Peter Gammons To Make MLB Network Debut On Wednesday

Remember back in the 90′s when wrestlers switched between WCW and WWE on a frequent basis? A wrestler would leave WCW because his contract was up and would disappear for like three months.

Internet rumors swirled about how he has signed a contract with the WWE and everyone started to wonder what his gimmick would be and when he would debut. The anticipation of when this wrestler would make his debut would be more talked about then the wrestler’s skills in the ring.

Three months later, the wrestler would make his debut on Monday Night Raw or on a Pay Per View with a new name and a new gimmick. That scenario kind of reminds me of what is going on with Peter Gammons these days.

Gammons left ESPN a couple of months ago and everyone started to speculate where he was going to go. He signed a contract with the MLB Network  in December and now everyone was waiting to see when he was going to make his debut.

That question was answered today.

According to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, Gammons will make his debut for the MLB Network on Wednesday. Gammons will appear on the 2010 Hall of Fame Election Show at 1:00 pm ET. on Wednesday.

Unlike the WWE or WCW, Gammons won’t have a new gimmick or change his name with the MLB Network. He will be his usual outstanding self,  joined by Bob Costas, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci, Jon Heyman, Matt Vasgersian, and National Baseball Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson.

Outside of Reynolds (not the biggest fan), that is a powerhouse panel.

Of course, the topic they will be covering will be who made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2010. Who or who doesn’t deserve to get into the Baseball HOF is perhaps the most debated topic in sports.

I weighed in on the HOF topic back in July, when the 2009 Baseball HOF class was inducted. I still stand by my thought that only Roberto Alomar gets into the HOF in 2010.

Barry Larkin and Edgar Martinez will just miss.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

The Great Peter Gammons Leaving ESPN

Update: Well, it appears I got my wish and then some.

The MLB Network has officially sent out a press release stating that Peter Gammons will be joining the network, as well as MLB.com as an on-air and online analyst.

The press release also states that Gammons has signed a multi-year deal with NESN starting in 2010 to be a studio analyst and reporter. NESN is home to the Boston Red Sox.

Gammons leaving ESPN for the MLB Network is a massive blow to ESPN and their baseball coverage. As one of my commentors pointed out, ESPN’s coverage of sports in general lately has been mediocre at best.

With Gammons leaving, it just got worse.

As much as I like Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian, I really don’t see a reason to watch Baseball Tonight anymore. The MLB Network’s coverage of baseball is superior and they cover the game with the respect it deserves.

You can view the entire press release here.

Original Post

It’s a sad day for baseball fans everywhere.

The great Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN.

My decision to leave ESPN and move on at this point in my life has been conflicted,” said Gammons in a statement. “I owe a great deal of my professional life to ESPN, having spent more than half of my 40 years in journalism working for the network, and the choice to move on was made with nothing but the strongest feelings for the people with whom I worked. ESPN gave me a great deal more than I gave it, and will always be a huge part of who I am.”

ESPN says Gammons is leaving to pursue future endeavors.

I idolize very few people in this world, but Gammons is one of them. When I was studying Sports Managment at UMass, Gammons was always the guy I wanted to be.

He was the most respected writer and analyst in baseball. He changed the way baseball was covered and his articles were always must reads.

Gammons is one of the main reasons that I write today.

I remember in college, my roommate Odie had a subscription to the Sunday Boston Globe–I really just showed my age with that one. When the Globe came to our apartment, we used to run or move briskly (there was very little running in our apartment on a Sunday morning) to the door in order to be the first one to read Gammons’ Sunday article–true story.

At the time, Gammons was the only credible “insider.” His Sunday article gave us information that we couldn’t get anywhere else. Today, there are hundreds of “insiders” thanks to people like Gammons.

Now ESPN said Gammons is leaving to pursue future endeavors, which means other opportunities. It doesn’t sound like Gammons is going to retire.

My guess is Gammons ends up in either of two places–the MLB Network or NESN.

Could you imagine if he ended up at the MLB Network? Tom Verducci, Jon Heyman, Ken Rosenthal, and Gammons all on the same network. That is baseball geekdom at its best.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Why Do Teams Need To Scout Roy Halladay?

