Ken Rosenthal has been in the news lately after the report last week from Andrew Marchand of The New York Post that MLB Network was not renewing his contract due to criticism Rosenthal had of commissioner Rob Manfred. Still, Rosenthal is with The Athletic and at FOX, a position he has had since 2005.
Recently, Rosenthal was a guest on The Boone Podcast with former MLB All-Star Bret Boone. Now, it is important to note that Rosenthal’s dismissal at MLB Network was not mentioned on the podcast nor if this episode was recorded before or after that news. However, what Boone did ask Rosenthal about was how he ended up at FOX.
Rosenthal did mention that he used to do appearances on ESPN’s Cold Pizza (now First Take) as he started to do television to go with the writing he was doing for The Sporting News. Then, he had offers from ESPN and FOX, but he said he ultimately went with FOX because of what the role there could be.
“It wasn’t guaranteed that I would be able to do the job that I ultimately have done, which is dugout reporter and work an All-Star Game and a World Series and all of that. It was a bit of a risk because ESPN was obviously a safer bet and the role would have been clearer, but I was a little afraid honestly that they were going to have me do so much. Ultimately, I ended up working at that pace for FOX, but I didn’t know that was going to be the case at the time. Either choice would have been great, but I must say I definitely made the right choice and it’s been one of the great thrills I can have to work this long at FOX. I’m still there and loving it.”
Back in 2016, Rosenthal was unable to write at FOX Sports anymore because FOX Sports, like so many other sites at the time, pivoted to a video-only outlet. While he had to start posting stories on Facebook at that point, FOX did tell him that he was allowed to go somewhere else to write and still stay with the company.
Yes, Rosenthal is more well-known for breaking stories and his columns and articles in The Athletic, but he told Boone that a lot of players recognize him mainly for his work in the dugout for FOX. It is a position that Rosenthal says helped him in forming a good bond with the players.
“You are in a clubhouse, you see someone on TV, it makes you know him or her more than just some random byline in the paper unless it’s the beat writer covering your team. It is an elevated status and certainly, players and even minor leaguers when they come into the game, they know who I am just from television. They become more familiar with you. I noticed that right away and it was jarring to me.”
