Pedro Martinez is set to do more regular TV work. After an impressive couple of seasons working with TBS as a postseason analyst, the new Hall of Famer has been hired as MLB Network’s newest on-air analyst. (Update: Turner’s Nate Smeltz passes along that Martinez is still going to be working for TBS during the postseason as well.) It initially took a while after his official retirement in 2011 for him to get into broadcasting, with the likes of Barry Larkin and Kevin Millar encouraging him to do it, but Martinez has always brought confidence to the job, telling Richard Deitsch in 2013 before he even made his on-air debut that “Analyzing pitching is not all that difficult; if I get to see the guy pitching, I can explain what went right or wrong.” That confidence paid off for him, with his analysis quickly becoming a hit that resulting in him drawing a Charles Barkley-level crowd of media interviewers ahead of the 2014 postseason. At that time, Martinez told AA he found he enjoyed broadcasting more than he was expecting to, even if it was also more work than he had expected:

“It’s something new, something I wasn’t expecting really to like that much,” Martinez told me. “But it’s interesting, and it’s a lot to learn. I have a different view of how the media work now. I’m more respectful and I enjoyed it. It’s a lot of work though, that you have to put into. I didn’t know that it would be so complicated.” …

“You’re on the spot, and you have to be right on target all the time, because everybody’s watching you,” he said. “I didn’t realize that I was gonna be watched so much by everybody on TV. I came to realize that it was my word, my say that was going to be taken in consideration every time I took the spot on TV. I was a little bit worried at first, but then I got loose and did what I was supposed to do.”

Getting loose has produced great results for Martinez, who’s been one of the more original baseball voices we’ve seen in the last few years. Seeing him during the year instead of just during the postseason should be a boon for baseball fans, too, and it may help boost the profile of MLB Network’s coverage. One question is what this means for Martinez’s role with the Red Sox as “a special instructor and assistant to general manager Ben Cherington“; we’ll see if he’s giving that up to do more TV work, and if not, if he’s able to analyze well while on a team’s payroll. Bias hasn’t really been a big issue for him so far, though, and lots of MLBN personalities have connections to particular teams, so that’s not necessarily a huge deal; it’s just worth watching.

This is just the latest move for MLBN, too. They’re going to be debuting their first-ever regular-season morning show, MLB Central, on Opening Day, and that show (along with MLB Now and Quick Pitch) will be broadcast from their new 8,000-square-foot Studio 21 (named in honour of Roberto Clemente). They have an impressive roster of on-air talent, and Martinez makes that roster look even better. It’s going to be interesting to see how he’s utilized, but his work with TBS suggests he has both traditional broadcasting chops and original takes. Seeing more from him will likely be a welcome change for many baseball fans.

 

 

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

Comments are closed.