| Other names | MLB on CBS Radio |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports |
| Running time | 180 minutes or until game ends |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Home station | CBS Radio Network |
| Syndicates | List of broadcast stations owned by CBS Radio |
| TV adaptations | Major League Baseball on CBS |
| Starring | Seecommentators section below |
| Created by | CBS Radio Sports |
| Recording studio | The site of the games |
| Original release | July 13, 1976 – October 26, 1997 |
| No. of series | 22 |
| Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
| Website | CBS Radio Sports (Westwood One) MLB – CBSSports.com |
| Podcast | AudioNet |
Major League Baseball on CBS Radio was thede facto title for theCBS Radio Network's coverage ofMajor League Baseball. Produced byCBS Radio Sports, the program was the official national radio broadcaster for theAll-Star Game and thepostseason (including theWorld Series) from1976[1] to1997.[2]
Historically, the sports coverage now produced byWestwood One was branded as CBS Radio Sports and, like thenews features, associated with the CBS Radio Network; however, after CBS began managingthe original Westwood One in the mid-1990s, the sports broadcasts would come under the Westwood One banner (with both identities used in the late 1990s), a practice that would continue even after CBS stopped managing Westwood One in 2007. CBS launched a 24/7sports radio network,CBS Sports Radio, in fall 2012 throughCumulus Media Networks, owned byCumulus Media (Cumulus Media Networks was merged into Westwood One in 2013, following Cumulus' acquisition of Westwood One).
CBS first broadcast Major League Baseball in the early days of network radio, sharingWorld Series coverage withNBC beginning in1927 andAll-Star Game coverage beginning in1933.Mutual joined them in1935; the three networks continued to share coverage of baseball's "jewel" events through1938, with Mutual gaining exclusive rights to the World Series in1939 and the All-Star Game in1942. NBC, in turn, would have exclusivity for both events from1957 through1975.
In1950, CBS Radio carried Saturday regular-seasonBrooklyn Dodgers home games played atEbbets Field, simulcasting the team's localWMGM radio broadcasts withRed Barber andConnie Desmond announcing. The CBS simulcasts, which were sponsored byGeneral Foods, were blacked out in major league cities but otherwise aired nationally.[3]
From1976–1979, CBS Radio paid US$75,000 per year for rights to the World Series, All-Star Game, andLeague Championship Series. In1985 the network added regular-season SaturdayGame of the Week broadcasts.
By1990,CBS Television would get into the Major League Baseball broadcasting business (having last done so in1965). This particular partnership would last through the1993 season. Meanwhile, CBS Radio would pay Major League Baseball US$50 million for 1990–1993 radio rights to theGame of the Week andSunday Night Baseball as well as the All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and World Series.
Following the1993 season, CBS Radio signed a six-year contract worth US$50.5 million.[4] Following the1994 strike and the dissolving of "The Baseball Network" (a planned six-year-long television joint venture involvingABC,NBC and Major League Baseball), thetelevision contracts had to be realigned. Ultimately,Major League Baseball on CBS Radio would last through the1997 season before being succeeded byMajor League Baseball on ESPN Radio.
In1985,[5][6] CBS Radio started broadcasting a weeklyGame of the Week.[7] CBS Radio usually did two games each Saturday, one on the afternoons and another during the evenings.[8] Typically,CBS' markets aired only the afternoon broadcasts. The games covered varied from the onesNBC-TV were offering at the time to games outside of NBC's sight.
One notable exception wasKCBS inSan Francisco, which almost always carried the evening games. In1994, just before thestrike,KNBR carried the broadcasts in San Francisco and finally aired some of CBS' afternoon games. However, following the strike, KNBR dropped CBS' regular season broadcasts, and with the exception of1995, when all playoff games were played at the same time, they usually only carried one or twoDivision Series games on days when there were three games played.
As previously mentioned, CBS Radio would also eventually followESPN television's suit, and broadcastSunday night games (something ESPN started in1990).[9]John Rooney andJerry Coleman usually called these games whileJim Hunter hosted the pregame show entitledInside Pitch.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2021) |
CBS Radio was the largest broadcaster of localMajor League Baseball broadcasts. In 2005 and 2007 respectively, CBS dropped theSt. Louis Cardinals from KMOX and thePittsburgh Pirates from KDKA, ending two long relationships between the teams and their flagship stations. However, KMOX reacquired the Cardinals' broadcast rights in 2011, and KDKA'sFM sister all-sports station acquired the Pirates' broadcast rights in 2012, in addition toNew York Yankees games being renewed on WCBS after the conclusion of the 2011 season, they would have the rights until the end of the 2013 season.
