Notes from TBS Exclusive Coverage of the 2014 A.L. Wild Card Presented by Budweiser
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
TBS’ exclusive presentation of the ALDS will begin Thursday, Oct. 2, at 5 p.m. ET with the MLB Postseason Pre-Game on TBS presented by The All-New Chrysler 200, followed by the Detroit Tigers @ Baltimore Orioles (Game 1) at 5:30 p.m. ET and the Kansas City Royals @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Game 1) at 9 p.m. The night will conclude with The Postseason Show presented by Exxon and Mobil.
Cincinnati Reds All-Star Todd Frazier will be a guest analyst with the TBS studio crew on Thursday, Oct. 2.
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MLB Postseason Pre-Game on TBS presented by The All-New Chrysler 200
Casey Stern (host), Pedro Martinez and Gary Sheffield (analysts)
| Martinez on the Royals’ team speed: “It gets in your mind because speed kills. If they get on base, Kansas City has a clear advantage.” | |
| Sheffield on how trading Yoenis Cespedes earlier in the season impacted the Athletics lineup: “[The Athletics] were playing so well when Cespedes was there, but now that he’s gone it seems like these guys don’t know what to do. Now it’s time for them to step up and turn it around in the playoffs.” | |
| Sheffield on a hitter’s mentality in the postseason: “Stick to your game plan as a hitter. You know what you do well and you know what [the pitcher] does well. Take what he gives you. If you try to reinvent the wheel, that’s when the game speeds up and the next thing you know you’re home fishing.”
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Oakland Athletics (8) @ Kansas City Royals (9) in 12 innings – Kansas City advances to the ALDS to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Ernie Johnson (play-by-play), Ron Darling and Cal Ripken (analysts) with Matt Winer (reporter)
| Darling on the decision to use rookie pitcher Yordano Ventura in relief: “You’re asking a young man to do something that he’s never done and on this stage, it’s very difficult to have success that way. If you’re going to go with [Royals relievers] Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland…somehow get those outs from those three guys because they have been there. They are used to pitching with men on base. They are used to the big stage. Maybe not the postseason stage, but they are used to the big stage.” Darling on Royals catcher Salvador Perez: “He is emerging as the [Cardinals All-Star catcher] Yadier Molina of the American League. Not only because of how he calls pitches but because of his durability and how he controls pitchers.”Darling on Royals starting pitcher James Shields: “He has so much confidence in himself that he instills confidence in his team. [He has a] great presence and great poise.” Ripken on the Royals sticking to their game plan: “The Royals plan all along was to take [Lester] out of his tempo by creating havoc on the base paths. Even down [late], they are still employing that strategy.” Ripken on Kansas City’s Jarrod Dyson: “A lot of people can pile up stolen bases when they don’t count. Dyson gets them when they count.” |
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| Darling on Oakland starting pitcher Jon Lester: “When he gets into a groove, it’s almost like a pitcher who has the ball on a string. That’s what he makes it look like.”
Ripken comparing Lester to former Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte: “As I watch Lester, I can’t help but be reminded of Andy Pettitte. Pettitte established his cutter inside but also had a good fastball he would use mixed in with his breaking ball. I always thought it made him much more effective.” Darling on A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson: “This little man generates just about as much bat speed as anyone in the game.” |
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The Postseason Show presented by Exxon and Mobil
Stern, Martinez, Sheffield
| Martinez on Royals manager Ned Yost removing James Shields from the game in the sixth inning: “How many times during the year did you see Ned Yost make this kind of move? You bring a rookie starting pitcher into a very difficult situation. I don’t agree with it.”Martinez continues on Yost: “Ned Yost made a panic move and almost gave the game again. If they would have lost, he would have been the ugly goat.”
Martinez on Yost’s postgame comments regarding his pitching moves in the sixth inning: “Anything [Yost] says that wasn’t ‘I screwed up and almost threw the game away’ is horrible.” Martinez on Royals rookie pitcher Brandon Finnegan: “I can’t describe how high this kid is in my heart. He settled the whole team down and gave them an opportunity to come back. He’s got a great future.” |
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TBS’ Exclusive Presentation of the 2014 MLB American League
Wild Card Game Delivers 5.2 Million Total Viewers
A.L. Wild Card – Oakland at Kansas City – Up 12% Among Total Viewers;
Network Wins the Night Across All of Cable Television
TBS’s exclusive presentation of the 2014 MLB American League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser – the Oakland Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals – averaged 5,234,000 total viewers, an increase of 12 percent over an average of 4,675,000 total viewers for the two MLB Wild Card Games airing on the network last year. The corresponding 3.3 U.S. HH rating is up 10 percent over the average 3.0 U.S. HH rating in 2013, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. Last night’s telecast propelled TBS to win the night across all of cable television.
The telecast – a Royals 9-8 victory in 12 innings – is up 14 percent among total viewers and 10 percent in U.S. HH rating when compared with last year’s N.L. Wild Card Game between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates (4,599,000 total viewers; 3.0 U.S. HH rating) which aired on the same day of the week and similarly marked the start of the MLB Postseason a year ago.
TBS’ coverage of the A’s/Royals game peaked with a 4.1 U.S. HH rating and 6.5 million total viewers from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET. Locally, the telecast earned a 30.3 metered market rating in Kansas City – the highest rating on record for an MLB game on TBS in the market – and a 9.9 in the Bay Area. In terms of market size, Kansas City ranks 31st among the 56 metered markets with 923,000 television households.
The 2014 MLB Postseason will continue on TBS – home of the American League throughout the postseason – with an A.L. Division Series doubleheader on Thursday, Oct. 4. The network’s live game coverage will feature the Detroit Tigers visiting the Baltimore Orioles at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hosting Kansas City at 9 p.m. (both Game 1 matchups in their respective best-of-five series).
TBS’ coverage will begin with the pre-game show, presented by The All-New Chrysler 200, at 5 p.m. and will conclude with The Postseason Show presented by Exxon and Mobil following the Royals/Angels game.
Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Live + SD data stream Fast Nationals for the 2014 MLB Wild Card on TBS. Comparison to 2013 MLB Wild Card average and individual games on TBS (10/1 through 10/2/2014). Cable Prime comparison based on ad-supported game programming for night of 10/1/2014.
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