central during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League Central/National League West Game 163 Tiebreaker (2018 NL Central/NL West Game 163 Tiebreaker) games between the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) versus the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD).
15. Hosted MLB Central during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Wild Card (2018 NLWC/ALWC) games that were played between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Chicago Cubs (CHC) in the National League (NL) and the Oakland Athletics (OAK) versus the New York Yankees (NYY) in the American League (AL).
16. Hosted MLB Central and appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Division Series (2018 NLDS/ALDS) between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL)/Atlatna Braves (ATL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) in the National League (NL) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE) versus the Houston Astros (HOU)/New York Yankees (NYY) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
(NOTE: The final episode of MLB Central during the 2018 season was on Friday, October 5.) 17. Appeared on High Heat, MLB Now, Intentional Talk and MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB World Series (2018 MLB WS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
18. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Winter Meetings (2018 MLB WM) from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since he has been one of the main hosts of the MLB Central morning show over the last few years in addition to his appearances on MLB Tonight during the postseason and off season, Mark DeRosa has been a part of a large number of MLB Network's (MLBN) Marquee Events (ME) coverage. In 2017-2018 he took part in a grand total of 18 Marquee Events (ME).
5. Social Media Platforms and Followers Reached (SMPFR): Twitter + Instagram + Facebook=3 SMPFR for Mark DeRosa.
In terms of his online social media platform presence, Mark DeRosa has an official page on Twitterand on Instagram. On his Twitter page he has 30.8 thousand followers and counting but only 718 tweets and counting. On his Instagram page he is followed by 1,664 and counting followers. Up to this point however he has not been very active in keeping that page up to date as he has a grand total of 0 Instagram posts! That goose egg number did not have a big impact on his place in this year's rankings as the overall body of work for Mark over the last year or so was still good enough for the number three spot in 2018.
Mark appears to also have a Facebookbut it seems like he is not very active on it since at least 2008.
During the 2018 season Mark was also a color commentator for a few of the MLB Live game of the week broadcasts that have been viewed exclusively on Facebook. 6. Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP): 2 MBNSAP.
1. Discovery Channel-During the 2017 season Mark DeRosa appeared on an episode of the Diesel Brothers TV show on the Discovery Channel along with Cliff Floyd.
2. Golf Channel-During the 2017-2018 off season Mark DeRosa also appeared and played in the 2018 Diamond Resorts Invitationalgolf tournament on the Golf Channel.
4. Bill Ripken-After just missing the cut in last year's Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Right Now countdown among the analysts' Bill Ripken is back in the countdown for 2018! His overall performance as an analyst was not the only thing that helped him get back into the good to great part of this countdown but it certainly didn't hurt. Actually, the biggest thing that helped Mr. Ripken get back to a spot within the top 10 portion of the countdown was the new Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segment (D-S-S BNSPS) that was introduced during the 2017 season called Bill's Blackboard.
The Bill's Blackboard Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power (D-S-S BNSPS) show segment became so popular during the 2017 season that at one point it had it's very own sponsor that it was presented by. That sponsor was Trip Advisor. There was also a mission statement that was a part of each Bill's Blackboard segment which stated that the purpose of it was to "educate and promote thinking in a pure baseball sense." Using that mission statement as a guide, the Bill's Blackboard segment makes an effort to teach fans and viewers what is the proper thing to do in a variety of different game situations according to analyst Bill Ripken. The name of the segment comes from the both the name of the person who is in charge of it and the fact that he uses a screen graphic in the shape of a blackboard that are in many school classrooms all over the world.
Bill Ripken's 2018 Broadcasting Sabermetrics Primer (BSP): Time Spent At MLB Network (MLBN): 2009-Present (10th year) 1. 2017-2018 Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (2017-2018 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): MLB Tonight + MLB Central(guest analyst/host/Bill's Blackboard signature show segment in 2017)+ Hot Stove (fill-in host)=3 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP in 2017-2018.
2. Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS): -Bill's Blackboard -Diamond Demo -Live Look In -Say Something -7 Minute Stretch
Of the 4 Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS) that Bill Ripken is a part of on MLB Network (MLBN), the most noteworthy and popular one is the Bill's Blackboard show segment that debuted last season. 3. Hot Takes Expressed (HTE): 1 Hot Take Expressed (HTE) in 2017-2018 for Bill Ripken.
