Meredith Marakovits | |
|---|---|
 Marakovits onYES Network fromYankee Stadium in 2020 | |
| Born | Meredith Marakovits (1983-07-22)July 22, 1983 (age 42) Walnutport, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Height | 6’0 |
Meredith Marakovits (born July 22, 1983) is an Emmy Award-winning American sports reporter. As of April 2025, she is theYES Network's clubhouse reporter for theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball, where she covers the network's Yankees game broadcasts, pre-game and post-game shows, and contributes to theYankees Batting Practice Today and Yankees Hot Stove programs.
Marakovits is featured frequently on YES’ special Yankees programming, the YESNetwork.com website, and YES’ various social media platforms. Marakovits previously did radio and television work withESPN,WFAN,Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, andSportsNet New York (SNY), covering both local and national sports.
Marakovits was born inWalnutport, Pennsylvania in theLehigh Valley.[1] She attendedAllentown Central Catholic High School inAllentown, Pennsylvania, where she played volleyball and was named theEastern Pennsylvania ConferenceMost Valuable Player, earned first-team all-District 11 honors, and received all-state honorable mention recognition.[2]
Marakovits graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 2001. She received a scholarship to playvolleyball at theNCAA Division I level atLa Salle University inPhiladelphia, but she suffered from many lower-leg injuries throughout her collegiate career.[1][3]
Meredith attributes her passion for sports to growing up in an athletic family with two older brothers.[4] She described her younger self as a tomboy who played a wide range of sports, including basketball, softball, swimming, gymnastics, and volleyball.[4] Injuries in college forced her to abandon athletics, and she began exploring a career in sports broadcasting.[4] While in college, Marakovits interned atFox Sports in Los Angeles for three months, working as a production assistant on theMLB on Fox pregame show withJeanne Zelasko andKevin Kennedy,[4][5] which ignited her enthusiasm for a career in broadcasting.[4] She graduated from La Salle in 2005 with a degree in communications.[6]
In 2005, Marakovits began her career as a reporter and photographer withService Electric, anAllentown, Pennsylvania local TV station that coveredLehigh Valley's high school and college sports.[3][5] Marakovits worked for the network's sports division as a sideline reporter for their college football, indoor football, and college basketball broadcasts.[6] Beginning in 2006, Marakovits also joined the morning radio show SportsTalk Philadelphia on950 ESPN/97.5 The Fanatic.[6][7][8] She served as the third voice alongside hosts Gregg Henson and formerNFL quarterbackGlenn Foley, who was later replaced by Jon Marks.[7][9][10]
When Service Electric gained rights to thePhiladelphia Phillies’Double-A andTriple-A teams in 2008, she also began covering baseball.[3][5] Marakovits covered theReading Fightin Phils, the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate, and served as the pre-game, post-game host, and sideline reporter covering theLehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies’Triple-A affiliate.[3][6]
During this time,Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia offered her a segment on their “farm report” covering minor league prospects, which she accepted.[5] Marakovits juggled three jobs through 2009, calling that time in her career “insanity.”[5] That year, she also covered theYankees-Phillies World Series forSportsNet New York (SNY).[5] She hosted a half-hour on-site pregame show, her first experience reporting from the field at Yankee Stadium.[5]
Marakovits left her gig at Service Electric to joinESPN 1050 in 2010, where she covered theNew York Mets and New York Yankees.[5][6][11][12] In April 2011, she switched from ESPN 1050 toWFAN-AM 660, serving as a radio voice on one of the nation's "pre-eminent sports-talk radio stations."[13] Marakovits did overnight updates and various reporting and fill-in stints, including on the "Boomer and Carton" morning show.[13]
Over this span, Marakovits continued working as an anchor for SNY, contributing to SNY programsThe Wheelhouse,Daily News Live, andGEICO Sportsnite.[6][13] During this time, Marakovits additionally served as thePhiladelphia 76ers sideline reporter and as a contributor toToyota Sportsnite for Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.[6][13] She was also a fill-in anchor atComcast SportsNet New England.[3][6][14]
In 2012, Marakovits succeededKim Jones as theNew York Yankees clubhouse reporter for theYES Network.[3][15][16] Because she was offered the job late in the baseball offseason, Marakovits began covering the Yankees while simultaneously wrapping up her contract with the 76ers.[4]
In her current role, she covers the network's Yankees game broadcasts, pre-game and post-game shows, and she contributes to theYankees Batting Practice Today and Yankees Hot Stove programs.[6] Marakovits is featured frequently on YES’ special Yankees programming, the YESNetwork.com website, and YES’ various social media platforms, and she occasionally hosts the network's Brooklyn Nets pre-game and post-game shows.[6] She also often makes guest appearances on MLB Network shows such asThe Rundown andMLB Now.[6] In 2022, Marakovits was also featured on a few TBS MLB Tuesday broadcasts, working as a reporter during games.[17] Since 2023, Marakovits has hosted the network's special Batting Practice All-Access shows, which include game previews, player interviews, pre-taped features, and fan questions.[6]
From 2012 to 2017, whileJoe Girardi was the Yankees manager, Marakovits hosted the weeklyJoe Girardi Show for YES.[6][18] Marakovits played a key role in revampingThe Joe Girardi Show, which began in 2008, helping to move it beyond its original, static interview format.[18] Teaming up with producer Eric Roldan, she introduced more personal, behind-the-scenes segments that showcased Girardi's personality off the field, starting with small “access” pieces.[18] These pieces eventually evolved into on-location episodes, featuring visits to restaurants and tourist spots during road trips, giving fans a fresh, more engaging look at the Yankees’ manager.[18]
When the baseball season wasshut down in March 2020 because of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Marakovits stayed connected with fans and baseball while the YES Network was still developing a content strategy without live sports.[5][16] She launched a makeshift interview series called “Live with Mere” on Instagram Live, later uploaded to YouTube, where she spoke with friends and colleagues from the sports broadcasting world, including ESPN'sJon Sciambi, MLB Network analystAl Leiter, and Yankees radio broadcasterSuzyn Waldman.[5] Marakovits also contributed to YES’ “Yes We’re Here” series, interviewing past and current players.[5][19]
Marakovits is a nine-time New York Emmy Award winner for her work covering the Yankees on YES Network.[6] She earned two Emmys in 2023, recognized for her reporting and pre-game coverage.[6] In 2024, she received another Emmy for her significant involvement in YES’ full-season Yankees game broadcasts.[6]
In 2019, the trade organization Cynopsis named Marakovits among its “Top Women in Sports,” honoring her in the On-Air Talent category.[6][20]
