MLB Media Notes: Buck Calling Less Baseball On Fox

Buck Has Only Worked Nine Fox Games This Season

Joe Buck’s call of Mets-Cubs on August 4 with analyst Tim McCarver ended “his lightest load since he was anointed the network’s lead” MLB commentator in ’96, having called eight games in 19 weeks and the All-Star Game.  In N.Y., Richard Sandomir wonders, “If Buck calls relatively few of Fox’s regular-season baseball games, is he still the network’s top baseball voice?” Buck told Sandomir, “If you or the casual fan doesn’t want to consider me the No. 1 baseball announcer at Fox, it’s not my concern. I don’t know why it would matter.” Fox Sports President Ed Goren said he has “no concern about it whatsoever. A year ago, people said we overexposed Joe by having him host the NFL pregame show and do football and baseball. So the way I look at it is we’ve gone from overexposing him to underusing him.” But Sandomir argues that “continuity is important. I prefer a Buck-McCarver game to a Dick Stockton-McCarver game or a Matt Vasgersian-McCarver game” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/14).

NOTES: Comcast in Waterbury and Seymour, Connecticut, has added NESN.  But Charter subscribers in Bethlehem, Woodbury, and elsewhere are still without regional Red Sox telecasts (CABLEFAX DAILY, 8/14)....SportsTime Ohio is averaging a 5.9 rating for Indians games in the Cleveland market for ’07, up nearly 26% from ’06. In July, the net averaged a 6.9 for all Indians games, up nearly 57% from the previous July, while averaging a 7.2 for Indians games in primetime, up 100% compared to last year (SportsTime Ohio).