1. The fact that the Bill's Blackboard signature show segments from 2017 became so popular that the network created a new weekly compilation show that aired during the off season out of those segments with the same name is worthy of a Hot Take Expressed (HTE) in my book. 4. Marquee Events (ME) Score: 9 Marquee Events (ME) for Bill Ripken in 2017-2018 so far. 1. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 American League Division Series (2017 ALDS)between the New York Yankees (NYY) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE). 2. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 National League Division Series (2017 NLDS)between the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Washington Nationals (WSH). 3. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 National League Division Series (2017 NLDS)between the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD). 4. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2017 American League Championship Series (2017 ALCS)between the New York Yankees (NYY) and the Houston Astros (HOU).
5. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST)season. 6. Appeared onMLB TonightduringMLB Network's (MLBN)coverage of the2018 MLB Opening Day (2018 MLB OD)festivities.
7. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD). (NOTE: Appeared on both of the July 30th-31st episodes of MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD).
8. Appeared on MLB Central during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League Central/National League West Game 163 Tiebreaker (2018 NL Central/NL West Game 163 Tiebreaker) games between the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) versus the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD).
9. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Championship Series (2018 NLCS/ALCS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) in the National League (NL) and the Houston Astros (HOU) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
For Bill Ripken the majority of analyst work on the network's Marquee Events (ME) coverage was done on MLB Tonight during the 2017 postseason and the 2017-2018 off season. The most surprising thing though was that his final total in this category was only 9 Marquee Events (ME). The good thing was that 6 out of the 9 events (66%) that Bill Ripken helped to cover came during the 2017 and 2018 postseasons.
5. Social Media Platforms and Followers Reached (SMPFR): 0 SMPFR for Bill Ripken.
Bill Ripken is another MLB Network (MLBN) personality who does not a personal or official social media page of any kind. Like all the other MLB Network (MLBN) personalities who do not a social media page of any kind, I don't think Bill Ripken needs to add one for himself if he chooses not to do so. As was the case with the other MLB Network (MLBN) personalities on the list who do not have a social media presence, the lack of such a presence did not have any impact on where Bill Ripken landed on this year's list. 6. Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP): 0 MBNSAP for Bill Ripken in 2017-2018.
Since he has been with MLB Network (MLBN)Bill Ripken has been an analyst for that network only for the most part. During the last year and a half or so, he has not made any appearances on any other rival broadcast networks.
5. Kevin Millar-Thanks to the work that he has done on the Intentional TalkDaily Signature Show (DSS), Kevin Millar moves up a couple of spots on the countdown from last year at number six all the way number four in 2018.
Since his arrival at MLB Network (MLBN) in 2010 Kevin Millar has been one of the more consistent analysts at MLB Network (MLBN) over the last few years. It also doesn't hurt that Millar gets to go to pretty much all of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Marquee Events (ME) that take place throughout each season for Intentional Talk.
Kevin Millar's 2018 Broadcasting Sabermetrics Profile (BSP): Time Spent At MLB Network (MLBN): 2010-Present (9th year) 1. 2017-2018 Daily Signature Shows Hosted/Appearances Above Replacement Personality (2017-2018 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP): Intentional Talk + MLB Tonight + MLB Central=3 D-S-SHARP/D-S-SAARP in 2017-2018.
In 2017-2018, Kevin Millar either hosted or appeared on Intentional Talk and MLB Tonight for the most part with a few appearances once again on MLB Central during the 2018 season.
Career Daily Signature Shows/Show Appearances Above Replacement Personality (Career D-S-SHARP/Career D-S-SAARP): For the career portion of Kevin Millar's statistical numbers in this category, it is pretty much the same as the 2017-2018 total since Kevin doesn't really serve as a host or appear on any of the other shows for the most part besides Intentional Talk and MLB Tonight. 2. Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS): -Opening Act -Let's Fake A Deal -Irrelevant Video of the Day -Monthly Predictions -Kevin's Highlights -Got Heem! -Live Look In -Diamond Demo
All of Kevin Millar's Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS) are from Intentional Talk and MLB Tonight. Of all those segments listed above, the most entertaining ones are probably the Irrelevant Video of the Day, Kevin's Highlights and Got Heem! 3. Hot Takes Expressed (HTE): Kevin Millar had 0 Hot Takes Expressed (HTE) in 2017-2018.
