NBC promised to feature MLB analysts with ties to the teams they would cover in its broadcasts, and it has followed through on its Opening Day coverage teams.
MLB Network analyst and former New York Mets pitcher Al Leiter and former Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker are serving as the game analysts for the network’s Opening Day broadcast of Pirates-Mets, and they’re following the formula for the Los Angeles Dodgers-Arizona Diamondbacks primetime telecast.
Play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti will be joined by former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser and former Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez, both World Series heroes for their respective organizations, per a report from Front Office Sports.
This will be the debut of NBC’s hybrid announcing model, showcasing Benetti calling most of NBC’s national telecasts and being joined by local color commentators from the teams playing.
Bob Costas and the recently retired Clayton Kershaw will be on-site in Los Angeles for Opening Day, when the Dodgers raises its 2025 World Series Banner. Meanwhile, Ahmed Fareed and Adam Ottavino will be a part of the studio crew for the Pirates-Mets game.
Opening Day will kick off NBC’s three-year, deal $600 million deal with MLB, which will see the network get 25 Sunday Night Baseball games a season, the entire Wild Card round, exclusive primetime slots on Opening Day and Labor Day, as well as an 18-game Sunday Leadoff package.
It will be interesting to see if NBC’s national-local hybrid broadcasts are successful and become a staple of national broadcasts not only in MLB but across professional sports, especially with the current discourse surrounding local broadcasts being unavailable for playoff games.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.