The Yankees swept the Red Sox in London this past weekend as fans in the U.K. got their first-ever look at live MLB action, and Fox Sports’ KEN ROSENTHAL had a close-up look at the first of the two-game series. It was a quick trip for the veteran baseball insider, and just his second ever to England’s capital. After returning from across the pond, Rosenthal caught up with THE DAILY to talk about his experience in Great Britain and dish on Saturday’s 30-run thriller at London Stadium.
8:00am: I got up, which was 3:00am ET. I got there Thursday. I can’t say I was accustomed to the time difference, but I was okay. I had gotten most of my prep work done the night before. The biggest difference for me with this game was I didn’t prepare like it was a normal game. The notes I did were mostly about the event itself -- not really pure baseball.
9:00am-12:00pm: I got a workout in. I did about an hour of reading. I went to get something to eat near the St. Pancras railway station -- I think the Harry Potter train station is attached to it. That would be the last thing I would eat until after the game. They had a market down there, so I had some calamari, sushi and an avocado, tomato and mozzarella sandwich.
12:00pm: Our car left for London Stadium. Even though it was a 6:15 game, that’s early. Normally we would leave probably two hours later, but the traffic in London was so bad and everyone was worried we would get stuck.
1:00pm: We arrived, and I went to a production trailer and read for another hour. It was very hot, even in the trailer. It was a 90-degree day there, which is unusual. I don’t mind the heat usually, but that was hot.
2:00-4:00pm: We had our first meeting with Red Sox manager ALEX CORA at about 2:15. It’s JOE BUCK, JOHN SMOLTZ, myself and the producer PETE MACHESKA. We met with Yankees manager AARON BOONE shortly after that, about 3:00.
4:00pm: I went on the field, talked to some players, kind of bounced around. With the heat, I could not keep the sweat off my face. I took a towel from the Yankees dugout and kept it with me.
4:30pm: I had to interview AARON JUDGE for the pre-game show. There was a little bit of drama. It was prearranged, then at the last minute he wasn’t going to do it, so we asked for DIDI GREGORIUS. Then they offered GLEYBER TORRES. Meanwhile, I’m prepared for Judge, but you just have to adjust. Finally, Judge comes over anyway. So, I do Judge and Torres, two questions each.
5:15pm: I did a hit for MLB Network.
6:00pm: My first responsibility for the game was to interview Cora right before first pitch. I go near the Red Sox dugout, but someone who works for MLB came over and said, “You don’t want to stand there. We’re going to shoot these fireworks off and it’s going to get really hot.” So, I went into the Red Sox dugout so I wouldn’t get scorched. Then we do the interview and the game starts.
6:15-10:30pm: I did a few live hits in the first and third innings. Then in the bottom of the fifth I interviewed MLB Commissioner ROB MANFRED in his suite. During the pregame, I mapped out with security how to get up to that box because I’ve obviously never been there before. After the middle of the fourth I went up to the audio room to get closer. After that I go back downstairs, and the game got crazy. It felt special, that was MLB’s goal and I believe they pulled it off. It had a big-game, All-Star, playoff-type feel to it.
10:45pm: Interviews after the game were Yankees CF BRETT GARDNER live on Fox and then 2B D.J. LEMAHIEU for the postgame show/social media. I’m excited to get back to London next year, hopefully I’ll be a part of it. I know what MLB wants to do, obviously grow internationally, which is understandable. Any smart business would want to do that. I don’t know exactly what baseball’s future its over there, London is such a big city that I don’t know how much it resonated.
11:00pm: We took a car back to the hotel.
12:00am: A first cousin lives in London. My wife and daughter were on the trip and we all went out to eat at about midnight -- I hadn’t eaten since earlier in the day. That’s usually a relaxing time for me.
1:00am: I finally got to bed.
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