Before I left to go to the annual H&M Summer Party last night at the Standard Hotel in NYC last night (yes, I do go out), I was watching the MLB Network. Of course they were talking about the topic of the last month – Roy Halladay. Jon Heyman mentioned that the Milwaukee Brewers were sending scouts to watch Roy Halladay pitch. This to me was high comedy.

Now let it be known that the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, and St Louis Cardinals have all sent scouts out to watch Roy Halladay pitch. My question is why? I understand that teams want to do their “due diligence,” but what exactly are these scouts going to tell them that they already don’t know?

Sending a scout to watch Roy Halladay pitch is like me sending a couple of buddies to check out Heidi Klum to see how she looked at her latest photo shoot. I don’t think my buddies are going to come back to me and say “You know she wasn’t really doing it for me this time.”

Unless Roy Halladay walks off the mound with an injury (which we would all see on ESPN or the MLB Network), or his arm falls off in the middle of an inning – here is the scouting report for Roy Halladay:

“The best pitcher in the game.”

Just think, someone was willing to fly me to Toronto just to write that.

Softball Update

As one season ends, another one begins. Saturday starts the fifth annual Ocean Beach Softball Tournament. Six teams, three weekends, and guaranteed at least one fight.

This year, The Ghost of Moonlight Graham will be donating $50 to the V Foundation for Cancer Research for every Home Run hit in the tournament.

Last year, there were about 20 HR’s hit in the tournament. With the increased number of teams (from four to six), we are hoping for more HR’s this year.

Big Game Bob Is Back….

I am not talking about Robert Horry nor am I talking about Bob Gibson. I am talking about Bob Costas. With a light schedule last night in baseball, I decided to tune into the Dodgers vs. Cubs game on the MLB Network. And like music to my ears, Bob Costas was announcing the game.

I call him “Big Game” Bob, because no matter if it is a meaningless game in May between the Dodgers and Cubs, just by him announcing the game, you get the feeling that it is a big game. There are only a handful of announcers that give you that feeling. Keith Jackson being one and Al Michaels being another. One of my earliest baseball memories was Al Michael’s call of Dave Henderson’s HR off of Donnie Moore in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS between the Red Sox and Angels. It was just classic.

Costas should be announcing every World Series game and at least one of the League Championship Series. He needs to be doing this. Costas was great with Dan Plesac last night. Costas gives the game history and more importantly he gives the game meaning. I don’t get the same big game feeling with Joe Buck doing the play by play. Buck tries to portray this young, cool, hip guy and it just doesn’t work. I also think that because he is for some odd reason Fox’s #1 broadcast guy for both baseball and football, no game feels like a big game because he is on TV so much.

And don’t even get me started with TBS. They could have Bob Costas, Al Michaels and Keith Jackson announcing the game and it still wouldn’t work. There coverage of major league baseball in the postseason has been a flat out joke. They care more about plugging their own shows like Frank TV, than they do about the actual game itself. Bud Selig needed to end this partnership yesterday.

Costas will be doing the play by play for a handful of Thursday night games on the MLB Network. For me personally, I feel this great for baseball. Every game he does feels like a big game.

Baseball’s Best Home Field Advantage….

I woke up this morning and turned on the MLB Network to watch their “Hot Stove” program. During the show Harold Reynolds said the Twins had the best home-field advantage not only in baseball but in all of sports. That is a pretty bold statement. Now I am not sure if I agree with the Twins having the best home-field advantage in ALL of sports, as you can make the case for Duke’s Cameron Indoor,  Green Bay’s Lambeau Field or Seattle’s Quest Field. However, this got me thinking…who has the best home-field advantage in all of baseball?

There are a lot of teams in baseball that have no home-field advantage such as the Marlins, Rangers and Padres but there are 10 teams that when a team steps on their field there is a definite advantage. Let’s see who they are

10 – 6: Orioles, Indians, Phillies, Brewers, Cardinals

5. Coors Field, Rockies – Since Coors Field opened in 1995, the Rockies have been one of the best home teams in baseball as their lifetime record of 628 – 518  at Coors Field indicates. But what gives the Rockies a tremendous home-field advantage is what gives all teams from Colorado (Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche) an advantage….The altitude. Coors Field is 1 mile above sea level and when teams come in for a short 3 game series, it’s hard to adjust to the altitude change.

