| Sunday Night Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Genre | American baseball game telecasts |
| Presented by | Various commentators |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 37 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Various MLB stadiums(game telecasts) ESPN Headquarters,Bristol, Connecticut (2020)[1] |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 180 minutes or until game ends |
| Production companies | Major League Baseball ESPN (1990–2025) NBC Sports (2026–future) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ESPN |
| Release | April 15, 1990 (1990-04-15) – September 21, 2025 (2025-09-21) |
| Network | ABC[a] |
| Release | August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08) |
| Network | ESPN2[b] |
| Release | May 29, 2022 (2022-05-29) – August 17, 2025 (2025-08-17) |
| Network | NBC NBCSN Peacock Telemundo,TeleXitos andUniverso (Spanish audio/broadcast) |
| Related | |
| Baseball Tonight ESPN Major League Baseball Major League Baseball on ABC Major League Baseball on NBC Monday Night Baseball Wednesday Night Baseball | |
Sunday Night Baseball is a weekly telecast of aMajor League Baseball game that airs on Sunday evenings. From 1990 to 2025, the games were exclusively aired nationally onESPN. Beginning on March 26, 2026, the games will air onNBC orNBCSN/Peacock.
During the ESPN run, games were preceded most weeks by the studio showBaseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown prior to the first pitch.
A few telecasts each season appeared onESPN2 orABC rather than ESPN due to conflicts with other programming.
In 2022, ESPN2 began airing simultaneous broadcasts of the game with different commentators and themes includingStatcast Edition with a focus on analytics and technical breakdowns andKay Cast, a more casual format featuring celebrity guests doing interviews and providing commentary during the game.
The series debuted on April 15,1990 with coverage ofNew York Mets against theMontreal Expos inMontreal.[2] From its inception through2010, the series featured the broadcast team ofplay-by-play commentatorJon Miller andcolor commentatorJoe Morgan.Steve Phillips joined them for the2009 season,[3] andOrel Hershiser did so for the2010 season following Phillips' dismissal by the network.[4][5]
From2004 until2006,Sam Ryan served as thefield reporter, but she left to joinNew York City'sWCBS-TV andCBS Sports in June 2006.[6][7][8] On July 2, 2006,Bonnie Bernstein joined the crew as the new field reporter,[9] but did not return in 2007 primarily due to her request to cut back her schedule because of her continued recovery from a bout withdeep vein thrombosis in October 2006.[10] Beginning in 2006,Peter Gammons joined the broadcasts as a field reporter in the scouts position. Gammons, however, suffered abrain aneurysm and didn't return until September 2006.[11][12][13][14]
In 2010, Miller and Morgan began their 21st consecutive season working together for ESPN. Following the 2010 season, ESPN announced that the television contracts of Miller and Morgan would not be renewed.[15][16][17] Miller was offered, but chose to decline, a continued role with ESPN Radio.[18]
Play-by-play announcerDan Shulman joined color commentators Hershiser andBobby Valentine as the newSunday Night Baseball crew beginning in2011.[19] In an essential trade deal, following the hiring of Valentine as theBoston Red Sox manager, his predecessorTerry Francona was hired to join Shulman and Hershiser for the 2012 season.[20] Francona stayed with ESPN for only one season before he was hired by theCleveland Indians to be their manager for the2013 season. Francona was replaced byJohn Kruk, who had been part of theBaseball Tonight team since 2004.
