TBS Announces MLB Analysts Ron Darling and Buck Martinez to Join
Sunday MLB on TBS Game of the Week with Chip Caray
TBS Schedule Premieres on Sunday, April 6 with the World Champion Red Sox @ Blue Jays at 1 p.m. ET
TBS announced today its telecast team for its inaugural 26 “Sunday MLB on TBS” afternoon Game of the Week. Former Major League pitcher and Emmy® award-winner Ron Darling will be paired with Chip Caray during the regular season and will also serve as an analyst during TBS’ exclusive League Division Series (LDS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS) coverage. Darling, who calls games on SportsNet New York (SNY) throughout the year, served as both a game-site (Division Series) and studio analyst (NLCS) last year during TBS’ first-ever postseason coverage in its 30 years of airing Major League Baseball on the network. Darling won a New York Emmy® Award for his work as an analyst on New York Mets games for SNY in 2006.
Caray will also be paired separately with analyst Buck Martinez for TBS Sunday afternoon telecasts. Martinez will also serve as an analyst during TBS’ LDS coverage. Martinez’ extensive resume includes over 30 years as a player and manager in MLB, manager of the United States during the inaugural World Baseball Classic (2006), and has over 22 years of experience as a baseball broadcaster on television and radio. Martinez enters his sixth season this year as an analyst on Baltimore Orioles games.
“Ron Darling has established himself as one of the most eloquent and opinionated voices in the game and we are looking forward to showcasing his personality to our TBS audience,” said Jeff Behnke, SVP and executive producer for Turner Sports. “Buck Martinez is simply regarded as one of the best analysts in baseball and his experience as a player, manager and behind the microphone will elevate our telecasts throughout the year and during our postseason coverage.”
As previously announced, the TBS announce team will also include 19-year broadcasting veteran Chip Caray who will provide play-by-play each week. Caray previously called games for the network’s 2007 MLB Postseason coverage of the Division Series and NLCS. Caray is the grandson of the legendary broadcaster Harry Caray and son of longtime Atlanta Braves announcer Skip Caray. Marc Fein will once again man TBS’ in-game studio highlight show throughout the season. Fein joined Turner Sports in 2004 and, along with his MLB responsibilities on TBS, has made appearances on TNT’s NBA and NASCAR coverage.
Turner Sports veteran Craig Sager reprises his role from last year’s MLB postseason as TBS field reporter for select games throughout the regular season, beginning opening day. Sager is currently is in his 17th season as a sideline reporter on the NBA on TNT. Turner’s two-time Emmy® award-winning studio host Ernie Johnson will make select appearances from TBS’ in-game studio highlight show during the regular season, beginning with the opener on April 6, with the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox facing the Toronto Blue Jays at 1 p.m. ET. There will be 26 regular season games in all and the network will also exclusively televise the MLB All-Star Selection Show on Sunday, July 6, hosted by Johnson.
Additional key match-ups include the Atlanta Braves taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 20th as former Braves centerfielder Andruw Jones makes his return to Turner Field. On April 27th the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Indians in a rematch of the 2007 ALDS in which the Indians bested the Yanks 3-1 to win the series. The games included in the TBS MLB package will be blacked out in each team’s home television territory. The network will announce future games on its schedule coinciding with its selection windows.
