YES Network bosses were shocked to learn on Tuesday that Al Leiter will not be with the New York Yankees in 2019. He has spent the last 12 seasons as an analyst on the network’s Yankees broadcasts.
Leiter says he isn’t interested in another job. He wants to spend more time with his son Jack, who is about to begin his senior year of high school. Jack is an All-American pitcher that will head to Vanderbilt next season.
“I know it sounds like BS, but it is true,” Leiter told The New York Post. “It is hard to leave. It is more about being able to see Jack and my kids (three daughters) doing their things.” He will continue his part-time work with the MLB Network.
John Filipelli, YES’s president of production and programming, told The Post “I didn’t see it coming.” He says he was planning to increase the number of games Leiter worked this season from 20 to between 35 and 40.
Leiter will not be replaced in the rotation of game analysts. Filipelli says that David Cone, Paul O’Neil, Ken Singleton and John Flaherty, who will work in both the booth and the studio, will continue splitting analyst duties.
