MLB NETWORK REVEALS MLB.COM’S TOP 50 PROSPECTS ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25 AT 10:00 P.M. ET

For the First Time The Complete Ranking is Expanded to Include the Top 100 Prospects, Available on MLB.com

Secaucus, N.J., January 24, 2012 – MLB.com’s annual ranking of the best young prospects in baseball will be revealed on Top 50 Prospects on MLB Network tomorrow, Wednesday, January 25 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Using information from scouting directors, scouts and industry sources, the complete list, which has been expanded to include the top 100 prospects for the first time ever, is based on each player’s skill set, high upside, closeness to the Major Leagues and potential immediate impact to their team. Players eligible for the ranking must have rookie status for the upcoming 2012 season, including Matt Moore (Tampa Bay Rays), Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals). Previously top-ranked prospects include Trout, Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price.

Hosted by MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, the ranking will be analyzed by MLB Network insider John Hart, the former general manager of the 1995 and 1997 American League Champion Cleveland Indians, and MLB.com senior writer Jonathan Mayo. The complete rankings, including prospects 51-100, position and team lists, can be found at “Prospect Central” at MLB.com/prospects. Mayo will also discuss the top 100 prospects in an online chat on Friday, January 27^th at 2:00 p.m. ET on MLB.com.

Prior to Top 50 Prospects, MLB Network’s block of offseason programming will air, including Intentional Talk at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. ET, Clubhouse Confidential at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET, Hot Stove  at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. ET, and Baseball IQ, MLB Network’s first-ever game show, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

MLB NETWORK LAUNCHES ITS FIRST-EVER GAME SHOW, BASEBALL IQ

Matt Vasgersian Hosts a Bracket-Style Tournament With Participants from All 30 MLB Clubs, MLB.com and the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum

Baseball IQ Premieres Tuesday, January 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, N.J., January 11, 2012 – MLB Network today announced the launch of Baseball IQ, its first-ever game show, premiering Tuesday, January 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian, Baseball IQ is a recall-based trivia show featuring two participants, 30 minutes and a chance to win up to $45,000 for charity. Questions will cover all things baseball, from current players and managers to World Series champions, MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, Hall of Famers, milestones and more.

MLB Network surveyed all 30 Clubs, MLB.com and the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum for the best and brightest trivia minds in their organizations to represent them in Baseball IQ, and thirty-two participants will be matched up in a bracket-style tournament across 31 episodes. Two new episodes will air every Tuesday through Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET from January 24 through February 23, leading up to the start of Spring Training.

“Baseball fans are passionate about the sport’s statistics and launching Baseball IQ is a way for us to expand our offseason programming lineup to let viewers test their baseball knowledge,” said MLB Network President and CEO Tony Petitti. “The premise of Baseball IQ is a natural extension of how fans talk about baseball at home or during a game by putting a current story, player or moment into historical context.”

Baseball IQ features participants from front office personnel, equipment managers, scoreboard operators and museum curators. When possible, Baseball IQ participants will be matched up in a bracket opposite their clubs’ rivals, pitting the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim against the Texas Rangers. The winning player of each episode will win $5,000 for the organization’s charity they represent. The championship episode will award $25,000 for the winner’s charity and $15,000 to the runner-up’s charity.

The complete Baseball IQ bracket with participants scheduled to appear is below and more information, including rules, participant and charity information can be found here. Show information and programming updates will be posted to MLB Network’s Facebook page and Twitter feed via #BaseballIQ.

2012 NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME ELECTION RESULTS TO AIR LIVE ON MLB NETWORK & MLB.COM ON MONDAY, JANUARY 9

National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson to Announce 2012 Inductees Live in MLB Network’s Studio 3

Costas, Gammons, Amsinger, Kenny, Heyman, Reynolds, Rosenthal, Vasgersian & Verducci on Hall of Fame Coverage Starting at 2:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, NJ, January 3, 2012 – The results of the 2012 National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot will be announced on MLB Network and simulcast on MLB.com on Monday, January 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET as part of a two-hour announcement show beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. Featuring National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson, coverage will include interviews with any electees and be anchored by Matt Vasgersian with MLB Network’s Bob Costas, Greg Amsinger, Brian Kenny and Harold Reynolds, Hall of Fame award-winning baseball writer Peter Gammons, and Hall of Fame voters Jon Heyman, Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci. Hall of Fame coverage and reaction will continue on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk and Hot Stove starting at 5:00 p.m. ET.  

