Hats Off to the MLB channel

The symbolic half-way point of the 2009 season, as indicated by tonight's All-Star game in St. Louis, seems the perfect time to offer my sincere congratulations to all the folks responsible for the birth and development of the MLB channel. As a follower of the national pastime for more than three decades, I often found myself in seasons past at a loss to satsify my year-round fix of all things baseball.

This despite both a print product and TV program seemingly dedicated to keeping hard-core fanatics of the game like me updated at least weekly(out of season) and nightly(in-season). For more than a decade I had relied on the pairing of ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" and the publication formerly known as "USA Baseball Weekly" to get my diamond news fix. However, as the years went by, Gannett kept screwing around with the format of their weekly publication( adding other college and pro sports - even NASCAR) and I was soon reminded of the sorry evolution over the years of the original "Bible of Baseball", The Sporting News. There a steadily changing succession of corporate owners kept re-vamping the design and focus until the baseball coverage was so minimal I finally had to cancel my subscription. Unfortunately for me(and I'm guessing lots of others), "Baseball Weekly" had met a similar agonizingly slow fate.

Over on the tube, however, even ESPN's comittment to the national pastime seemed to occasionally waver. While I certainly didn't expect nightly baseball coverage during the long off-season of November to February(when there was often little to report except rumours of free-agent signings); even once the regular season got started, there were nights when "Baseball Tonight" simply was not on, or it's time slot kept changing to accomodate ESPN"s coverage of another sport. Frustrating to be sure for those of us who don't follow college hoops, pro football, hockey etc.

Finally, the arrival early in 2009 of a cable TV channel dedicated to nothing but baseball heralded the dawn of a new era for baseball junkies everywhere. So let's get this disclaimer out of the way upfront: I simply can't say enough good things about the MLB channel. From the depth of the on-air talent to the ability to go live to any of 30 ballparks as play develops; from the 6PM(EST) start time each night setting the stage for that evening's match-ups to the quality of original programs like "The Pen"; it all adds up to must-see TV. And while the months building up to the start of the 2009 season left the newborn channel often struggling to find enough content to fill out their evening hours, they have certainly gotten up to speed in a New York minute as the season has progressed.

But the true value of the programming goes way beyond just a series of nightly highlights(which if you wait long enough are available elsewhere). No, special note must be given to the in-studio demonstrations of fundamentals and hitting and pitching techniques by a slew of former big leaguers. The live segment shown during spring training featuring Rickie Henderson demonstrating his basestealing secrets was a true revelation to even long-time veteran players like Barry Larkin and Harold Reynolds as he showed them how he timed his lead and what he looked for in opposing pitchers. And it is precisley the expertise brought by Reynolds, Mitch Williams, Al Leiter, Dan Plesac, former GM John Hart and many others which sets the channel apart from it's competition. These guys have opinions and aren't shy about sharing them with viewers and each other. When that expertise is combined with the luxury of having six or more hours of live studio time each night in-between the cut-ins from the ballparks the result is a discussion that routinely goes into far more detail hashing out varying approachs to whatever issue is being discussed. And when the viewer learning something is combined with the absence of time constraints it's no longer just about the highlights.

And while I continue to have the uptmost respect for Peter Gammons, John Kruk, Tim Kurkjian and the rest of the gang over at "Baseball Tonight", they are simply not working with a level playing field when compared to the MLB channel. Not their fault, just the reality of being up against a competitor that has way more time and vastly improved resources. If you have not already seen the results for yourself, I urge you to check out the MLB channel and see the difference.