NBC has officially begun filling out the lineup card for its first full season of Major League Baseball since 1989.
Former MLB players Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Votto — all of whom played within the past three seasons — have joined NBC Sports as Major League Baseball studio analysts, it was announced Sunday. All three will be part of NBC’s coverage of the MLB Wild Card Series in October, with their regular season workload consisting of select appearances when their schedules allow.
All three players had been described in various reports as being highly sought after by the networks.
The hiring of three contemporary stars — of whom Votto, 42, is the oldest — is a marked change from the other MLB studio shows. Both the FOX and TBS studio teams are made up of superstars of the 2000s, with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz on FOX and Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson on TBS.
As for the rest of the cast, Bob Costas will serve a pregame host, as previously announced. The longtime face of NBC Sports told Sports Media Watch last month that he will serve in a role that is “specific” to him “and in no way overlaps or overshadows anybody else.” An example would presumably be his appearance on NBC’s “Basketball Night in America” pregame show last week, when he voiced the opening tease and welcomed viewers at the top of the telecast, before handing off to the regular host Maria Taylor.
NBC for the first time said Sunday that Ahmed Fareed will also serve as a pregame host. Fareed served in that role on the NBC-produced “MLB Sunday Leadoff” broadcasts that aired on Peacock in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, and will presumably handle the traditional hosting duties.
NBC plans to air its “Sunday Night Baseball” pregame show on-site, as it does for “Sunday Night Basketball” and “Sunday Night Football” — the latter of which includes both in-studio and on-site segments.