4. Marquee Events (ME) Score: 23 Marquee Events (ME) covered in 2017-2018 for Kevin Millar. 1. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverageof the 2017 MLB Spring Training (2017 MLB ST) season.
2. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB Spring Training (2017 MLB ST) season from the Grapefruit (GRPFRT) League in Florida.
3. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 World Baseball Classic (2017 WBC) from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
4. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB Opening Day (2017 MLB OD) festivities.
5. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB All-Star Game (2017 MLB ASG) from Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. 6. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2017 July 31st MLB NWTD).
7. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 American League Wild Card (2017 ALWC) game between the Minnesota Twins (MIN) and the New York Yankees (NYY).
8. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 National League Wild Card (2017 NLWC) game between the Colorado Rockies (COL) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI).
9.. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 American League Division Series (2017 ALDS) between the New York Yankees (NYY) versus the Cleveland Indians (CLE) and the Boston Red Sox (BOS) versus the Houston Astros (HOU).
10. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 National League Division Series (2017 NLDS) between the Arizona Diamondbacks (ARI) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) and the Chicago Cubs (CHC) versus the Washington Nationals (WSH). 11. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 American League Championship Series (2017 ALCS) between the New York Yankees (NYY) and the Houston Astros (HOU). 12. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 National League Championship Series (2017 NLCS) between the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD). 13. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB World Series (2017 MLB WS) between the Houston Astros (HOU) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California and Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. 14. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2017 MLB Winter Meetings (2017 MLB WM) from Orlando, Florida.
15. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Spring Training (2018 MLB ST) season from the Cactus (CACTUS) League in Arizona.
16. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Opening Day (2018 MLB OD) festivities.
17. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB All-Star Game (2018 MLB ASG) week festivities.
18. Appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League Central/National League West Game 163 Tiebreaker (2018 NL Central/NL West Game 163 Tiebreaker) games between the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) versus the Chicago Cubs (CHC) and the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD).
19. Hosted Intentional Talk and appeared on MLB Central during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Wild Card (2018 NLWC/ALWC) games that were played between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Chicago Cubs (CHC) in the National League (NL) and the Oakland Athletics (OAK) versus the New York Yankees (NYY) in the American League (AL).
20. Hosted Intentional Talk and appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Division Series (2018 NLDS/ALDS) between the Colorado Rockies (COL) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL)/Atlatna Braves (ATL) versus the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) in the National League (NL) and the Cleveland Indians (CLE) versus the Houston Astros (HOU)/New York Yankees (NYY) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
21. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 National League/American League Championship Series (2018 NLCS/ALCS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Milwaukee Brewers (MIL) in the National League (NL) and the Houston Astros (HOU) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) in the American League (AL).
22. Hosted Intentional Talk during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB World Series (2018 MLB WS) between the Los Angeles Dodgers (LAD) versus the Boston Red Sox (BOS) from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
23. Hosted Intentional Talk and appeared on MLB Tonight during MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Winter Meetings (2018 MLB WM) from Las Vegas, Nevada.
As one of the main hosts of the Intentional TalkDaily Signature Show (DSS), Kevin Millar was able to take part in covering a total of 23 Marquee Events (ME) on MLB Network (MLBN) during the 2017-2018 regular seasons and postseasons as well as the 2017-2018 off season.
5. Social Media Platforms and Followers Reached (SMPFR): Twitter + Instagram=2 SMPFR for Kevin Millar.
On TwitterKevin Millar currently has 236 thousand followers and counting to go along with 9,602 and counting total tweets. On Instagramhe is followed by 38 thousand followers and counting with a total of 1,691 posts and counting. 6. Multiple Broadcast Networks Star Appearance Profile (MBNSAP): 1 MBNSAP for Kevin Millar in 2017-2018. 1. Golf Channel-In 2018 Kevin Millar participated in the 2018 Diamond Resorts Invitational golf tournament that has been broadcast on the Golf Channel.
