DIVISION-LEADing BrAVES, CARDINALS, TIGERS, RANGERS & red sox featured in MLB NETWORK’S JUNE game schedule

Bob Costas, Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz & Tom Verducci Call Four MLB Network Showcase Games

Secaucus, N.J., May 28, 2013 – MLB stars Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Buster Posey and Joey Votto will be featured across the MLB Network Showcase schedule in June as part of MLB Network’s 24 live games scheduled for the month. Games featured on MLB Network Showcase presented by Chevrolet in June include:

• June 7: St. Louis Cardinals @ Cincinnati Reds, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  NL Division rivals match up as Joey Votto, the NL’s leader with a .351 batting average, and the Reds play host to Carlos Beltran and the Central-leading Cardinals.

Ø  Announcers:  Matt Vasgersian and Tom Verducci

• June 14: San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves, 7:30 p.m. ET

Ø  2012 NL MVP Buster Posey and the defending World Series champion Giants visit the NL-East leading Braves, who have won eight of their last ten games.

Ø  Announcers:  Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz and Sam Ryan

• June 18: Los Angeles Dodgers @ New York Yankees, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  Longtime World Series rivals collide as Matt Kemp and the Dodgers travel to New York to take on the Yankees.

Ø  Announcers:  Bob Costas, John Smoltz and Sam Ryan

• June 20: Boston Red Sox @ Detroit Tigers, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  Miguel Cabrera, MLB’s leader with 57 RBI, and the Tigers play host to David Ortiz and the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox.

Ø  Announcers:  Bob Costas, John Smoltz and Tom Verducci

The remainder of MLB Network’s June schedule features other high-profile matchups, including a rematch of the 2011 World Series featuring the AL West-leading leading Texas Rangers visiting the Cardinals on Friday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET, and the Colorado Rockies traveling to the nation’s capital to play the Washington Nationals on Saturday, June 22 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Six matinee showdowns also highlight MLB Network’s June schedule, including Chris Davis, the AL’s leader with 16 home runs, and the Orioles taking on the Tigers on Wednesday, June 19 at 1:00 p.m. ET, live from Comerica Park.

MLB Network’s complete game schedule for the remainder of May is available here and the complete game schedule for June is available here. Games will be blacked out in each team’s home television territory unless otherwise announced. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will be provided with an alternate game telecast or other programming.

About MLB Network:

MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, featuring the Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight, live games, including Postseason telecasts, original programming, highlights, and insights and analysis from the best in the business, including Bob Costas, Peter Gammons, Jim Kaat, Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds. MLB Network debuted on January 1, 2009 as the largest launch in cable television history and is currently distributed in 71 million homes throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to www.MLBNetwork.com.

EIGHT DIVISION MATCHUPS AND INTERLEAGUE RIVALRIES HIGHLIGHT MLB NETWORK’S MAY GAME SCHEDULE

Bob Costas, Matt Vasgersian, Jim Kaat, John Smoltz & Tom Verducci Call Five MLB Network Showcase Games

Memorial Day Features Interleague Doubleheader and 12 Live Hours of Coverage Starting at 12:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, N.J., April 25, 2013 – MLB Network Showcase continues with five games in May as part of MLB Network’s 23 live games scheduled for the month, which includes eight division matchups and five Interleague games. Games featured on MLB Network Showcase presented by Chevrolet in May include:

• May 2: Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  Justin Upton, MLB’s leader with 11 home runs, and the NL East-leading Braves play host to 2012 NL Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper and the reigning NL East Champion Nationals.

Ø  Announcers: Bob Costas, John Smoltz and Sam Ryan

• May 16: Detroit Tigers @ Texas Rangers, 8:00 p.m. ET

Ø  2012 MLB Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and the defending AL Champion Tigers visit Adrian Beltre and the AL West first-place Rangers.

Ø  Announcers: Matt Vasgersian, Tom Verducci and Sam Ryan

• May 21: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  Division foes collide as Robinson Cano and the Yankees take on Adam Jones and the Orioles in a rematch of last year’s ALDS.

Ø  Announcers: Bob Costas, John Smoltz and Sam Ryan

• May 30: New York Mets @ New York Yankees, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  David Wright and the Mets travel cross-town to play the rival Yankees in the finale of their four-game Interleague series.

