ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" crew is having lots of fun. They sit in the stands instead of the broadcast booth and gab like old friends. It doesn't seem like consultants have planned out every minute of the telecast at all.
The Red Sox made their "Sunday Night Baseball" debut when they wrapped up their highly anticipated weekend series with the Astros. That means the bulk of Bostonians were exposed to the remade announce team for the first time. Alex Rodriguez's star power has been added to the mix and the affable Matt Vasgersian now handles play-by-play duties. Jessica Mendoza is the mainstay, still talking incessantly with little substance.
The entire three-hour broadcast is filled with more gimmicks than fluffy network morning shows. For starters, the announcers were situated in the stands, calling the game from the Crawford Boxes in left field at Minute Maid Park. Last week, they were in the right field bleachers at Wrigley Field for Cubs-Giants. Next Sunday, they'll be behind home plate at Citi Field for Mets-Yankees.
The concept of placing announcers in the outfield, or any portion of the ballpark besides the broadcast booth, sounds much better in a conference room than it works in reality. The zaniness of watching A-Rod eat girlfriend Jennifer Lopez's ice cream –– she was sitting right there! –– was outweighed by the fact that nobody with a microphone could tell where fly balls were going to land. At one point, Mendoza appeared to think a foul ball that was well short of the wall was barreling towards her.
You see, broadcast booths are placed in the upper levels of baseball stadiums for a reason. The heightened view gives announcers a bird's eye perspective and allows them to see all areas of the field without obstruction. A-Rod and Mendoza may not have worn gloves if they were seated where they're supposed to be, but at least they would've been able to differentiate between a home run and lazy fly out.
It's apparent ESPN is trying to make A-Rod the new face of its baseball coverage. Rodriguez has received critical acclaim for his work on Fox and seeming fastidious preparation. The problem is, A-Rod was one of the most loathed athletes of his time. The man who lied repeatedly about his performance-enhancing drug use, sued Major League Baseball, slapped Bronson Arroyo's glove, and reportedly had a picture of himself as a centaur hanging above his bed just isn't lovable –– no matter how many forced viral moments ESPN producers put together for him.
.@AROD just couldn't resist! -- pic.twitter.com/nyq0TOCETl
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2018Overall, the telecast comes across like a daytime talk show that happens to take place in a baseball stadium. So far, the ratings haven't been kind. Viewership for "Sunday Night Baseball" in April was down from last season.
ESPN's efforts to change "Sunday Night Baseball" are laudable. Baseball is a slow game and there are plenty of lulls in the action. There is nothing wrong with trying to make the telecast lighter and playing off the announcer's personalities.
Except, the trio of Vasgersian, Mendoza and A-Rod don't come across as real people when they interact with each other on TV. There's nothing endearing about a group of people that seem like they're trying too hard.