Like Miller and Morgan before them, Shulman and Hershiser also formed the lead team on ESPN Radio'sWorld Series coverage. Prior to the2014 season, Hershiser left ESPN to become an analyst for the Dodgers onSportsNet LA, and was replaced byCurt Schilling; however, Schilling's subsequent diagnosis of and treatment for an undisclosed form ofcancer led to his being unavailable to ESPN for most of the season.[21] Shulman and Kruk worked as a two-man booth until Schilling joined them in September.[22]
On August 30, 2015, former softball playerJessica Mendoza joined theSunday Night Baseball broadcast team as a color commentator. For the2016 MLB season, former Yankees playerAaron Boone joined Shulman and Mendoza in the broadcast booth as the second color commentator forSNB. Shulman stepped down at the conclusion of the2017 season,[23] while Boone left the booth after being named newYankees manager.[24]
On January 23, 2018, ESPN announced thatAlex Rodriguez andMatt Vasgersian would join Jessica Mendoza,Buster Olney, and theSNB team for the2018 season as analyst and play-by-play respectively.[25] For the2020 season abbreviated due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Mendoza leftSNB as part of her new deal with ESPN, leaving Vasgersian and Rodriguez, who broadcast all games from a studio at ESPN'sBristol, Connecticut headquarters.[1]
ABC televised aSunday Night Baseball matchup between theChicago White Sox and theChicago Cubs on August 8, 2021. The broadcast marked ABC's first broadcast ofSunday Night Baseball and the first regular season matchup it hadbroadcast since its involvement in theBaseball Network in 1995.[26]
In 2021, ESPN and Major League Baseball agreed to a new contract that would last through the 2028 season. Beginning in 2022, ESPN would keepSunday Night Baseball as itsGame of the Week broadcast, but would no longer televise non-exclusive weeknight games unlike in previous years. It also gave ESPN the option to produce an alternate telecast on its sister networks (such as the popular alternate "StatCast" seen on ESPN2), as well assimulcasts onESPN+ andABC.[27]
Matt Vasgersian left ESPN after the2021 season to focus more on his duties forMLB Network andBally Sports West, as he is the lead announcer for theLos Angeles Angels, which in part, due toSNB, saw his role taken byDaron Sutton andRich Waltz for most of the2021 season. On January 7, 2022, ESPN announced that Karl Ravech would become the fourth play-by-play announcer forSunday Night Baseball, joined by analysts David Cone and Eduardo Pérez.[28]
On May 14, 2023, ESPN was widely criticized[29] for its decision to implement asplit screen between itscoverage of Game 6 of theStanley Cup Playoff Western Conference semifinal series between theVegas Golden Knights andEdmonton Oilers and aSunday Night Baseball telecast between theSt. Louis Cardinals andBoston Red Sox, which was being played at the same time and was ultimately won by St. Louis by the score of 9–1.[30]
Jon Sciambi, the lead voice forESPN Radio'sMLB coverage, filled in for Ravech when the latter was on assignment for ESPN, most notably during theLittle League World Series.
In 2024, it was reported that ESPN was expected to opt out of its contract with MLB at the end of the 2025 season. On February 20, 2025, ESPN and MLB mutually opted out of their contract.[31][32]
On September 21, 2025, ESPN broadcast its 865th and finalSunday Night Baseball game,[33] which was between theSeattle Mariners andHouston Astros.
