Baseball is back, at least in Spring Training form, and that's a good thing. The exhibitions have begun, and we're less than a month from the season starting in Australia. However, there'd been a small piece missing in MLB's 2014 calendar: the elements that would make up a brand new TV schedule for the Fox networks. 

That's right, Fox networks. While Fox will still provide 12 regional split broadcasts in 2014, Fox Sports 1 will air a majority of the baseball. FS1 will air at least a game (and, in 10 weeks, a doubleheader) every Saturday of the season, plus a couple of midweek features. Fox will join for eight weeks of primetime coverage from May until July and then jump back in for the September pennant chace.

FS1 will also necessitate the return of Fox's baseball studio coverage to Los Angeles, after a three-year stint in Secaucus, NJ with the MLB Network gang. It appears that Fox Sports Live anchor Ryan Field will host the new pregame show (which will air 30 minutes prior to FS1 going on the air), though Fox would not comment on the matter. One would think Fox Sports Live breakout star Gabe Kapler and recent hire Frank Thomas might play a role.

Also a no comment at this point: Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci as new lead game analysts, but a rep for the network did tell AA that they will make their talent announcements next week.

What else is new? Live streaming of Fox games! Fox Sports Go and MLB.tv will both make the network's broadcasts avaialbe for out-of-market streaming, all the way up until the World Series. Finally, Fox has joined the future. Or at least the present.

One last feature: the Fox Sports 1 broadcasts will "co-exist" with the local broadcasts in the market of the teams playing in the game. Fox's games will continue to be exclusive nationally. Meaning, between Fox on Saturday and ESPN on Sunday, there will be just 38 exclusive, national baseball windows the entire 2014 season. Everything else is a co-exist or subject to a local blackout.

Here's the Fox schedule. Take a look, and then join us for a little looksie inside the schedule.

2014 MLB on Fox/FS1 schedule
Date/Time Game Network
April 5, 1 p.m. ET Minnesota vs. Cleveland FS1
4 p.m. ET San Francisco vs. LA Dodgers FS1
April 8, 8 p.m. ET Cincinnati vs. St. Louis FS1
April 12, 1 p.m. ET Boston vs. NY Yankees FS1
April 19, 1 p.m. ET LA Angels vs. Detroit FS1
8 p.m. ET Arizona vs. LA Dodgers FS1
April 26, 1 p.m. ET LA Angels vs. NY Yankees FS1
4 p.m. ET Pittsburgh vs. St. Louis FS1
May 3, 1 p.m. ET St. Louis vs. CHI Cubs FS1
7 p.m. ET Detroit vs. Kansas City FS1
May 10, 4 p.m. ET San Francisco vs. LA Dodgers FS1
7 p.m. ET Cleveland vs. Tampa Bay FS1
May 15, 12:30 p.m. ET San Diego vs. Cincinnati FS1
May 17, 4 p.m. ET Pittsburgh vs. NY Yankees FS1
May 24, 4 p.m. ET Texas vs. Detroit FS1
7 p.m. ET

St. Louis vs. Cincinnati
Washington vs. Pittsburgh
Kansas City vs. LA Angels

Fox
May 31, 4 p.m. ET Atlanta vs. Miami FS1
7 p.m. ET

Tampa Bay vs. Boston
Pittsburgh vs. LA Dodgers

Fox
June 7, 4 p.m. ET Cleveland vs. Texas FS1
7 p.m. ET

Boston vs. Detroit
NY Yankees vs. Kansas City
Oakland vs. Baltimore

Fox
June 14, 4 p.m. ET Minnesota vs. Detroit FS1
7 p.m. ET

Washington vs. St. Louis
Cincinnati vs. Milwaukee
LA Angels vs. Atlanta

Fox
June 21, 7 p.m. ET

Atlanta vs. Washington
Pittsburgh vs. CHI Cubs
Detroit vs. Cleveland

Fox
10 p.m. ET Texas vs. LA Angels FS1
June 28, 4 p.m. ET Minnesota vs. Texas FS1
7 p.m. ET

Boston vs. NY Yankees
St. Louis vs. LA Dodgers
Washington vs. CHI Cubs

Fox
July 5, 4 p.m. ET Arizona vs. Atlanta FS1
7 p.m. ET

Baltimore vs. Boston
Texas vs. NY Mets
San Francisco vs. San Diego

Fox
July 12, 4 p.m. ET St. Louis vs. Milwaukee FS1
7 p.m. ET

Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati
Washington vs. Philadelphia
LA Angels vs. Texas

Fox
July 15, 8 p.m. ET MLB All-Star Game (at Minnesota) Fox
July 19, 4 p.m. ET LA Dodgers vs. St. Louis FS1
7 p.m. ET Cleveland vs. Detroit FS1
July 26, 4 p.m. ET Washington vs. Cincinnati FS1
7 p.m. ET Cleveland vs. Kansas City FS1
July 29, 8 p.m. ET NY Yankees vs. Texas FS1
August 2, 4 p.m. ET NY Yankees vs. Boston FS1
August 9, 1 p.m. ET Cleveland vs. NY Yankees FS1
4 p.m. ET St. Louis vs. Baltimore FS1
August 16, 4 p.m. ET NY Yankees vs. Tampa Bay FS1
7 p.m. ET San Diego vs. St. Louis FS1
August 23, 4 p.m. ET San Francisco vs. Washington FS1
7 p.m. ET Atlanta vs. Cincinnati FS1
August 26, 8 p.m. ET Minnesota vs. Kansas City FS1
August 30, 4 p.m. ET Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh FS1
September 6, 1 p.m. ET

San Francisco vs. Detroit
Baltimore vs. Tampa Bay

Fox
4 p.m. ET Kansas City vs. NY Yankees FS1
September 13, 1 p.m. ET

Atlanta vs. Texas
NY Yankees vs. Baltimore

Fox
8 p.m. ET San Diego vs. Arizona FS1
September 20 TBD Fox/FS1
September 27 TBD Fox/FS1

Here's the thing: much has been made about how Fox can take extra games of teams which it owns the regional sports network of, including now the New York Yankees. Take a look at how Fox doles out appearances between teams they do and do not own the regional rights to.

MLB on Fox/FS1 appearances per team
Team Appearances
NY Yankees* 11
St. Louis* 10
Cincinnati*, Detroit*, Texas* 8
Cleveland*, Pittsburgh, Washington 7
Boston, Kansas City*, LA Angels*, Atlanta*, LA Dodgers 6
Baltimore, San Francisco 5
Tampa Bay*, Minnesota*, San Diego* 4
Arizona*, CHI Cubs 3
Milwaukee*, Philadelphia 2
Oakland, Miami*, NY Mets 1
Toronto, Houston, Seattle, Colorado, CHI White Sox 0

* = local rights owned by a Fox-affiliated regional sports network

About Steve Lepore

Steve Lepore is a writer for Bloguin and a correspondent for SiriusXM NHL Network Radio.

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