CBS'sWFAN is the flagship station of theNew York Yankees (they had broadcast theMets until 2014) andWSCR is the flagship station of theChicago Cubs. In Philadelphia,WPHT, a frequency that had been the longtime home of thePhiladelphia Phillies before parting ways after the 2001 season, reacquired the team's broadcast rights in 2005. As of 2012, those games are now simulcast on sister stationWIP-FM.KRLD-FM in Dallas was the flagship station for theTexas Rangers before the 2011 season.
In 2015, theChicago Cubs moved its radio broadcasts to CBS propertyWBBM (AM) from its longtime home ofWGN (AM).[10] That same year, theBaltimore Orioles began its second stint on all-sportsWJZ-FM, four years after it was moved back to its traditional home ofWBAL (AM).[11] In 2016, the Cubs rights moved to sister station WSCR as part of a pre-arrangement in the 2015 agreement where WSCR would take over airing games after letting the rights to theChicago White Sox go after the 2015 season (which now broadcast onWGN (AM)).
During the 2010s, at least seven teams were on stations owned by the company:
In addition, three teams had been on CBS-owned stations until the2010–11 "hot stove" period:
From1985–1993, the two announcers calling the games at hand splitplay-by-play duties. From1994 until the end of its coverage in1997, CBS Radio usedJeff Torborg[12] andAl Downing[13] (as well asRick Cerone in 1997) ascolor analysts paired with the play-by-play announcers.
The Home Town Inning, traditionally featuring a visiting team announcer calling the top of the fifth with the home team announcer calling the bottom of the fifth, was featured on CBS Radio postseason games from1985–1986 and on regular season games from1985–1997.
Play-by-play commentators included:
Other commentators (roughly in order of first appearance) included:
| Year | Play-by-play | Color commentator |
| 1978 AL East | Ernie Harwell | Win Elliot |
| 1980 NL West | Lindsey Nelson | Jerry Coleman |
| 1995 AL West | Ernie Harwell | Al Downing |
Jim Hunter called theAmerican League Championship Series alongsideJohnny Bench from1990–1992. In1993, Hunter teamedErnie Harwell to call theALCS. And in1995 and1996 respectively, Hunter called theNational League Division Series[59] andNational League Championship Series alongsideJerry Coleman. In1996, Hunter called theAmerican League Division Series between theNew York Yankees andTexas Rangers withGary Cohen.
Ernie Harwell was also on the call[60] for the 1995 American League Division Series between theSeattle Mariners andNew York Yankees alongside color commentatorAl Downing. The following is Harwell's description of the game winningdouble for the Mariners as hit byEdgar Martínez in Game 5.
The pitch...SWING...base hit, left field! Here comesCora, he'll score. Here comesGriffey, rounding third. He's being waved home! Here comes the relay...fromFernández! SLIDES...and theMariners win it in the 11th inning on a base hit by Edgar Martínez! A thrilling finish and they will battle theCleveland Indians for theAmerican League championship! The final score, Seattle 6 and the Yankees 5! You're listening to the Division Series from CBS Radio Sports!
When CBS Radio took over World Series rights fromNBC Radio in1976, they continued the old practice of having the local team announcers do the play-by-play for the World Series games in the road market of that home team's broadcasters through1978. Thus,Bill White got call do all three World Series involving theNew York Yankees on CBS Radio from 1976–1978 andRoss Porter with theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1977–1978. In addition, CBS Radio usedMarty Brennaman in 1976, when hisCincinnati Reds played against White's Yankees.
In1977, Bill White did CBS Radio play-by-play for the games inLos Angeles while Ross Porter handled the games played inNew York. Thus, when White was working onABC-TV during that series, it was during the home games in a pre/postgame role (White would eventually cover thetrophy presentation ceremony for ABC). Likewise, Ross Porter handled White's TV role while in Los Angeles. From 1976–1978,Win Elliot was always in the booth either as a host or color man but never he did play-by-play for CBS Radio's World Series coverage. Elliot was in a sense, the designated "network" participant on the broadcasts since he hosted theCBS Sports Roundup and other events for CBS Radio like horse racing events. Meanwhile,Ralph Kiner served as the pre and postgame host. In New York, the 1977 World Series was carried by two radio stations,WCBS and the Yankees' thenflagship station,WMCA. WCMA simply carried the same CBS feed as did WCBS since separate radio broadcasts with the local announcers wouldn't begin until1984.
