We’re deep into the regional rounds of the Little League World Series on ESPN’s family of networks, and when the tournament ends up in Williamsport next week, a familiar face will be returning to the broadcast booth for ESPN – Nomar Garciaparra, who left the network at the end of 2013 to join SportsNet LA.
Garciaparra will re-debut on the network on August 20th at 3 PM, and will team with Karl Ravech, Kyle Peterson, and Jaymee Sire to call the three championship games at the end of the month.
“Nomar has the ability to take his Major League Baseball and collegiate baseball experience back to our ESPN Little League telecasts, blending teaching with entertainment,” said Tom McNeeley, ESPN coordinating producer.
Garciaparra—a former Silver Slugger Award winner and A.L. Rookie of the Year— will also contribute to the Little League Web Gems/World Series by Subway on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
Last year, ESPN’s viewership for the Little League World Series soared to a record-high on the network, including a wild 3.4 rating for Mo’ne Davis’ outing against Las Vegas.
Garciaparra has plenty of experience calling these games, and bringing him back (even if only for a week and a half) to shore up the coverage, much like they did last season, seems like a solid enough move.
[ESPN]
Note: the original version of this column noted that Garciaparra did not work the 2014 LLWS for ESPN. In fact, he was a member of the network’s coverage. We regret the error.
