Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, and Derek Jeter might be good for a quote on Fox, but working with Pete Rose was on another level.
Kevin Burkhardt was this week’s guest on Andrew Marchand’s sports media podcast, where the Fox announcer spoke about his versatility as a broadcaster and his ability to work with different personalities. Whether he was talking to fans as a field reporter for SNY, working with Greg Olsen, Tom Brady, or Alex Rodriguez, Burkhardt has excelled in whatever role he’s been put in.
The MLB on Fox studio show featuring Burkhardt, A-Rod, Ortiz, and Jeter has been widely praised as baseball’s version of Inside the NBA. Marchand credited Burkhardt with being able to set up his co-hosts, much like Ernie Johnson does with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaq. And while Burkhardt was quick to praise A-Rod, Ortiz, and Jeter for making his job easy, he did admit it was different at times when the late Pete Rose was on set.
“Maybe it was a little different when I was working with Pete Rose,” Burkhardt admitted. “That was a little bit dicier at times.”
“Because you never knew what the hell he was going to say,” Burkhardt explained after Marchand asked for more context. “Your listening skills were on high alert with Pete.”
As much as it’s the job of a studio host to set up their co-hosts, it’s also their job to pivot off a topic if someone is taking it down a dangerous path. And despite A-Rod, Ortiz, and Jeter being willing to speak off the cuff, no one was more brash than Rose.
Rose, who died in 2024 before being reinstated by Major League Baseball, joined Burkhardt, Rodriguez, and Frank Thomas on the MLB on Fox studio show in 2015. And he quickly became a popular TV analyst for his willingness to be as candid as he was when he was playing. But Rose’s TV tenure was short-lived, getting fired from Fox in 2017 amid allegations he had a sexual relationship with an underage woman in the 1970s.
The MLB on Fox studio show may have been dicier with Rose, but they never missed a beat without him.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com