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) 2012 Hall of Fame ballot features 27 players with 14 holdovers from previous elections, including Barry Larkin, Jack Morris and Tim Raines, and 13 newcomers, including Tim Salmon, Ruben Sierra and Bernie Williams.

Former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo was elected to the Hall of Fame in December by the Golden Era Committee. Santo will be inducted along with any candidates who receive votes on at least 75 percent of all ballots cast from Monday’s BBWAA vote.

Former Major League catcher Tim McCarver, who has served as a national television analyst for FOX, NBC, CBS and ABC, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award presented annually for excellence in baseball broadcasting. Toronto Sun journalist Bob Elliott has been named the 2012 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award presented annually to a sportswriter for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing.”

The 2012 election marks the 69th Hall of Fame election held by the BBWAA. The 2012 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.com on July 22.

HALL OF FAMERS ANDRE DAWSON, FERGUSON JENKINS AND RYNE SANDBERG FEATURED ON STUDIO 42 WITH BOB COSTAS ON DECEMBER 19

Former Chicago Cubs Discuss Their Careers and the Cubs’ Pursuit of a World Series Title

Secaucus, NJ, December 15, 2011 – Hall of Famers and former Chicago Cubs Andre Dawson, Ferguson Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg are featured in a new episode of MLB Network’s Studio 42 with Bob Costas on Monday, December 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Throughout the hour-long interview filmed in Cooperstown, New York in July 2011, Dawson, Jenkins and Sandberg discuss the Cubs’ pursuit of a World Championship, their memories of the late Hall of Famer and longtime Cubs announcer Harry Caray, and their experiences playing for former managers Dick Williams, Billy Martin and Don Zimmer. During the interview, Sandberg comments on the Cubs losing the 1984 National League Championship Series against the San Diego Padres, Jenkins talks about the curse of the black cat during the Cubs’ 1969 season, and Dawson discusses signing with Chicago following the 1986 season. A preview of the interview can be viewed here.

Dawson, the 1987 N.L. MVP Award winner and eight-time All-Star, played for the Cubs from 1987-1992, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and currently serves as a special assistant in the Miami Marlins’ front office. Jenkins, the 1971 N.L. Cy Young Award winner and 284-game winner, played for the Cubs for ten seasons (1966-1973 & 1982-1983), and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. Sandberg, the 1984 N.L. MVP Award winner and nine-time Gold Glove Award winner, spent 15 of his 16 Major League seasons with Chicago (1982-1994 & 1996-1997). Sandberg was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and currently manages the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A Philadelphia Phillies).

Prior to Studio 42 with Bob Costas, MLB Network’s block of offseason programming will air, including Intentional Talk at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. ET, Clubhouse Confidential at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET, and MLB Network’s offseason show of record, Hot Stove, at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. ET.

Highlights from the conversation with Dawson, Jenkins and Sandberg include:

Sandberg on how a Cubs’ World Series title would matter to him:

I definitely want to be a part of that.  I strived for that for 16 seasons with the Cubs, only went to the playoffs twice [out] of those 16 years, played on some other bad teams. But with the fan base there and the following across the United States, it’d be the greatest thing. With that, I think the pressure and the intensity there at Wrigley Field is something that maybe we didn’t even experience. I think it’s really turned up high there to the point where [there is] almost desperation to get it done.

I think the Cubs fans are wearing thin on the “Lovable Losers” title. … I think it’d be the biggest party ever for a winning team and the party would be all over the world.

Dawson on the Cubs’ pursuit of a World Series title:

I don’t believe in a curse. I think things have a way of manifesting itself and, in all honesty, I think it takes baseball people from top to bottom, key personnel to get where you want to be at the end of the season. I would like to really see that organization in a World Series. … It would change this country for a couple weeks because of how many Cubs fans you have around the country.