Started in 2022,alternate telecasts of eightSunday Night Baseball games aired on ESPN2 withMichael Kay and Alex Rodriguez calling the games. The presentation, nicknamed "KayRod Cast", was similar to theMonday Night Football "Manningcast" hosted byPeyton andEli Manning.[28] These altcasts ended when Rodriguez signed an exclusive deal withFox Sports, and replaced with an updated StatCast alternate broadcast.[34]
Prior to the2025 season, ESPN and MLB mutually agreed to opt out of final three years of theSunday Night Baseball contract, effective after the 2025 season.[35] ESPN and MLB reportedly began negotiations on a new deal.[36] In August 2025, it was reported thatNBC would take the rights to air a Sunday night exclusive game for the 2026-2028 seasons, while ESPN would continue to air exclusive games during the season on different nights.[37] On November 19, 2025, MLB announced that, alongsideMLB Sunday Leadoff and the Wild Card games, NBC would indeed receiveSunday Night Baseball.[38]
 | This sectionmay containexcessive orirrelevant examples. Please helpimprove it by removingless pertinent examples andelaborating on existing ones.(July 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On May 28, 2000,Pedro Martínez andRoger Clemens faced off in an epic pitchers' duel atYankee Stadium. Both pitchers threw complete games and combined for 22 strikeouts, 13 for Clemens, 9 for Martinez. The game was scoreless untilTrot Nixon hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning. Martinez then got the final three outs in the bottom of the inning to secure the victory.[39]
ESPN broadcast theCleveland Indians' historic comeback against theSeattle Mariners on August 5, 2001. The Indians trailed 14–2 after six innings, but scored twelve runs in the final three innings before winning in the bottom of the eleventh, 15–14. The twelve-run comeback tied the Major League record for largest deficit overcome in a game.[40]
On September 2, 2001,Mike Mussina of theNew York Yankees came within one strike of aperfect game against theBoston Red Sox. The effort was broken up on a single byCarl Everett, with Mussina settling for a one-hitter. The game itself was an exciting pitchers' duel, with the Red Sox'David Cone also shutting out the Yankees for eight innings, before allowing an RBI double byEnrique Wilson in the ninth. It was the only scoring of the Yankees' 1–0 win. Additionally, Cone was the most recent pitcher to record a perfect game having done so two years earlier as a Yankee against theMontreal Expos.[41]
On June 16, 2002,Sunday Night Baseball covered aSubway Series atShea Stadium in whichMo Vaughn hit a game winning three-run home run in theNew York Mets' 3–2 win over theNew York Yankees.[42]
Rafael Furcal completed anunassisted triple play for theAtlanta Braves against theSt. Louis Cardinals on August 10, 2003. It was the 12th such play in baseball history. In the fifth inning, the shortstop caught pitcherWoody Williams' liner with the runners moving in a hit and run attempt, stepped on second base to retire catcherMike Matheny and taggedOrlando Palmeiro before he could return to first.[43]
On April 22, 2007, theRed Sox became the fifth team in Major League history to hit four consecutive home runs, doing so in the third inning of a 7–6 victory over theYankees.[44]
On April 29, 2007, a canceled broadcast occurred between theChicago Cubs andSt. Louis Cardinals when Cardinals relief pitcherJosh Hancock was killed in a car accident earlier in the day while driving under the influence.[45] In place of the game, special programming hosted by Miller and Morgan was shown.
On August 5, 2007,Tom Glavine of theNew York Mets became the 23rd pitcher in history to record his 300th win. He did it in an 8–3 victory over theChicago Cubs.[46]
Sunday Night Baseball broadcast theWashington Nationals' first game atNationals Park on March 30, 2008. TheNationals beat theAtlanta Braves, 3–2, onRyan Zimmerman's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.PresidentGeorge W. Bush, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game, joined Jon Miller and Joe Morgan in the ESPN booth during the telecast.[47]
The final game played at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008, pitting theNew York Yankees against theBaltimore Orioles, was broadcast onSunday Night Baseball.[48]
Mariano Rivera's 500th career save (and also his 1st lifetime RBI) was broadcast onSunday Night Baseball fromCiti Field (home of theNew York Mets).
During the May 1, 2011, broadcast between theNew York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, ESPN announced thedeath of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of theSeptember 11 attacks, at the end of the 8th inning. At the top of the 9th inning with 1 out andDaniel Murphy at bat, fans atCitizens Bank Park erupted withU-S-A! chants despite the fact that no announcement of the news had been made in the stadium. Fans learned about the events through social media and mobile news apps.[49] During the on-air announcement,Dan Shulman advised viewers to tune into theirABC stations for an address from PresidentBarack Obama on the death of bin Laden. Appropriately, theMets game against theChicago Cubs on September 11 was a Sunday night game to mark the tenth anniversary of the attacks.
