ESPN on Friday revealed its “Sunday Night Baseball” plans for the 2022 Major League Baseball season.
The broadcast booth will feature Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and David Cone.
Ravech is the fourth-ever play-by-play voice of “Sunday Night Baseball,” while Perez and Cone will serve as analysts for the exclusive national game of the week.
According to a press release, Cone, a Cy Young Award winner and YES Network analyst, reached a multiyear agreement with ESPN. Ravech and Perez, already staples in ESPN’s MLB programming, agreed to long-term contract extensions.
This obviously bumps Alex Rodriguez from the broadcast booth, but the former MLB slugger remains part of ESPN’s plans. Rodriguez and Michael Kay, a YES Network play-by-play announcer and ESPN Radio host, will team up for “Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod,” a special presentation that’ll air on ESPN2 alongside the traditional game broadcast on ESPN.
The “Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod” presentation — a spin on the successful “ManningCast,” featuring Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, that ESPN rolled out during “Monday Night Football” broadcasts this NFL season — will “integrate fantasy baseball, predictive analytics and special guests tied to the game,” according to ESPN.
Rodriguez and Kay will appear on-site for select games and appear live from their home studios for other games. There will be eight “Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod” presentations throughout the 2022 season, and they’ll coincide with ESPN’s highest-profile rivalry games.