In1979, CBS Radio, following the lead begun by ABC's television coverage in 1977, dropped the usage of the local broadcasters on play-by-play. They stopped using local announcers altogether whenVin Scully began doing the World Series as a CBS employee through1982. (Beginning in1981, however, participating teams'flagship radio stations were permitted to produce their own local World Series broadcasts and air them live. The affiliate stations in the teams' radio networks continued to be obligated to carry the CBS Radio broadcasts.)
During the1980 World Series, thousands ofPhiladelphia Phillies fans were outraged that they could not hear their local team announcers call the games. They deluged the team, the networks, and the Commissioner's office with angry letters and petitions. The following year Major League Baseball changed its broadcast contract to allow theflagship radio stations for participating World Series teams to produce and air their own local Series broadcasts, beginning in1982. The CBS Radio feed could potentially be heard in those markets on another station which held CBS's rights.[88][89]WPHL did a "re-creation" of the game withHarry Kalas,Richie Ashburn, andAndy Musser using theNBC video, which aired in November along with theNational League East division clinching game inMontreal and three games from theNLCS againstHouston. When thePhillies next won a World Series, in2008, Kalas was able to make the call of the final out.
After the1982 season, Scully left CBS altogether to do baseball play-by-play for NBC on television (a role that he had through the end of the1989 season). In Vin Scully's absence, cameJack Buck, who would call the World Series for CBS Radio from1983 through1989.
In1985,KMOX, theSt. Louis Cardinals' flagship station at the time,simulcast with CBS Radio's World Series coverage involving the Cardinals. That was mainly because Jack Buck had a lengthy career calling Cardinals games for KMOX to go along with his national work for CBS Radio.
In1990, Buck would move over toCBS-TV to call the World Series and Scully returned to CBS Radio to take his place following NBC's loss of television rights. Scully would continue to call the World Series on through1997 (CBS' last before the contract moved toESPN Radio).
Despite his long and illustrious career,Don Denkinger is probably best remembered for a blown call he made at first base in Game 6 of the1985 World Series, played on October 26. TheSt. Louis Cardinals led theKansas City Royals by 3 games to 2. The Cardinals had taken a 1-0 lead in the 8th inning on a single by little-used backup catcherBrian Harper after pitchersDanny Cox (of the Cardinals) andCharlie Leibrandt (of the Royals) had battled back and forth all game long.Todd Worrell came into the game for the Cardinals in the 9th inning, first facingJorge Orta, the leadoff batter for the Royals. Orta hit a slow roller to first basemanJack Clark, who tossed to Worrell covering first base.
Denkinger was the umpire at first base and called Orta safe, even though television replays and photographs clearly showed that he was out by half a step. The Cardinals argued briefly,[90] but Denkinger refused to reverse it. The Royals went on to win Game 6 by the score of 2-1.
Orta, leading off, swings and hits it to the right side, and the pitcher has to cover he is...SAFE, SAFE, SAFE, and we'll have an argument! Sparky, I think he was out!
— CBS Radio Sports announcerJack Buck (alongsideSparky Anderson) calling Don Denkinger's blown call in Game 6.
He had the base and he had the ball, man, what else is there? That's the rule, isn't it?
The following is a word-for-word transcript ofJack Buck andSparky Anderson's commentary during the final moments of Game 6 of the1986 World Series:
J:Mookie Wilson is the batter...he has a hit...one out of three...a switch hitter, he'll bat left. Moments ago, theRed Sox were one strike away. Now they're one out away. Here's the pitch...and a foul strike one...back into the seats and Wilson wasn't taking.Howard Johnson is on deck, we mentioned earlier he stayed in the game.
S: Mookie's not bashful, he's not afraid to swing this bat. He's not concerned right now...he wants a base hit.
J: Next pitch fromStanley is a ball and it's one and one...they hold againstRay Knight, he is not a threat to steal. The batter is Mookie Wilson, one ball one strike, two on, two out...way high ball two, as Stanley slipped coming of the pitching rubber. The on deck batter is Howard Johnson and this thing, this game has been at the finish line three or four times. 5-4 Boston, bottom half of the tenth inning, 5-4, first and third two out, and a foul puts Boston within a strike of the title again. It evens the count to Mookie Wilson, that ball in on him, two and two.
