For years Peter Gammons has been writing and reporting about free agents moving from team to team. As one of the most respected voices covering baseball, people paid attention. So this week, when Gammons announced that after 20 years at ESPN he was moving to the MLB Network, it made news.
Gammons’ new multi-year deal with the MLB Network and MLB.com will mean that he will be seen on the “Hot Stove” — MLB Network’s nightly offseason studio show. He also will contribute to MLB Network’s spring training program “30 Clubs in 30 Days” and do studio work on short documentary-style pieces and other select programming. Gammons also will be a regular analyst on “MLB Tonight” — MLB Network’s signature nightly studio show.
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We talked about the move and what made it happen.
Why MLB Network over ESPN?
Gammons » Let me first say I owe a great deal to ESPN. We had a wonderful 20-year relationship and my move had nothing to do with wanting to leave the network. I have many friends there and I am grateful to them for giving me a chance to become a broadcaster. The reason for the move was what the MLB group offered me. We started talking in September about ideas that I had and things they wanted to do. The more we talked, the more it made sense to make the change. The team at MLB Network and MLB.com gave me freedom to do a number of projects that I can create with their help. It was an offer that just was too good not to take, so I am happy and ready to go.
Most fans don’t know you play guitar and love rock and roll. So will you be bringing the band to “MLB Tonight?”
Gammons » That is funny. I really don’t think that we will have a band on the set. I think that I have to play around home in the Boston area. I think that my talent will be better served doing columns on MLB.com and sticking to the shows on the network. You know, I will always think of myself as a newspaperman but things have changed over the years. We now have the online world where things are written and posted instantly. I can recall when I started at the Boston Globe, I remember giving my copy to a copy person and they would take it to the editor. My, how times have changed — fans now get information instantly and as that comes with great responsibility. We all need to get it right all the time — but part of the business has not changed.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on washingtonexaminer.com.