TheChicago Cubs and the Mets atCiti Field on September 11, 2011, was broadcast onSunday Night Baseball as part of the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001; New York was targeted by the terrorists in the attacks of that day and the Mets hostedthe first major professional sports event held in New York City since the attacks on September 21.[50][51][52]
On July 3, 2016,Sunday Night Baseball aired theFort Bragg Game, the first professional sporting event held on an active military base,[53] and the first MLB regular season game held inNorth Carolina.[54] TheMiami Marlins defeated theAtlanta Braves, 5–2.
On May 7, 2017, during the game between theChicago Cubs and theNew York Yankees, they broke the MLB strikeout record as both teams combined made 48 strikeouts (Yankees 22 and Cubs 26). In addition, the 18-inning game was also the longest interleague game yet in MLB history and longest Sunday Night Baseball game yet broadcast. The Yankees won, 5–4.[55]
As previously mentioned, on August 8, 2021, theSunday Night Baseball game between theChicago White Sox and theChicago Cubs aired exclusively on ABC. It was the first time since 1995 that a regular season Major League Baseball game aired on ABC. The White Sox won the game 9–3. This game saw a cameo appearance from former ABC baseball announcerAl Michaels, as well as a brief usage ofThe Baseball Network graphics.[56]
The telecasts also utilize theK Zone, a computer-generated on-screen graphic that accurately outlines the strike zone and pitch location. ASkycam is also used; it is usually mounted 20 feet above the stands in foul territory and travels back and forth along the first base line from behind home plate to the foul pole.
A completelist of commentators.
ESPN Domingo de Grandes Ligas (Major League Sunday) is also broadcast inSpanish onESPN Deportes, withErnesto Jerez on play-by-play and Luis Alfredo Alvarez as the color analyst. This version is also presented on the Spanish feed ofESPN Latin America. The Brazilian feed, in Portuguese, hasRomulo Mendonça doing the play-by-play andPaulo Antunes as the analyst. They broadcast fromESPN Brasil studios inSão Paulo.
ESPN Radio has aired a weeklySunday Night Baseball broadcast since 1998. Currently,Jon Sciambi calls play-by-play of the games, withChris Singleton serving as color analyst. Sciambi was preceded byGary Thorne (2008–09),Dan Shulman (2002–07), andCharley Steiner (1998–2001), while Singleton was preceded byDave Campbell (1999–2010) andKevin Kennedy (1998). As of 2020, the reserves for Sciambi include Shulman andRoxy Bernstein. In Canada, this program airs onCJCL, the flagship sports radio station forSportsnet.TUDN Radio also airsSunday Night Baseball in Spanish, after the dissolution ofESPN Deportes Radio.
From 1990 to 1997,CBS Radio aired Sunday night games, usually withJerry Coleman andJohn Rooney announcing.
Outside the US, this weekly game was also broadcast live onFive in the UK from 1997 until 2008 and at the time was the longest running programme on the channel. In Latin America the game is broadcast onESPN Latin America. When the NFL season begins, the game is moved toESPN Dos only for the audience in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia and the Caribbean Islands.
InCanada,Sunday Night Baseball has aired on theTSN family of channels (usually onTSN2) since May 16, 2010. This was initially under a sublicensing agreement withSportsnet, the primary Canadian rightsholder for Major League Baseball, in a deal through which TSN transferred its remaining rights toToronto Blue Jays games to Sportsnet, which is now the exclusive carrier of Blue Jays games, and English-language rightsholder of all post-season games. Beginning in 2014, TSN has contracted directly with MLB for rights toSNB and other ESPN MLB telecasts through 2021. Sportsnet may still air individual games in the event of a scheduling conflict between all of TSN's channels.[57][58] Previous carriers ofSunday Night Baseball were TSN (1990–2000),The Score (2001–2002), and Sportsnet (2003 – May 9, 2010). In French, the program is carried onRéseau des Sports with Alain Usereau andMarc Griffin working as the announcers.
MLBI renewed deals with long-term partners Rogers Sportsnet and RDS (French language), while welcoming TSN and TVA Sports (French language) as new partners beginning with the 2014 season.