As the Major League Baseball season gets set to begin, the final hour of The Leadoff Spot on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio is going to have a new television home. MLB Network, the league-owned broadcast entity that has been on the air since 2009, will be presenting the 9 a.m. EST hour of the show on weekdays starting on Wednesday, which will precede MLB Central and other studio programming on the channel. Steve Phillips, Eduardo Pérez and Xavier Scruggs host the weekday morning radio program where they talk about the latest headlines surrounding the game, along with teams and players competing on the field.
“Major League Baseball and SiriusXM have had a productive relationship for many years, so it’s only natural for us to expand our valuable platforms with this new endeavor,” Bill Morningstar, president of MLB Network, said in a statement. “‘The Leadoff Spot’ is an insightful and topical daily program that will only enhance our content and expand the variety of opinions and noteworthy interviews fans will consume on MLB Network.”
This alteration takes place as MLB Network also gets set to premiere the MLB Network Podcast and Off Base Podcast offerings on Wednesday as well, which will generally air on the weekends throughout the regular season. Throughout the rest of the weekdays, the network will generally present studio shows such as MLB Now, Intentional Talk and Quick Pitch. On top of that, the Emmy award-winning MLB Tonight will commence its expansion with the new national pregame show iteration of the program hosted by Greg Amsinger, Harold Reynolds and Dan Plesac.
“‘The Leadoff Spot’ is an entertaining and informative way for baseball fans to start their day,” Eric Spitz, vice president of sports programming at SiriusXM, said in a statement. “SiriusXM listeners know that the insights you get from Steve, Eduardo and Xavier, with their exceptional experience in the front office and on the field, are second to none. We’re thrilled to work with Major League Baseball to expand the reach of the show and deliver that expertise to those tuning in on MLB Network.”
Earlier in the offseason, MLB Network canceled High Heat with Christopher Russo and Alanna Rizzo after the show had been on the air for 11 seasons. Furthermore, the network reportedly extended voluntary early retirement plans to several employees. The broadcast entity will also be moving to new headquarters beginning in 2028 as it continues to produce live programming and air MLB game broadcasts.
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