S: Don't be surprised if you see hispalmball right here.
J: First and third. Tying run at third, winning run at first, two out, the pitch! a swing and a...foul tip, he just got a piece of it and that's how close Boston was to nailing it down. A foul by Mookie Wilson keeps him up there. two balls two strikes. TheMets have scored here in the tenth, they trail 5-4 trying to send us into tomorrow night. Here's the pitch! Swing and a foul, back and out of play and Wilson hammered at one outside, in the strike zone I think, stays 2-2.Mitchell the tying run at third, a base hit ties it for New York, a long one could win it, a home run would win it, the pitch! Ball three! Wild pitch! We're gonna be tied! The ball went off the glove of the catcher. We're 5-5 in the bottom of the tenth. Unbelievable, it's 5-5 and now the winning run is at second with two out. A breaking ball handcuffedGedman, a breaking ball handcuffed the catcher and Mitchell raced home with the tying run and Mookie Wilson could win it here. They have a base open and Howard Johnson up next. That run charged toSchiraldi. The 3-2 pitch on the way, swing and a high pop foul going out of play. And it gives everybody a chance to collect their collective breath as the Mets have scored two here in the tenth after scoring a run in the eighth to pull it out of the bag again.
S: Boy if this don't remind you of thatCalifornia Angels-Boston series, nothing will...
J: And a full count on Mookie Wilson, he can win it with a hit. Ray Knight is at second base. Here's the pitch! Swing and a foul out of play, and I'll tell you this folks. If the Mets win this tonight, man, there will be no holding them tomorrow,Dennis Boyd or no Dennis Boyd.
S: They'll come out here looking like they're on stilts.
J: It stays three and two, let's look ahead to the Boston eleventh inning.Evans will lead it off. Isn't this unbelievable. A couple of times Boston was a strike away from winning. You remember that little foul tip just before? What did they call it? Wild pitch or passed ball?
S: I think they called it a wild pitch.
J: Wild pitch. Here's the pitch to Mookie Wilson. Winning run at second. Ground ball to first, it is a run...an error! An error byBuckner! The winning run scores! The Mets win it 6 to 5 with three in the tenth! The ball went right through the legs of Buckner and the Mets with two men out and nobody on have scored three times to bring about a seventh game, which will be played here tomorrow night. Folks, it was unbelievable. An error, right through the legs of Buckner. There were two on, nobody out, a single byCarter, a single by Mitchell, a single by Ray Knight, a wild pitch, an error by Buckner. Three in the ninth for the Mets. They've won the game 6-5 and we shall play here... tomorrow night! Well, open up the history book, folks, we've got an entry for you...What do you think, Sparky?
S: I never seen nothing like it. Here you got two out, two run lead, you figure Carter up, he can't even hurt you. He gets a base hit, another base hit, another base hit...wild pitches, ball rolls through the guys legs. I've never seen nothing like it, Jack.
J: It will be Boyd againstDarling tomorrow night.
S:Yogi Berra is the greatest human being who ever lived. He said, it's not over 'til it's over.
J: This game is now history and it deserves its own page...
For CBS Radio's coverage of the1988 World Series,Jack Buck provided play-by-play whileBill White served as the analyst. This was Buck's call of the final moments of Game 1. It begins here with Buck speculating on what might happen ifKirk Gibson manages to reach base:"... then you would run for Gibson and haveSax batting. But, we have a big 3-2 pitch coming here fromEckersley. Gibsonswings, and a fly ball to deep right field!This is gonna be ahome run! Unbelievable! A home run for Gibson! And theDodgers have won the game, 5 to 4; I don't believe what I just saw!"
The last sentence is often remembered and quoted by fans. Buck followed it with,"I don'tbelieve what I just saw! Is this really happening, Bill?"
Moments after Kirk Gibson's home run, Jack Buck told his listeners,"I've seen a lot of dramatic finishes, in a lot of sports, but this one might top almost every other one."
