‘The Rivalry’ took center stage in the 2021 American League Wild Card Game last night as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox squared off at Fenway Park in Boston. the playoff game was broadcast on multiple ESPN platforms. While the game itself lived up to the hype, with the Red Sox defeating the Yankees 6-2, viewers found themselves switching away from the primary broadcast. Many took to social media to say it was the color-commentary of former New York Yankees third baseman and current Major League Baseball analyst on ESPN, Alex Rodriguez, that made them change channels.
On Wednesday morning, two of 670 The Score’s shows shared a discussion of the night on television. Bernstein and Rahimi were joined by Mully and Haugh. The quartet spoke about the appeal of the Statcast, which aired on ESPN2, and how it made watching the game more enjoyable for fans who were unable to bear the Sunday Night Baseball pairing of play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian and the aforementioned Rodriguez for another high-stakes game.
“I turn on the game and it’s A-Rod and Vasgersian… wait! [Jason] Bennetti, Eduardo Perez and Mike Petriello were on [ESPN2],” said Dave Bernstein, midday host and senior columnist at 670 The Score. “It was like getting out of baseball ‘stupid’ prison, and [there was a large] number of people who came on [Twitter] and thanked me [for telling them]… apparently, it was not as well known as I thought.”
After Mike Mulligan made a remark that Bernstein’s “ears must have been burning” watching the primary ESPN broadcast of the game, the Chicago sports radio host expressed his gratitude for the second broadcast, and how it made the viewing experience of the first game of the postseason more bearable.”
“The disparity between those broadcasts… Oh my gosh!,” said Bernstein. “You’re not bleeding out of your ears. A-Rod always has a rough night… he sucks!”
ESPN introduced the Statcast alternate broadcast during the 2018 season during the Major League Baseball playoffs and added it to Sunday Night Baseball in 2020. The broadcast, featuring Chicago White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Bennetti, former Major League Baseball player Eduardo Perez and MLB.com Statcast Insider Mike Petriello, has received much acclaim and has served as a welcome change from the traditional style of live game broadcasting.
Leila Rahimi, co-host of “Bernstein and Rahimi” on 670 The Score, says the lack of intelligence on the primary broadcast is a considerable difference between it and the Statcast. She read a tweet while on the air that put Rodriguez’s analysis into perspective posted by Marc Carig, a baseball writer and deputy managing editor at The Athletic.
“He was really good at hitting and infield — I promise,” quipped Rahimi after reading Carig’s tweet. “There was a time when he was really good at both.”
In response, Bernstein simply said: “Turn [Rodriguez’s] mic off.”
ESPN recently introduced an alternate viewing experience for 10 of its Monday Night Football broadcasts, with brothers and former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning breaking down the action as it happens and interviewing celebrity guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment. The broadcast, known informally as the “ManningCast,” has seen its ratings rise up over the first three weeks of action, with just over 10% of viewers, on average, choosing the alternate experience over the traditional crew, which includes play-by-play announcer Steve Levy, and former NFL players Brian Griese and Louis Riddick providing color commentary.
“The broadcast separated from the equation — that was a fun game,” said Haugh.
ESPN will not telecast any of the remaining Major League Baseball postseason games on television or its streaming platforms; however, ESPN Radio will have exclusive coverage of all postseason contests on-the-air, continuing with tonight’s National League Wild Card game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. Jon Sciambi and Kyle Peterson are on the call for the single-game elimination contest with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST/6:30 p.m. CST.
