Baseball Tonight
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| Baseball Tonight | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Baseball |
| Starring | Karl Ravech John Kruk Steve Phillips Peter Gammons more below |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 18th Season |
| Production | |
| Running time | 20, 30, 40, or 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ESPN (1990-) |
| Original run | March 19, 1990 – Present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Sun Night Baseball Mon Night Baseball Wed Night Baseball |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
Baseball Tonight is a Sports Emmy Awards winning program that airs on ESPN, and is the only nightly highlight show devoted to Major League Baseball. The show, which recapitulates the day's Major League Baseball action, has been on the air since 1990.
Baseball Tonight usually appears nightly on ESPN throughout the baseball season at 10:00 p.m. ET and 12:00 a.m. ET as part of The Trifecta (the show may air on ESPN 2 when there are conflicts with college football or the NBA). The 10:00 p.m. show has permission from Major League Baseball to show in-progress highlights. The show is also seen at 12:30 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. ET on Sundays leading up to Sunday Night Baseball telecast. The late-night edition on Sundays is usually just a re-air of the 7:00 show, with a SportsCenter anchor providing highlights of the Sunday Night game in place of a game preview segment that airs during the live broadcast. The nightly Trifecta show re-airs at 12:00 p.m. ET the following day (excluding Saturday, when the show is usually a full-hour in length). The show also appears live at events throughout the year, such as spring training, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the World Series sites, and occasionally has remote stunts, i.e. shows from rooftops at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field in 2005.
Beginning with the 2005 season, Baseball Tonight has been broadcasted in high-definition on ESPN HD. Airing begins in March during Spring Training and ends after the World Series in October. The primary host of the program is SportsCenter veteran Karl Ravech. John Buccigross or Scott Reiss usually host on various days during the week.
Contents |
[edit] History
In 2000, the segment "Web Gems" was coined and created by then-producer Judson Burch. The segment originally featured great defensive plays followed by viewer internet voting on the "web." The phrase "web gem" is now common vernacular in baseball broadcasts and circles to describe outstanding glove-work.
In 2002, the home run segment "Going, Going, Gone", complete with the immensely popular "screaming baseball" animation was replaced with a tamer segment "Touch 'Em All" sans screaming baseball.
In 2006, Baseball Tonight introduced new graphics. The opening sequence features players on baseball cards moving and a ball going from one to another via a throw or off a bat. A much longer variation of this is also used to open ESPN's live game broadcasts. The theme music also was updated from the normal orchestral treatment to a livelier rock vamp.
[edit] Personalities
Baseball Tonight often features the following people:
[edit] Current personalities
- Dusty Baker: (analyst, 2006–present), signed two year deal with ESPN on December 31, 2006.[1]
- Chris Berman: (secondary host, 1990–present)
- Orestes Destrade: (analyst, 2005–present), signed a multi-year contract extension with ESPN on March 6, 2007.[2]
- Peter Gammons: (lead reporter, 1990–present), signed a three-year contract extension with ESPN on March 6, 2007.[3]
- Pedro Gomez: (lead correspondent, 2004–present)
- Orel Hershiser: (analyst, 2006–present)
- Tim Kurkjian: (reporter, 1998–present)
- John Kruk: (lead analyst, 2004–present)
- Buster Olney: (reporter, 2003–present)
- Steve Phillips: (lead analyst, 2005–present), signed a five-year extension with ESPN in June 2006. [4]
- Karl Ravech: (lead host, 1996–present)
- Scott Reiss: (weekend host, 2005–present)
- Jayson Stark: (reporter, 2000–present)
- Fernando Viña: (analyst, 2007–present)
- Eric Young: (analyst, 2007–present)
[edit] Former personalities
- Larry Bowa: (analyst, 2005)
- Jeff Brantley: (analyst, 2002–2006)
- Dave Campbell: (analyst, 1990–2004)
- Rece Davis: (host, 2004)
- Rob Dibble: (analyst, 1998–2004)
- Rich Eisen : (host, 1996–2003)
- Ray Knight: (analyst, 1998–2003)
- Mike Macfarlane: (analyst, 1999)
- Dave Marash: (host, 1990)
- Tino Martinez: (analyst, 2006)
- Gary Miller: (lead host, 1990–1995)
- Harold Reynolds: (lead analyst, 1996–2006)
- Buck Showalter: (lead analyst, 2001–2002)
- Rick Sutcliffe: (analyst, 2002–2003)
- Bobby Valentine: (lead analyst, 2003)
[edit] Featured segments
Baseball Tonight is split into a number of segments, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of baseball. These segments include:
- 3 up, 3 down: 3 players/teams each that are either on the uprise or downside of their seasons or careers (in the case of players).
- Analysis: a more in-depth look at baseball topics, players, and upcoming games.
- Diamond Cuts: Airs on the Sunday edition, a montage of the week's best plays set to music.
- Extra Bases: a more in-depth look at a particular game after the highlights have aired.
- Highlights: the most important happenings from the days' Major League Baseball, occasionally also featuring other baseball competitions such as the World Baseball Classic, the College World Series, Minor League Baseball or the Little League World Series. Virtually every MLB game is shown at least once, more if there are in-progress highlights to report on.
- Inside Pitch: This segment usually features Peter Gammons giving his insight on the latest news and rumors from around baseball.
- Leading Off: usually the first segment of the show, giving the day's baseball news, for example, trades, injury updates and hirings and firings of managers.
- Most Important Thing: Analysts' comments on the most important story from the day's happenings in MLB. This is usually the final segment of the show.
- On The Phone: a live phone interview with an MLB player, coach, or general manager, usually regarding the most recent game played and outlooks on the future of the team.
- Stat of the Night: an interesting baseball statistic from the day's happenings in MLB.
- Touch 'Em All: significant home runs of the day.
- Web Gems: the day's five best defensive plays. On Sundays, the best defensive plays of the entire week air.
[edit] See also
- ESPN Major League Baseball
- Sunday Night Baseball
- Monday Night Baseball
- Wednesday Night Baseball
- Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio
- ESPN Major League Baseball broadcasters
- Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio broadcasters
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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