Having already hired Pete Rose, Fox Sports has added another controversial figure to its MLB playoff roster.
Fox Sports announced Sunday that it has hired Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez as a guest studio analyst for the remainder of the MLB postseason. Rodriguez will make his debut Monday on Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The news was first reported Sunday morning by the New York Daily News, which previously noted in August that Rodriguez was actively seeking guest analyst roles.
Rodriguez has been as controversial figure in baseball over the past several years. After initially being positioned as the heroic alternative to Barry Bonds, Rodriguez admitted past steroid use in 2009 and was then suspended for the entire 2014 season for his role in the Biogenesis scandal.
As noted previously, Rodriguez will join a studio team that also features Pete Rose — currently banned from baseball for a 1989 gambling scandal. Raúl Ibañez, Frank Thomas and Kevin Burkhardt make up the remainder of the studio crew.
The Rodriguez and Rose hires make it quite clear that Major League Baseball takes a different tack with announcer approval than other leagues. In the NBA, the league office is believed to have blocked ESPN’s planned hire of Stan Van Gundy in 2012 and Turner Sports’ hire of Norman Chad in 1996.
(Sun. news from Fox Sports, NY Daily News)
