Joe Buck on calling another MLB game: ‘There’s a lot of catching up to do’

Is Joe Buck once again ready to call a Major League Baseball game? He talked about that with the Major League Baseball Network on Wednesday.

It was announced on Tuesday that Buck will be part of ESPN’s MLB Opening Day coverage, calling the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees. Buck will be working with people experienced with both teams, in Brewers color analyst Bill Schroeder and YES Network analyst Joe Girardi. Buck was Fox’s lead baseball commentator from 1996-2021. But following the 2021-22 NFL season, Buck left Fox, going to ESPN. And with the exception of one St. Louis Cardinals game in 2024, Buck hasn’t called an MLB game since 2021.

When Harold Reynolds asked Buck how he’s preparing to call another baseball game, this time to a national audience, Buck was honest about the work he has to put in to get up to speed.

“It’s the one piece of this puzzle that I’ve thought a lot about, Harold,” Buck said. “I’ve been a fan, obviously, for the last four years. Haven’t done a game, really — I did one game last year with the Cardinals — but I haven’t done a national game since the 2021 World Series. And I can’t act like I’ve been up on every transaction the Yankees and Brewers have made, let alone the rest of the league. I’ve never done a game, really, where I’ve been in charge of it, with the pitch clock. So there’s a lot of catching up to do.”

Joe @Buck will be back in the ⚾️ booth to call Yankees vs Brewers on Opening Day! 🎙️

He joined us on #MLBNHotStove to preview his return to baseball and the intricacies of calling an early-season MLB game. pic.twitter.com/vEm0qI1GDL

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 19, 2025

While he might have to do some catching up, Buck also acknowledged that calling an Opening Day game is best for him.

“And I think the easiest game to do is the first game of the season,” he said. “You’ve got all the spring training stories. You’ve got what happened last year. You’ve got what the hopes are for this year coming up. And you kinda just do the first game, enjoy it and the leave it to everybody else to cover the next 161. But it’s a piece of it that I’m gonna work real hard to get ready for Opening Day.”