David Cone, Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay part of ESPN's new 'Sunday Night Baseball' plans
Yankees TV analyst David Cone in the YES Network booth. Credit: YES Network/E. H. Wallop
Former Mets and Yankees pitcher and current YES Network analyst David Cone will join play-by-play man Karl Ravech and analyst Eduardo Perez to form a new "Sunday Night Baseball" booth for ESPN, the network announced on Friday.
The trio will work ESPN’s slate of 25 games. For eight of those games, former "Sunday Night Baseball" game analyst Alex Rodriguez and Michael Kay, the YES Network’s Yankees play-by-play man, will provide alternate coverage on ESPN2, entitled, "Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod."
The network said of the show, "In addition to discussion and analysis, the telecasts will integrate fantasy baseball, predictive analytics and special guests tied to the game."
Kay and Rodriguez will appear on-site for some games, and from their home studios for others. They also will be the main broadcast team for two exclusive regular-season games. Kay and Cone will continue to call Yankees games for YES, although Cone is expected to do fewer Yankees games than in the past.
Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president, said in a news release, "The innovative ‘Sunday Night Baseball with Kay-Rod’ presentations will be informative and entertaining and play a crucial role in our overall ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ content offerings. We’re grateful for the collaboration with the YES Network and look forward to starting the 2022 season."
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
