Sports Media Watch has reported that despite the “Kay-Rod” broadcasts coming to an end, 98.7 FM ESPN New York’s Michael Kay will continue doing baseball play-by-play for the mothership. The report says Kay will be on the call for ESPN’s MLB World Tour: London Series broadcast when the Mets and Phillies play in June. He will also call a Wild Card playoff series although it is not known yet who his partner will be.
Alex Rodriguez, who completed the “Kay-Rod” duo, is no longer with ESPN as he has moved exclusively to FOX. Rodriguez joined the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball team in 2018 and he and Kay had the alternate broadcast for the last two seasons.
It is also reported that ESPN will resume airing “Statcast” alternate presentations of Sunday Night Baseball this season. Those statistics heavy broadcasts will now feature Baltimore Orioles play-by-play voice Kevin Brown.
Kay has spent three decades as a play-by-play voice for the New York Yankees, including 10 years on radio and over 20 years as the television voice of the Yankees on YES Network, a role he has held since the network’s launch in 2002.
Good news, Michael is a great announcer and his radio shows with Peter and Don is pure entertainment.
Kay’s delivery is so robotic and repetitive that I often turn off the commentary and turn on the closed captions. If I hear the term “ribbie” one more time I may start watching the Mets exclusively.