Ø  Announcers: Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and Sam Ryan

• May 31: Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees, 7:00 p.m. ET

Ø  The MLB Network Showcase schedule for May concludes with MLB RBI leader Mike Napoli and the AL East-leading Red Sox facing the division-rival Yankees.

Ø  Announcers: Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and Sam Ryan

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, MLB Network will air 12 hours of live coverage, including an Interleague doubleheader. The Emmy-Award winning MLB Tonight will begin MLB Network’s coverage at 12:00 p.m. ET, leading up to the first game of a four-game series between the Orioles and Nationals at 1:00 p.m. ET. MLB Tonight will return following the game and lead viewers into the opening game of the Yankees and Mets series at 7:00 p.m. ET. Following the Yankees at Mets, MLB Tonight will provide highlights and analysis of completed games and games in progress before MLB Network’s regular season highlights show of record, Quick Pitch, recaps the day’s action at 11:00 p.m. ET.

The remainder of MLB Network’s May schedule features other regional Interleague rivalries, including Matt Kemp and the Los Angeles Dodgers facing 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Tuesday, May 28 at 10:00 p.m. ET. Divisional showdowns also highlight MLB Network’s May schedule as 2012 NL MVP Buster Posey and the San Francisco Giants host the Dodgers on Saturday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET and Ryan Howard and the Philadelphia Phillies travel to the nation’s capital to play the Nationals on Friday, May 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

MLB Network’s complete game schedule for the remainder of April is available here and the complete game schedule for May is available here. Games will be blacked out in each team’s home television territory unless otherwise announced. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will be provided with an alternate game telecast or other programming.

MATT VASGERSIAN, JOHN SMOLTZ & TOM VERDUCCI TO CALL FRIDAY’S KANSAS CITY ROYALS AT BOSTON RED SOX

Peter Gammons to Join the Game Telecast Live at Fenway Park at 7:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, N.J., April 17, 2013 – MLB Network today announced that it will televise the Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox game this Friday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET, the first Red Sox game at Fenway Park since Monday’s events at the Boston Marathon. Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz and Tom Verducci will call the game on MLB Network Showcase, while MLB Network’s Peter Gammons will join the game telecast and appear on MLB Network’s studio programming leading up to the game, including The Rundown at 2:00 p.m. ET, Intentional Talk at 5:00 p.m. ET and MLB Tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET.

MLB Network’s telecast of the game will be blacked out in the Red Sox’ and Royals’ home television territories. The Boston, Kansas City and Pittsburgh home television territories will see the Atlanta Braves at Pittsburgh Pirates at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Hour-Long Interview Airs Saturday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET & Sunday, April 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, N.J., April 10, 2013 – Brooklyn Dodgers legend and Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young Award winner Don Newcombe joins actors Harrison Ford and Chadwick Boseman on Studio 42 with Bob Costas this weekend on MLB Network to discuss his former teammate Jackie Robinson and the Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures presentation of “42,” a Legendary Pictures Production.

Taped at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last week, Newcombe comments on Robinson both on and off the baseball diamond, while Boseman, who portrays Robinson, and Ford, who plays Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, talk about what drew them to the film and how they prepared to play such larger-than-life characters. Boseman details his Spring Training-like practices and Ford describes studying Rickey’s mannerisms by watching his appearance on an episode of the game show “What’s My Line?” in 1959.

Studio 42 with Bob Costas will air this Saturday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET and on Sunday, April 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET. The film “42” is in theaters nationwide this Friday, April 12.

 

Highlights from this episode of Studio 42 with Bob Costas include:

Newcombe on Robinson:

He was not the greatest baseball player to ever play baseball, but he became a legend in baseball with his talent. He had the greatest reflexes of any human being I’ve ever seen on a baseball field. He could do things that I’ve never seen anybody else do yet in all of those years. Willie Mays and all of them couldn’t do what Jackie could do on a baseball field. … In a rundown, he had nine baseball players one day chasing him down the third base line trying to catch him and they never did catch him. Nine!

Newcombe on Robinson’s legacy:

Jackie said, “We’re bitter now, but we’re going to change one letter in the word bitter. We’re going to change the “I” to “E” and things are going to get better. We have to make it work though. We have to make it work,” and we did make it work. We made history. We made baseball what it is today in a very big way, but we still haven’t reached the point where we need to be.

