| Off Base | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Baseball commentary |
| Starring | Lauren Gardner Xavier Scruggs |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MLB Network |
| Release | April 11, 2022 (2022-04-11) – present |
Off Base is an Americanbaseballpodcast show onMLB Network. The show airs every Sunday at 11:00 amET during theMajor League Baseball regular season and is hosted byLauren Gardner andXavier Scruggs.Off Base is a youth-oriented show featuring a segment highlighting the off-fieldfashion choices of MLB players and another segment dedicated to discussions about growing baseball's influence with younger audiences.
Off Base was announced as an addition toMLB Network's programming in April 2022, just after the2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout and prior to the start of the2022 season. The show's direction was noted as being a part of MLB's efforts to address low viewership with younger audiences, particularly amongGeneration Z andMillennials. A poll conducted bySeton Hall University three months prior to the debut of the show found that MLB viewership was declining, particularly among younger fans.[1]
Lauren Gardner, who has been an MLB Network personality since 2019, was tapped as the show's inaugural host. Former MLB first basemanXavier Scruggs, baseball writer Hannah Keyser, and WFAN Radio sports radio host Keith McPherson joined the show as permanent analysts, with a fourth spot on the set left open for rotating guest analysts,[2] which have included former MLB catcherAnthony Recker and actressEllen Adair. The show debuted on April 11, 2022, from a new set at MLB Network's Studio 21 inSecaucus, New Jersey.[3]
For the 2023 season, Keyser and McPherson's spots were vacated and left open for new rotating guest analysts, and the panel was joined byYahoo!sports betting analyst Ariel Epstein.[4] Then for the 2024 season, Yahoo! MLB insiderRussell Dorsey joined the show as a regular guest.
For the 2025 season, the show became a once-weekly podcast show airing on Sunday mornings and hosted by Gardner and Scruggs, with the show's length cut down from one hour to a half-hour.