NBC hits it out of the park with ‘Inside the Pitch’ concept on MLB broadcasts

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As NBC has returned to NBA and MLB broadcasting over the past year, staffers have frequently used the word “new-stalgia” to describe the ethos of the coverage.

An appeal to the old days, touched up with new voices and new visuals.

This week, when NBC debuted its MLB coverage as part of a three-year deal to replace much of ESPN’s old package, plenty of the classic stuff was there. Bob Costas delivered an opening monologue to get fans ready for the season, then hosted studio coverage from the field. Familiar music rang over speakers from Elysian Park to downtown Seattle and across the country. The network posted social media videos with footage of today’s stars spliced into NBC’s old imaging.

But just as with the network’s NBA coverage, the “new” has made a far larger imprint than the throwback elements.

In the case of NBC’s first few MLB broadcasts, the shiniest new toy is the “Inside the Pitch” concept. Nobody really knew about this concept until a conference call last week, when producer Sam Flood and lead announcer Jason Benetti unveiled it. The idea builds on NBC’s “On the Bench” and “Inside the Glass” concepts on NBA and NHL broadcasts, respectively. Within the biggest at-bats of a game, the former pitchers on the network’s roster drop in to break down the pitcher’s throw-by-throw approach against a hitter.

This week, studio analyst Clayton Kershaw got his first crack at taking viewers “Inside the Pitch,” but the real star driving the idea will be longtime reliever Adam Ottavino. The retired 16-year vet was tremendous on the call for the debut of Sunday Night Baseball on Peacock.

Volume up to hear why Clayton Kershaw is a 3-time Cy Young winner. 😅 pic.twitter.com/5YbGbHFxZG

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) March 27, 2026

Ottavino walked the audience through the pitchers’ arm angles, pitch mix, and mindsets throughout what ended up being a dud between Cleveland and Seattle. I learned more from Ottavino in the early innings of the game than I have from any MLB broadcaster in years.

“Inside the Pitch” also makes tremendous use of the camera worn by umpires, an innovation that has been in place for several years but never served a real purpose until now. NBC can cut between the usual broadcast angle and the ump cam while Benetti and Ottavino narrate the at-bat. When ABS challenges arise, viewers are keyed into where a pitch was supposed to be, where a hitter was looking. The challenge system is more than just great theater; “Inside the Pitch” makes baseball’s latest rule change into a pop quiz.

Everyone in sports broadcasting is trying to innovate with improved tech and data. Prime Video has incredible quality and stats-backed visuals. Netflix wants to win the branding game. Most associate NBC with great storytelling. Like “On the Bench,” Gold Zone at the Olympics, or the USA vs. World format at the NBA All-Star game, “Inside the Pitch” is the latest convergence between those storytelling instincts and the new possibilities offered by today’s cameras and analytics.

On Opening Day, Kershaw also showed some challenges of the new concept. When Benetti tapped him in, the Dodgers great occasionally sounded as if he was giving studio commentary dubbed over a key at-bat. The trick will be for Benetti to be direct with his questions, and for the analyst to be as specific as possible. This is Tony Romo before a goal-line snap. The point is to do a trick for the viewers and guess right.

If Ottavino, in particular, can do so consistently and build reps, we could soon see “Inside the Pitch” as an integral part of NBC’s baseball coverage. From there, the data visualization and production features will continue to develop.

The repetition of pitches over long innings can make baseball boring. NBC is working around that fact with one of the most innovative and intriguing broadcast features in a long time.

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