Boseman on why the movie was made:

When [Legendary Pictures CEO] Thomas Tull talks about why he wanted to do the film, he says that he was doing an event with some kids with Ken Griffey, Jr. and they brought up Jackie Robinson, and they didn’t know who he was. Ken Griffey turns to him and says, “You know, we have to do something about that.”

 

Boseman on the importance of playing Jackie Robinson:

That set in for me that I am responsible for … portraying all of the characteristics and qualities and principles that the man lived under. I also knew that there were a lot of people who viewed him as a hero, that know him very well, and would be let down if I didn’t live up to those expectations.

Boseman on how he prepared to imitate Robinson’s style of play:

I was provided his Hall of Fame footage by Major League Baseball and I was given coaches. We basically had a Spring Training from the middle of January to May, in which I came, went to practice five days a week in the morning and we also had conditioning sessions later in the day … I was like a professional player, treated like that.

Ford on Branch Rickey:

He was a dramatic character. He had a real sense of drama and baseball is drama. He had a style and that was one of the joys of playing him. He’s a larger-than-life character.

Ford on researching Rickey’s mannerisms:

One of the most telling things I saw was an old kinescope of him appearing on “What’s My Line?” … Just after the show was over, he walked from the place where he sat as a “mystery guest” and greeted the panelists on his way off stage, and from that I got the essence of the man, the courtliness, the gentility, the way he moved. You know, a picture’s worth a thousand words and a lot of those pictures helped inform me.

Newcombe on Boseman’s and Ford’s portrayals in the film:

I’m so proud to see this young man [Boseman] perform the way he did, emulating my great idol named Jackie Robinson, my teammate, my ex-roommate, my golfing buddy … When I first saw Harrison, I said, “What is Branch Rickey doing up on that screen?” He looks so much like him and he performed like him and I said, “My God, what do they do in the movie business, they make it almost real.” I’m proud of the both of them.

WORLD SERIES CHAMPION CLIFF FLOYD & FORMER ALL-STAR JOEY CORA JOIN MLB NETWORK AS ON-AIR ANALYSTS

Secaucus, N.J., April 8, 2013 – World Series champion Cliff Floyd and World Series-winning coach and former All-Star Joey Cora have joined MLB Network as analysts, appearing across MLB Network’s programming. Floyd will debut Monday, April 15 on MLB Tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET and Cora will make his MLB Network debut on MLB Tonight on May 6.

Cora and Floyd join former Major Leaguers Larry Bowa, Eric Byrnes, Sean Casey, Darryl Hamilton, John Hart, Jim Kaat, Al Leiter, Mike Lowell, Joe Magrane, Jerry Manuel, Kevin Millar, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, Billy Ripken, John Smoltz, Dave Valle and Mitch Williams as analysts at MLB Network.
Over a 17-year play career, Floyd batted .278 with 1,479 hits, 233 home runs and 865 RBI during his career as an outfielder and first baseman. Floyd was named to the National League All-Star team in 2001, when he batted .317 with 31 home runs and 103 RBI for the Florida Marlins. Defensively, Floyd led all National League outfielders with 15 assists in 2005 while with the Mets. Floyd was a part of four Postseason teams, including the 1997 World Series Champion Marlins. Floyd broke into MLB with the Montreal Expos (1993-1996, 2002) and also spent time with the Marlins (1997-2002), Boston Red Sox (2002), Mets (2003-2006), Chicago Cubs (2007), Tampa Bay Rays (2008) and Padres (2009).

Floyd’s previous experience in broadcasting includes serving as an expert host on “SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball” since 2011. Floyd also works as a pre- and postgame analyst for Marlins games on Fox Sports Florida and has worked an analyst on NBC Sports Network’s “SportsTalk.” Follow Floyd on Twitter: @Sleepy30.

As a player, Cora batted .277 with 1,035 hits, 624 runs scored and 294 RBI over his 11-year career. An American League All-Star second baseman with the Seattle Mariners in 1997, Cora batted .300 with 105 runs scored and 40 doubles, and also led all American League second basemen with 307 putouts. Cora was a member of four Postseason teams during his playing career, which included time with the San Diego Padres (1987-1990), Chicago White Sox (1991-1994), Seattle Mariners (1995-1998) and Cleveland Indians (1998).

