MLB Network's MLB Tonight Is Baseball Broadcasting at Its Best

For the first time this season I spent most of the night watching the MLB Network almost exclusively. The program is named MLB Tonight, and it is baseball coverage at its best.

The only game televised in our area was the Braves-Diamondbacks, and I did switch to it from time to time.

The MLB coverage team for the first half of the night included Greg Amsinger in the anchor chair with Mitch Williams, Dave Valle, Barry Larkin, and Tom Verducci as analysts.

Early in the coverage the network switched to Alex Rodriguez making his first appearance in the new Yankee Stadium. He walked and would walk three more times in the game. They returned in the third inning to see Rodriguez strike out with the bases loaded to a chorus of boos.

Amsinger did a fine job of  bantering with the analysts and commenting on the look-ins at various games. Barry Larkin, to me, is the best of the MLB Network analysts, who are former players and provide insightful comments.

Mitch Williams showed a comedic side I didn’t know he had.

After Adrian Gonzalez  homered in his fifth consecutive game, Williams mentioned that he, Williams, was one of the pitchers who gave up a home run to Don Mattingly during Mattingly's streak of homering in eight consecutive games.

Williams and Larkin also went to the baseball diamond in Studio 42 and demonstrated how pitcher Brett Cecil was leaving the ball exposed during his delivery. They said this could be tipping off batters to what pitch was coming.

Larkin also demonstrated how, before a game, players on the road will roll baseballs down the third base line so they know how to stand at the plate when bunting to keep the ball from rolling foul.

It was an exciting night for baseball fans with the Rays coming back from a 7-0 deficit to win 8-7 over the Indians.

Also, Brandon Inge and Ryan Raburn hit grand slams for the Tigers in their 14-1 defeat of the Athletics.

And that was just part of the excitement last night.

Dave Valle, the former major league catcher, offered his analysis of games during the first half of coverage.

At 10 o’clock Eastern Matt Vasgerian took over as anchor with Harold Reynolds and Joe Magrane. Kate Hudson was shown attending the Yankee game and Magrane mentioned one of her movies.

Vasgersian then asked Magrane what his favorite baseball movie was. He said Ed, about a chimp that played third base. It starred Matt LeBlanc and was released in 1996.

Magrane went so far as to say Ed belonged up there with Ben Hur as one of the greatest movies ever. Magrane has a dry sense of humor that adds a comedic touch to MLB Tonight.

Harold Reynolds is very interesting to listen to as he often recounts his own experiences as a major league player. Reynolds is talented enough to anchor if  needed.

It was not a good night for the umpires.

They tossed four managers—Terry Francona, Fredi Gonzalez, Bruce Bochy, and Jerry Manuel—and two players, Dan Uggla and Johnny Damon. Damon made the mistake of drawing a line in the sand showing where a pitch should have been called a ball.

Other exciting games of the night included Zack Greinke, 7-1, 0.60 ERA, giving up only one run in seven innings yet seeing his ERA rise from 0.51 to 0.60. The Rangers took a 6-0 lead over the Angels in the third inning and then had to hang on to win 10-8 when the Angels scored five times in the ninth inning.

Ian Kinsler homered twice and Andruw Jones hit his fourth homer of the season after hitting only three all season for the Dodgers in 2008.

The MLB Network has added a new dimension to baseball coverage that far outdistances the multi-sports networks. 

It was a great night for baseball and for the MLB Network. I look forward to watching its coverage many more times during the 2009 season.