On October 17,1989, commentatorsJack Buck,Johnny Bench andJohn Rooney, were on hand at San Francisco'sCandlestick Park for Game 3 of theWorld Series between theSan Francisco Giants andOakland Athletics. At 5:04 p.m.local time, theLoma Prieta earthquake hit (and subsequently caused a ten-day delay for the World Series). UnlikeABC-Television (withAl Michaels,Jim Palmer andTim McCarver calling the action on the TV side), CBS Radio was in a commercial break when the earthquake struck. After the earthquake hit, Jack Buck told the listening audience,"I must say about Johnny Bench, folks, if he moved that fast when he played, he would have never hit into a double play. I never saw anybody move that fast in my life."
On October 27,1991,Vin Scully, along withJohnny Bench andJohn Rooney, was on hand for a game considered by fans to be one of the most intense in the sport's history. Game 7 of the already excitingWorld Series (between theMinnesota Twins andAtlanta Braves) was scoreless going into the ninth inning, and an emotionally drained Scully said,"After eight full innings of play, Atlanta nothing, Minnesota nothing... Ithink we'll be back in just a moment." In the bottom of the tenth inning,Gene Larkin won the game for the Twins with a high fly-ball into left field (which allowedDan Gladden to score) offAlejandro Peña.
The following is Scully's description of the final moments of Game 7:
Peña, right foot on the rubber. You can taste the pressure here in the'Dome as Alejandro straightens up. And the pitch toLarkin. Swung on—a high fly ball into left center! The run will score, the ball will bounce for a single, and theMinnesota Twins are the champions of the world!
The day prior, this is how Scully describedKirby Puckett's game winning home run to send the 1991 World Series to a seventh and decisive game in the first place:
And the two-one pitch to the Minnesota centerfielder is driven to deep left-centerfield, back goesKeith Mitchell... it is gone, home run Puckett! AndCharlie Leibrandt has turned the lights out of theMetrodome... again! Kirby Puckett with a single, a triple, a scoring flyball, and a game winning home run against Charlie Leibrandt. The final score in 11 innings, Minnesota 4, Atlanta 3!
During his CBS Radio broadcast in1996,Vin Scully made another memorable call in the third inning of Game 1, when 19-year-old rookie outfielderAndruw Jones became the firstNational League player to hit two home runs in his first two at-bats in a World Series.[91]
Jones hits this one to left field, wa-a-ay back, the kid has hitanother one!
For CBS Radio's finalWorld Series to date,[92] the seventh and decisive game between theFlorida Marlins andCleveland Indians went into the bottom of the 11th inning with the score tied 2–2. This is howVin Scully described the final moments of that game:
Lot of nail-biting now asNagy comes back and there's a line drive behind second base, base hit and the Marlins have won it! And they are crazy atPro Player Park!Édgar Rentería, a line drive base hit to centerfield and the Marlins...the fastestexpansion team to win a championship. They did it in five years, theMets took eight. And the Marlins came in here as awild card to win it all!
Before CBS Radio signed off from their baseball coverage for the final time on October 26, 1997, Vin Scully[93] andJeff Torborg delivered this final message to listeners:
Vin Scully: Tonight's game sponsored byCBS television, byCountrywide Home Loans, by Horrick, and by theU.S. Army. Our producer Norman Baer,[94][95][96] our engineers Stem Gehan and Sam Carroll, our studio coordinator Andrew Holmlund, our PR reference has been John Ralph of theBaseball Hall of Fame, and assisting us in the booth,Dale Torborg. Once again the final score fromMiami, the Marlins 3, Cleveland 2. This will be our last[97] broadcast for CBS.[98] Jeff,[99] I must tell you what an absolute delight and pleasure it has been to sit here and share the broadcast with you, you're outstanding.
Jeff Torborg: Vin,[100] coming from you that means a great deal. You are not only aHall of Fame announcer, you are more than a Hall of Fame person. And I, I respect you so much and so grateful that we have a friendship and have that for a lot of years, thank you.
Scully: If we never work together I will never forget these years and thank you. I'd like to thankJohn Rooney,[101][102][103] who is indeed a part of the group and to our loyal producer Norman Baer, whose done such a great job over the years. And for us that figures to wrap up our World Series work for CBS. So once again the final score, Marlins 3, Cleveland 2. The Marlins are the World Champions. Our congratulations to both teams.
CBS.
CBS.
Crack of the Bat: A History of Baseball on the Radio.
CBS.
CBS.
| Preceded by | Major League Baseball national radio broadcast partner 1976 –1997 | Succeeded by |