MLB on CBS

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Major League Baseball on CBS is a former TV show, that televised Major League Baseball games on the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and was produced by CBS Sports. There have been several variations of the program dating back to the 1950s. The most notable version existed from 1990-1993.

Original MLB on CBS program

On August 11, 1951, CBS broadcasted the first baseball game on color television. It was the Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Boston Braves from Ebbets Field.

By 1955, Dizzy Dean and the Game of the Week would move from ABC to CBS. "CBS' stakes were higher" said Bud Blattner, who left Mutual to rejoin Dean. Ron Powers wrote about the reteaming of Dean and Blattner "They wanted someone who'd known Diz, could bring him out."

In 1957, CBS added a Sunday Game of the Week. ABC's Edgar Scherick said "In '53, no one wanted us. Now teams begged for Game's cash." That year, the NFL began a $14.1 miliion revenue-sharing pact. By 1965, Major League Baseball ended the big-city blackout, got $6.5 miliion for exclusivity, and split the pot.

With CBS now carrying the Game of the Week, outlets in Phoenix, Little Rock, and Cedar Rapids were finally receiving the Game of the Week. Bud Blattner said "America had never had TV network ball. Now you're getting two games a week [four, counting NBC, by 1959]."

By 1964, CBS' Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese worked Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. New York got $550,000 of CBS' $895,000. Six clubs that exclusively played nationally televised games on NBC got 1.2 million.

In 1966, the New York Yankees, who in the year prior played 21 Games of the Week for CBS, joined NBC's television package. The new package under NBC called for 28 games compared to 1960's three-network 123.

Announcers

• Bud Blattner (1955-1959)
• Jerry Coleman (1960)
• Dizzy Dean (1955-1964; 1965 (Yankee Baseball))
• George Kell (1958)
• Pee Wee Reese (1960-1964; 1965 (Yankee Baseball))

1990-1993 version

On December 14, 1988, CBS (under the guidance of Commissioner Peter Ueberroth as well as CBS Sports executive Eddie Einhorn) paid approximately $1.2 billion (or $1.06 billion according to some sources) for exclusive television rights for over four years (beginning in 1990). CBS paid about $265 million each year for the World Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the Saturday Game of the Week. It was one of the largest agreements (to date) between the sport of baseball and the business of broadcasting.

The deal with CBS was also suppose to pay each team $10 million a year. A separate deal with cable TV would bring each team an additional $4 million. Each team could also cut its own deal with local TV. For example, the New York Yankees signed with a cable network (MSG) that would pay the team $41 million annually for 12 years. Radio broadcast rights can bring in additional money. Reportedly, after the huge TV contracts with CBS and ESPN were signed, ballclubs spent their excess millions on free agents.

Before the previous television contract (1983-1989) with Major League Baseball was signed, CBS was at one point, interested in a pact which would have called for three interleague games every Thursday night (only). The proposed deal with CBS involved the American League East teams playing the National League East and the American League West playing the National League West respectively.

Trademarks

A trademark of CBS' baseball coverage was its majestic, uplifting, and harmonious theme music. The music was usually set to the opening graphic of an opaque rendition of the CBS insignia entering an big, waving red, white, and blue bunting and then a smaller, unfolding red, white, and blue bunting (over a white diamond) and floating blue banner (which usually featured an indicating year like "1991 World Series" for instance) complete with dark red Old English text. Pat O'Brien anchored the World Series and All-Star Game telecasts while usually delivering the prologue (normally set against the live scenery over the theme music). A recurring theme during CBS' coverage of the 1991 World Series was the usage of Michael Kamen's "Overture" from . From start to finish, an audio montage of baseball's most memorable moments played on top, followed by a video and music only (no narration) recap of both League Championship Series from 1991. The "Training" cue from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was played against an all slow-motion montage of the entire series.

