MLB International | |
---|---|
Also known as | Major League Baseball International. MLBi |
Genre | Sports broadcast |
Narrated by | Gary Thorne Dave O'Brien Matt Vasgersian Dan Shulman Scott Braun Jason Benetti Dave Flemming |
Opening theme | Major League Baseball International theme (1996-2014) MLB Network Showcase theme (2015-present) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Production locations | World Series MLB stadiums (game telecasts) |
MLB International is a division of Major League Baseball primarily responsible for international broadcasts of games. [1] In partnership with DirecTV and MLB Network, it produces and syndicates the All-Star Game, and the World Series, as well as the Caribbean Series, the Australian Baseball League Championship Series and the World Baseball Classic to broadcasters in over 200 countries, and the American Forces Network for U.S. military troops abroad. It previously broadcast the NLCS and ALCS, alternating between the two each year. MLB International broadcasts content that shows baseball in a local context, e.g. sneaker shopping in Japan or baseball games in India, and explains concepts and rules of baseball to viewers who may not be familiar with the sport. [2]
From 1996 until 2003 and again starting in 2010, Gary Thorne [3] served as the play-by-play man for the World Series on Armed Forces Radio and MLB International. [4] [5]
Dave O'Brien provided commentary for MLB International's coverage of the World Series from 2004 until 2009. O'Brien teamed with his usual ESPN partner Rick Sutcliffe on broadcasts of the World Series and the American League Championship Series for MLB International.
From 1996 to 2002, and 2010–2014, MLB International broadcast the League Championship Series alternately, with the American League Championship Series in even-numbered years and the National League Championship Series in odd-numbered years. [6]
Since 2015, production of the MLB International broadcasts has been assumed by the MLB Network. Matt Vasgersian (formerly of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball and today part of Fox Sports) in addition to the MLB Network, also current play-by-play television announcer for the Los Angeles Angels (AL) and former play-by-play television announcer for the San Diego Padres (NL) has served as the play-by-play commentator; for the 2016 World Series onward, he was joined by Buck Martinez (play-by-play analyst of the Toronto Blue Jays for Sportsnet—which has carried the world feeds due to his involvement, and former color commentator for TBS) on color. [7] Since 2018, with Matt now with ESPN part-time in addition to his MLB Network duties, Buck was joined for the All-Star Game duties by former Sunday Night Baseball voice Dan Shulman (who calls play-by-play on selected Blue Jays games on Sportsnet with Martinez on color).
In 2021, MLB Network's Scott Braun assumed the post as the main play-by-play announcer for MLB International's broadcasts. He was replaced in 2022 by Jason Benetti (NBC Sports Chicago) for the English-language international MLB All-Star Game coverage and Dave Flemming (NBC Sports Bay Area, KNBR) for the global World Series coverage.
Joseph Francis Buck is an American sportscaster for ESPN.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has been broadcast on American television since the 1950s, with initial broadcasts on the experimental station W2XBS, the predecessor of the modern WNBC in New York. The World Series was televised on a networked basis since 1947, with regular season games broadcast nationally since 1953. Over the forthcoming years, MLB games became major attractions for American television networks, and each of the Big Three networks would air packages of baseball games at various times until the year 2000. Fox would rise to major network status, partially on its acquisition of MLB rights in 1996; Fox has been MLB's primary broadcast television partner ever since.
Matt Vasgersian is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an announcer for Fox Sports' National Football League and Major League Baseball coverage, ESPN's coverage of Major League Baseball, NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympic Games, and NBC Sports' coverage of the original XFL. He formerly called play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres.
John Albert "Buck" Martinez is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television colour commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Since the end of his playing career, he has been a broadcaster, working on the Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles radio and television broadcasts, and nationally for TBS and MLB Network. Martinez managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 2001 to May 2002 and Team USA at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006.
Gary Francis Thorne is an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for Baltimore Orioles games on MASN from 2007 to 2020. He has also worked for ESPN and ABC, including National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, college football, and the Frozen Four hockey tournament. He also worked for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was the narrator for the WrestleMania Rewind program on its WWE Network streaming video service.
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