Following his playing career, Cora managed in the New York Mets’ Minor League system before serving as third base coach and bench coach for the White Sox (2004-2011), including the 2005 World Series champion team. Cora also served as bench coach for the 2012 Miami Marlins.

 

April on MLB Network Features 26 Live Games &

The Premiere of MLB Now with Brian Kenny & Harold Reynolds

World Series Champion San Francisco Giants Face Rival Los Angeles Dodgers on

MLB Network Showcase with Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and Sam Ryan on April 2

MLB Network Strike Zone Channel Returns Friday, April 5

MLB Network’s coverage of the 2013 Major League Baseball season begins with fifteen live hours of Opening Day coverage on Monday, April 1, featuring a sneak peek of the new studio show MLB Now with Brian Kenny, host of Clubhouse Confidential, and analyst Harold Reynolds at 8:00 p.m. ET and on Tuesday, April 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Starting Wednesday, April 3, MLB Now will air weekdays from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET.

Fresh off one of the most hotly contested MVP races in history, the cultural divide in MLB is more evident now than ever before. MLB Now will represent two different groups of baseball fans and how they watch the game today as Kenny, armed with his analytic acumen, will match wits with 12-year MLB veteran Reynolds on daily news across the league, including everything from second-guessing a crucial managerial move in a game to discussing whether or not a player should be signed to a long-term contract.

Kenny and Reynolds will welcome outside opinions each day, with live guest interviews via MLB Network’s Cisco Ballpark Cam network and live polling on social media so viewers can give their take on the day’s topics. New MLB Network host Kristina Akra, who served as a reporter covering the Washington Nationals for MASN in 2012, will appear across MLB Network’s studio programming and make her MLB Network debut on MLB Now on Monday April 1.

MLB Network’s Opening Day coverage begins on April 1 at 10:00 a.m. ET with Intentional Talk, hosted by Kevin Millar and Chris Rose, the return of The Rundown with Lauren Shehadi and Matt Yallof at 11:00 a.m., MLB Tonight at 1:00 p.m. ET with Greg Amsinger, Larry Bowa, Kevin Millar, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, Bill Ripken, Ken Rosenthal, Paul Severino, Matt Vasgersian, Tom Verducci and Mitch Williams, followed by MLB Network’s in-season highlights show Quick Pitch at 1:00 a.m. ET with Heidi Watney.

GRAMMY® nominated band OneRepublic will provide the soundtrack for MLB Network’s coverage of Opening Week as “Counting Stars,” the opening track off their third studio album Native, which will be released March 26^th on Mosley Music Group/Interscope Records, will be featured across all of MLB Network’s programming. A behind-the-scenes look at the video the band recently shot in MLB Network’s Studio 42 is available here.

MLB Network’s live game schedule for the 2013 season will begin with the Tampa Bay Rays’ home opener against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, April 2 at 3:00 p.m. ET, followed by the World Series champion San Francisco Giants at the Los Angeles Dodgers, called by Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and Sam Ryan, on MLB Network Showcase at 10:00 p.m. ET. The remainder of MLB Network’s April game schedule is available here, including the following matchups on MLB Network Showcase:

April 2:           San Francisco Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers / Bob Costas, Jim Kaat & Sam Ryan

April 12:         Atlanta Braves @ Washington Nationals / Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz & Sam Ryan

April 18:         St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies / Matt Vasgersian, Jim Kaat & Sam Ryan

April 25:         Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees / Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz & Sam Ryan

April 30:         Cincinnati Reds @ St. Louis Cardinals / Bob Costas, John Smoltz & Tom Verducci 

MLB Network’s commercial-free, highlights-focused Strike Zone channel will return on Friday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET, once again taking viewers on a high-speed trip around MLB on Tuesday and Friday nights during the regular season. When live game telecasts air on MLB Network, MLB Network Strike Zone brings fans to every game across the league, with up-to-the-minute highlights, live look-ins and updates. MLB Network Strike Zone is available on Bright House Networks, Consolidated Communications, DirecTV, DISH, Google Fiber, OpenBand, SureWest Communications and Time Warner Cable.