(AUDACY) Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN will be getting a new play-by-play voice next season.
Matt Vasgersian won't be returning to his role as the play-by-play broadcaster alongside analyst Alex Rodriguez next season, he told Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
The 54-year-old Vasgersian, who also does work for MLB Network and became the lead play-by-play voice for the Los Angeles Angels this season, explained to Marchand that he's leaving because he “can’t do everything I enjoy with MLB Network and the Angels, while still being away for nearly 30 weekends a year.”
Vasgersian has been the play-by-play voice for Sunday Night Baseball since 2018, when he was chosen to be paired with Rodriguez, mostly due to the fact that he was Rodriguez's preferred choice to work with in the booth and they were believed to be a package deal.
ESPN is expected to bring Rodriguez back next season, Marchand also reported, despite his shortcomings as a color commentator.
Should Rodriguez return as expected, it would make sense that he would have significant say in who would be the next play-by-play voice.
Marchand listed Boog Sciambi, Karl Ravech, Jason Benetti, Ryan Ruocco, Dave Flemming and Michael Kay as possibilities. Sciambi, Ravech and Flemming were all candidates in 2018 before Vasgersian was hired.
All of the above have worked for ESPN, although Kay hasn't done television work for the network. His radio show is on ESPN's airwaves.
Sciambi, recognized as one of the best play-by-play voices in the game, became the lead play-by-play television announcer for the Cubs last season. He has filled in for Vasgersian on Sunday Night Baseball in the past, giving him at least some experience with Rodriguez.
Ravech has been a staple of ESPN’s baseball coverage for years and has called many of the network’s weekday games.
Benetti, who's the television play-by-play voice for the White Sox, has called an array of sports, including baseball, for ESPN since 2011. He was the play-by-play commentator for ESPN’s MLB Statcast AI coverage of the American League wild-card game Tuesday as well as the Home Run Derby earlier in the summer.
Ruocco is one of ESPN’s NBA and WNBA play-by-play voices, and he has filled in for Kay over the last few years on the YES Network. He also hosts the “R2C2” podcast along with former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia.
Kay has been the voice of the Yankees for the last few decades and was also reportedly considered to be paired with Rodriguez in 2018. If Kay is seriously considered, it will be interesting to see how it impacts his role with the YES Network.
Flemming, the radio voice of the San Francisco Giants, has called MLB games on ESPN since 2014, including playoff games on ESPN Radio.
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