Jenkins on playing for former manager Billy Martin:

He was tough. He was tougher than a night in jail, and I’ve never been in jail. He just could aggravate people. He could just get on them. … When things weren’t right, he made them right. He was the kind of guy that would just get in your face quick. He hated excuses. … If you got an alibi, he didn’t want to hear it. Own up to it.

Jenkins on the infamous black cat game on September 9, 1969 against the New York Mets:

The grounds crew just got threw scraping the field, cleaning it up. Somebody threw a little kitten [on the field]. It wasn’t a cat. It was a kitten. … Why did it walk towards our dugout? I got no idea why and Ronnie [Santo] is on the on-deck circle, he kind of just looked down at it and then it stopped, for what I thought was ten seconds in front of our dugout. It looked in and then ran off. It could have went the other way towards the Mets’ dugout, but it didn’t. I don’t know why, but it didn’t.

Sandberg on his memory of the late Hall of Fame Cubs announcer Harry Caray:

He was doing a game and I was up, I took a horrible swing at a pitch. … I hit a weak fly ball to right field and it was in 1984. The outfielder and second baseman got out there, [there was] miscommunication, then the sun got in the way, the ball dropped in, and I’m standing on second base and Harry goes, “Holy cow, Sandberg is such a good player, he even uses the sun to his advantage.”

Dawson on playing in Chicago:

Had I not made the change going to a natural playing surface, playing in a media center, playing with the fans that really supported, represented the ball club, I wouldn’t be sitting here today [at the National Baseball Hall of Fame]. I think Chicago definitely catapulted me to that status.

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2011 GREATNESS IN BASEBALL YEARLY AWARD WINNERS TO BE UNVEILED ON MLB NETWORK AND MLB.COM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16

Comprehensive Voting Selects Top Stars & Highlights from the 2011 MLB Season

Awards to Include Starting Pitcher, Breakout Player and Player of the Year Categories

December 14, 2011, New York & Secaucus – The tenth annual Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Awards, honoring the best players and must-see moments from the 2011 Major League Baseball season, will be announced exclusively on MLB Network and MLB.com by MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger and Mitch Williams, and feature interviews with winners on Friday, December 16, at 9:00 p.m. ET.

This year’s winners in the 19 GIBBY Award categories, including best Player, Starting Pitcher, Rookie, Closer, Defensive Player, Manager and Breakout Player – with no division of League affiliation – were determined through a comprehensive six-week (Oct. 29-Dec. 4) voting process that included media, front-office personnel, former MLB players and online fan balloting at MLB.com.

Additional GIBBY Award categories include the year’s top Play, Moment, Performance, Oddity, Walk-Off, Fan Moment and Postseason Moment, each delivered through MLB.com’s “Must C” highlight vault. Videos and a complete list of categories and nominees for these honors can be found at MLB.com/GIBBYs.

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HALL OF FAMER TOM SEAVER DISCUSSES HIS CAREER ON STUDIO 42 WITH BOB COSTAS ON DECEMBER 12

Seaver Opens Up About Being Traded from the New York Mets to the Cincinnati Reds in 1977, and Pitchers in Today’s Game

Secaucus, NJ, December 8, 2011 – Hall of Famer and three-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver discusses his legendary 20-year career in a new episode of MLB Network’s Studio 42 with Bob Costas on Monday, December 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Throughout the hour-long interview filmed in Cooperstown, New York in July 2011, Seaver comments on being part of the 1969 World Champion New York Mets and his contract dispute with former Mets’ owner M. Donald Grant prior to being traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1977. After watching a clip from his goodbye press conference with the Mets, Seaver says, “It was a false love affair. Not with the fans, not with the teammates, not [with] the game. Three out of four is pretty good.”  Seaver also talks about losing his bid for a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs in 1969, facing fellow Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew and Mickey Mantle, and how today’s Major League pitchers are handled. A preview of the interview can be viewed here.