2. Travel Channel-During the 2018 season Kevin Millar made an appearance on an episode of Food Paradise from Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas.
Final Thoughts:
1. It was nice to see that Harold Reynolds finally made an appearance on MLB Central during the network's coverage of the 2017 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2017 July 31st MLB NWTD). Up to that point, I don't think Reynolds had made too many appearances on any of MLB Network's (MLBN) regular season shows that air during the morning portion of the schedule. For the most part Harold is primarily featured on MLB Tonight during the regular season which starts airing during the late afternoon or early evening hours of the day depending on where you are watching from. It will be interesting to see if he does get the chance to make another appearance on any of the MLB Network (MLBN) morning shows once again during the 2018 regular season.
So far he has not made any appearances in 2018 on any of the regular season morning shows that MLB Network (MLBN) has had other than appearing on MLB Tonight for MLB Network's (MLBN) coverage of the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (2018 MLB HOF IC) and the 2018 July 31st MLB Non-Waiver Trade Deadline (2018 July 31st MLB NWTD).
The off season programming schedule is a different scenario of course for Reynolds show appearances total on MLB Network (MLBN) since he has been one of the main hosts of Hot Stove over the last few years.
2. It was also nice to see Ron Darling being given the opportunity to make more appearances on the network during the 2018 regular season in addition to his body of work that he has done with his off season appearances over the last few years. With that being said though, the regular season appearances in 2018 came too late in the process for him to to move up into the top 10 for this year. 3. As was the case with my earlier post about the Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Hosts Right Now, there were some broadcasting sabermetrics stats that I had to leave on the cutting room floor when evaluating the analysts of MLB Network (MLBN) due to time constraints and overall post length.
4. The information that was gathered and put together about the analysts' overall contribution and body of work such as shows hosted and other appearances as well as other criteria, such as Daily Signature Show Brand Name Star Power Segments (D-S-S BNSPS), coverage of Marquee Events (ME) and more was carefully researched and vetted by me in order to provide and reflect the most accurate and most up-to-date information possible. The process for this was done through a combination of tuning in regularly as a viewer on a daily basis, taking notes and keeping track of and reviewing who did what and when by monitoring the various social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) of the MLB Network (MLBN) and their on-air talent roster of personalities as well as the various online video clip archives that can be viewed by doing a search in the Videos section of the network's Facebook page.
All of the information about the analysts' overall body of work and contribution will continue to be updated as the 2018 MLB season rolls along through the end of the 2018 regular season, postseason and the conclusion of the 2018 MLB Winter Meetings (2018 MLB WM) from Las Vegas, Nevada to be held during the early-to-middle portion of the upcoming 2018-2019 off season period of time.
It should also be noted that while I tried my best to provide the most accurate and most up-to-date information as possible, I want to apologize for any mistakes or errors that I may have made or did make while putting this blog post together before it was finally published.
5. During the 2017 season there were also a wide variety of MLB Network (MLBN) analysts who appeared on the Quick Pitch daily signature show. Unfortunately I was not able to keep track of those appearances however since Quick Pitch was on after I went to bed. The replays of the show also stopped airing for the most part after I woke up in the morning so I wasn't able to see which analysts appeared on the show.
During the few times that I was able to tune in and watch the Quick Pitch show in 2017 though it seemed like there was a vast majority of the network's analysts who made appearances on the show.
As for the 2018 season, I don't know if any of the analysts made an appearance or two on the show.
6. This is the last year that I plan on doing this Top 10 MLB Network (MLBN) Right Now series of blog posts so that I can focus more on writing about different topics relating to sports and other aspects of life.
Tim Musick
Copyright 2018
All Rights Reserved.
Welcome to Tim's Sports World. This is where I let loose on my #1 passion in life. In it, I cover everything from major pro sports news to local California college scores and news. So feel free to browse around and let me know what you think. All opinions are my own and nobody else's. All content is copyright 2014 by Tim Musick.
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