4. Angels Stadium of Anaheim, Angels – Angels Stadium(previously called Edison International Field) really came alive during the Angel’s 2002 World Series run. That year fans and the Yankess, Twins and Giants were introduced to the Rally Monkey, 43,250 fans wearing red and thundersticks. Those factor make Angels Stadium a nightmare for teams to play.

3. Yankee Stadium, Yankees – The tradition, the ghosts and raucous new yorkers give the Yankees the ultimate home-field advantage in October.  I don’t think there is a pitcher on the planet who would find it easy to get the final 3 outs against the Yankees in October. Just ask Byung-Hyun Kim. I would have the Yankees higher if A. 2004 didn’t happen and B. they weren’t moving into a new stadium. It will be interesting to see if the ghosts moved over to the new stadium or if they were left behind.

2.Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox – 456 (and counting) consecutive sellouts, the crowd right on top of the players, and the presence of the Green Monster make Fenway Park an opposing place for visiting teams. Having a sold out crowd every game gives the Red Sox an advantage during those dog days of July and August. Red Sox captain Jason Varitek echoes those sentiments….

           “Just, every day, they’ve brought excitement,” Varitek said. “You have a lot of days throughout a season — you’re dragging, down, you’re tired, you’re sore, you’re hurt — and that energy sometimes brings you through those tough moments.”

While the Rockies, Angles, Yankees and Red Sox have good home-field advantages, they don’t have the best one. That honor goes to….

1. The Metrodome, Twins – One of my earliest memories of baseball was Kent Hrbek’s grand slam against the Cardinals in game 6 of the 1987 World Series. That game was played in the Metrodome and I remember thinking to myself as I watched that game, “wow, these fans are loud.” The Twins won that game and have won all 8 World Series games played in the Metrodome. The Homer Hankies, the fast turf, the white dome and of course perhaps the loudest fans in baseball make the Metrodome the ultimate home-field advantage for the Twins. Unfortunately, the Twins will be moving into a new stadium in 2010, Target Field which will be an outdoor stadium. Once the Metrodome closes its doors for baseball, the best home-field advantage will be closed with it.

It’s not often I agree with what Harold Reynolds opinion but in this case I believe he correct in saying the Twins have the best home-field advantage in baseball.

MLB Network Debuts Today…

On January 1st at 6:00 pm est, Major League Baseball will launch the MLB Network into approximately 50 million homes making it the largest network debut in cable history.

I for one am personally excited about this. A station that covers America’s Pastime around-the-clock is true nirvana for any baseball fan. Here is everything you need to know about the MLB Network courtesy of MLB.com:

Programming:

• MLB Network will launch on January 1, 2009 at 6:00pm EST with the debut episode of Hot Stove, followed by the original broadcast of Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series
• MLB Network will air 26 live games throughout the season
• MLB Tonight is the live, nightly studio show that will be the signature program of the new network
  • The show will air live beginning at 6:00 p.m. Eastern until the final MLB game of the night ends between Monday and Saturday
  • The show will feature live look-ins of games in progress, updates, highlights, reporting and analysis.
• Hot Stove is the live, nightly off-season studio show and will feature news, reports, and analysis of the moves clubs are making and planning in preparation for the upcoming season
  • The show will air during the off-season at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Monday through Friday
  • Prime 9 is the countdown program which will air throughout each week. Each program will breakdown the all-time top nine examples of its subject matter

On-Air Talent:

• Studio Hosts: Matt Vasgersian, Victor Rojas
• Analysts: Al Leiter, Joe Magrane, Harold Reynolds
• Reporters: Trenni Kusnierek, Hazel Mae

Where to find:

• Time Warner New York – Channel 174
• Direct TV – Channel 213

For everyone else, use the channel locator provided by MLB.com

I hope everyone enjoys the debut of the MLB Network, I know I will

Happy New Year to everyone!!!