Gammons Explains Reasons For Leaving ESPN For MLB Roles

Gammons Says Combination Of Writing And Network Attracted Him To MLB Roles

MLB analyst Peter Gammons said he was attracted to his new roles at MLB Network and MLB.com because of the opportunity to merge television work with writing for the Web site. Gammons on a conference call yesterday said, "The combination of the writing and the network for me just lets me move on to another stage in my career." He added he was excited by the opportunity to write and provide analysis for entities solely focused on baseball, saying the writing forum in particular "fascinates me and really excites me." "It's very evident to me that the network has encouraged full objectivity and allowed the people on air to be exactly who they are," Gammons said. "I am who I am, and I’d like to think that after 40 years in the media business people accept me -- and that I’m going to have, I hope, the same integrity that I've always had." MLB Net President & CEO Tony Petitti said Gammons will be utilized on the network in a similar style to Bob Costas in that Gammons will be allowed to come up with ideas for new segments and programs on which he would be featured. Though he does not have any concrete ideas for such programming at this point, Gammons said he hoped he would have the opportunity to help educate viewers on some of the game's current stars. Petitti added building the fledgling net's talent base was particularly important at this point in time, and that having gone through a full MLB season "makes it a little bit easier to recruit now that people have seen the shows" (William Cooper, THE DAILY).

PASSING THEM BY: In DC, Tim Lemke wrote with Gammons on board, MLB Net now "truly has the lion's share of top talent when it comes to analysts." ESPN reporters Buster Olney and Jayson Stark are "two of the best in the business," while their analysts are headed up by the "solid" John Kruk, as well as Eric Young and Fernando Vina. However, MLB Net "can boast of former players" like Harold Reynolds, Barry Larkin, Al Leiter, Joe Magrane and Mitch Williams. It also has "relationships with SI.com's Jon Heyman and Tom Verducci [and] Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal," as well as Costas. Lemke: "It would seem that ESPN needs a renewed focus on its baseball coverage. To ignore this trend means risking a descent into irrelevance among fans" (WASHINGTONTIMES.com, 12/9).