Seaver, nicknamed “Tom Terrific,” was a 12-time All-Star and 311-game winner, who spent his career with the Mets (1967-1977, 1983), Reds (1977-1982), Chicago White Sox (1984-1986) and Boston Red Sox (1986). Seaver, who holds a 2.86 lifetime ERA with 3,640 career strikeouts, was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 by the highest percentage ever recorded (98.84).

Prior to Studio 42 with Bob Costas, MLB Network’s block of offseason programming will air, including Intentional Talk at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. ET, Clubhouse Confidential at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET, and MLB Network’s offseason show of record, Hot Stove at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. ET.

Highlights from the conversation with Seaver include:

On being traded to the Reds after a contract dispute with the Mets in 1977:  

The ownership, M. Donald Grant, after Gil [Hodges] died, it changed tremendously. Gil would not let that stuff happen. I was my player rep. I represented my team in the labor negotiations. M. Donald Grant came to me during this period of time, right before I got traded, and looked at me and said, “What are you, some kind of communist?” So, the love affair was a one-way street. As soon as he said that, and there were things before that, he said, “Who do you think you are joining the Greenwich Country Club?” I said, “Oh, that’s interesting, that’s pretty interesting.” So, it began to die. … It was time for me to go. It was time for me to go. … It was not pretty. When you give your heart to somebody and then they rip it back out of you. … It was a lie, it was false. It was a false love affair. Not with the fans, not with the teammates, not [with] the game. Three out of four is pretty good. It never affected me with my teammates and what I did for a living.

On winning the 1969 World Series:

We were in [the clubhouse] at the celebration. It was one of the best realizations of my life. We were in there [with] the champagne. This has got to be the ultimate and you know what? It wasn’t the ultimate. It’s the field that is the ultimate. We went back on the field. …. It isn’t the celebration. … It’s what’s on the field. That’s where the art form is. That’s where the competition is. That’s where the intellectual input as a team makes this happen: on the field. I went back to the mound. … I just went back and looked. … You want that to be your last image. … There was nobody in the stands and it was disheveled and grass was torn up and taken away. But it’s on the field. … It is the journey, not the destination.

On the Chicago Cubs’ Jim Qualls breaking up his bid for a perfect game in the 9^th inning on July 9, 1969:

Never saw him before. Brand new player. … The whole night with him, I didn’t see any holes at all. I think he hit the ball hard three times. … Certainly, you would say if I had to do it over again … I’d do something else. … The drama of it was fabulous. I actually felt levitation in that game. It was 55,000 people or whatever and I knew exactly what was going on. … I stood there and I actually felt like I was coming off the mound.

On heading into the 1969 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles:

They were really good, but you know what? Our pitching was better. … We really felt like we were going to win.

On his lifetime record of 311-205:

The one thing that makes me proud is that I can go back and pitch for five years right now and be 0-20 each year, I’d still be over .500 as a pitcher.

The journey in the game is why you’re able to win at 38 years old. I had a coach, Dave Duncan, [for] the [Chicago] White Sox, playing for Tony La Russa. …. Here’s my pitching coach and I’m toweling off and he looked at me and said, “Tom, you don’t have squat tonight.” … And I toweled off and I said, “It won’t make any difference. It’s called pitching, not throwing.” That’s where it was so much fun. You don’t have anything. … All of the sudden, you’ve pitched seven and two-thirds innings and you go off the mound and you’re ahead three to two. …. And on the day that Duncan said that to me, I went by and said, “Can you imagine if I would have had good stuff?”

On facing Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle:

You love the moment. You love the one little singular personal piece of history that you faced Mickey Mantle and you know it’s going to be dramatic and you’re going to go, “Let him go,” and he’s going to swing three times and he’s going to let it go.

On today’s pitchers coming out of games early:

It is the economics running the game or somebody’s theory or system that now they look for reasons to take a pitcher out. … What are you doing to this pitcher? Why don’t you go to the mound and say, “You are throwing great. Put this to bed. Put it in the casket.” You’re trying to build these individuals mentally. … Leave them in there. Let them be stud muffins.

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