I am writing this while watching Rays vs. Red Sox on ESPN as I write this, and after it's over I will watch the Cardinals vs. Padres. Yes, ESPN has a doubleheader, their first one on a non-holiday or non-opening day since 2005.
And, since ESPN has been paring down its coverage of MLB for years now (although apparently they will still have some games through 2028 at least), I want to make a point to watch the games they do have, because who knows when ESPN will broadcast its last game?
This is not because I'm particularly in love with ESPNs coverage, it's that anytime a broadcast era ends, it's bittersweet for me unless I really hate their coverage. Please do not ask me to reflect on why I have bittersweet feelings for media conglomerates.
And okay, I guess ESPN is a special case, because I did indeed grow up with their copious number of games in the nineties. I even remember their early commercial jingle:
Tuesday Friday doubleheaders!
Wednesdayyyyy! Gettin' best and better!
Catch it Sunday, watch the fun!
Under the lights, a home run!
It was thanks to this coverage that I was able to see Fernando Valenzuela's no-hitter in 1990, the only no-hitter I have ever seen beginning to end.
The first game here features Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez, who I consider the be the current elder statesmen of ESPN MLB coverage; if you're ESPN and you have just one baseball game to cover, you give it to them. Again, I don't even necessarily mean that they're particularly great, it's just that as I get older (I turned 50 a couple months ago), I get more sentimental and nostalgic.
I do try to keep that nostalgia in perspective. It rankles me when people regard their generation as the best, based on, at the end of the day, it being their generation. As such, I try not to lionize the '80s and '90s. But I do dive deep into '80s and '90s wells on YouTube again and again and again.
Now the second game is about to get underway. This crew consists of Mike Monaco (who I never have heard of despite being with ESPN since 2019) and ex-major leaguers Adam Ottavino and Todd Frazier. I've never heard any of these guys call a game before, so I'm going to put my judging gloves on.
Two-thirds of the way through the game, I have to say Monaco is serviceable and has a smooth voice going for him. The Padres catcher, Rodolfo Duran, is making his major debut. When the Cardinals catcher, Pedro Pages, had his first at-bat, Todd Frazier started waxing about the magic of one's first MLB AB, clearly confusing Pages and Duran. His booth cohorts had to gently correct him. Funny, but embarrassing. Pages was the Cardinals primary catcher since last season, and an ex-player in a national television booth should know that.
As for the game itself, it was a nice little pitchers duel (9 hits total) that the Cards pulled out, 2-1.
Long live ESPN baseball!
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