Year-by-Year

1990

Major League Baseball's four year tenure with CBS (1990-1993) was marred by turmoil and shortcomings throughout. For starters, Brent Musburger, who was originally slated to be the #1 play-by-play announcer for baseball telecasts (thus, having the tasks of calling the All-Star Game, National League Championship Series, and World Series) was fired by CBS on April Fools Day of 1990. Jack Buck was bumped to the top play-by-play spot with just weeks before CBS' first baseball telecast. With Buck now the #1 play-by-play man (with ABC baseball alumnus Tim McCarver as his partner), his original back-up spot was filled in by CBS' top NBA announcer Dick Stockton (with Jim Kaat as Stockton's partner). Studio host Greg Gumbel took over for Stockton in 1993, who in return would be replaced by Andrea Joyce. On the teaming of Buck and McCarver, Broadcasting magazine wrote "The network has exclusivity, much rides on them." Meanwhile, Jim Kaat earned rave reviews for his role as CBS' backup analyst (which flashed a considerable "good-guy air"). Ron Bergman wrote of Kaat's performance during the 1990 ALCS "This was a night for pitchers to excel. Dave Stewart. Roger Clemens. Jim Kaat [on commentary]."

A mildly notorious moment came during CBS' coverage of the 1990 All-Star Game from Wrigley Field in Chicago. In a game that was marred by rain delays for a combined 85 minutes (including a 68 minute monsoon during the 7th inning), CBS annoyed many diehard fans by airing the William Shatner hosted reality series Rescue 911 during the delay.

Day	Date	Teams	Announcers
Saturday	April 14[link]	Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh 4-1; Los Angeles at Houston 3-7	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	April 21	Montreal at New York Mets 4-5; California at Minnesota 0-8	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 16[link]	Boston at Baltimore 6-3; San Diego at Los Angeles 2-5	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 23	St. Louis at Chicago Cubs 7-0; San Francisco at Houston 4-3	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 30	Oakland at Toronto 9-4; St. Louis at Los Angeles 6-5	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 7[link]	Chicago Cubs at San Francisco 9-10; Minnesota at New York Yankees 4-5 (12 innings)	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Tuesday	July 10	All Star Game (Chicago Cubs): AL vs. NL 2-0	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver
Saturday	July 14	Kansas City at Boston 13-4; San Diego at Pittsburgh 4-8	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 21	San Francisco at Chicago Cubs 2-3; Philadelphia at Cincinnati 1-6	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 28	St. Louis at New York Mets 1-0; Baltimore at Kansas City 9-10	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 4[link]	Los Angeles at San Francisco 1-2; New York Mets at St. Louis 5-7	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 11	New York Yankees at Oakland 1-10; Texas at Chicago White Sox 7-5	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 18	California at Boston 4-3; Kansas City at Milwaukee 10-1	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 25	New York Mets at Los Angeles 2-3 (14 innings); Boston at Toronto 1-0	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat

1991

After sustaining huge losses from 1990's abbreviated postseason (which ended with a Cincinnati Reds shockingly sweeping the defending World Champion Oakland Athletics in the World Series), CBS made several notable adjustments for 1991. Regular season telecasts had been reduced to a meager handful. In return, pregame shows during the League Championship Series were entirely eliminated, to minimize the ratings damage. The 1991 season was perhaps most noteworthy for CBS having the opportunity of covering of the now legendary World Series between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.

Earlier in the postseason, CBS' coverage of the ALCS meant that they could not carry the live testimony of Clarence Thomas, whose confirmation to the United States Supreme Court was put into question because of charges of sexual harassment from former staffer Anita Hill. Meanwhile, ABC, NBC, CNN and PBS all carried the testimony.

As CBS' baseball coverage progressed, they dropped the 8:00 p.m. pregame coverage (in favor of sitcoms such as Evening Shade), before finally starting their covearge at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The first pitch would generally arrive at approximately 8:45 p.m. Perhaps as a result, Joe Carter's World Series clinching home run off of Mitch Williams in 1993, occurred at 12:00 a.m. on the East Coast.

Day	Date	Teams	Announcers
Saturday	April 20[link]	Detroit at Chicago White Sox 2-1 (12 innings); New York Mets at Montreal 3-1	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	April 27	Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati 8-3; Seattle at Minnesota 2-7	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Sunday	May 5[link]	Cleveland at Oakland 20-6; Boston at Chicago White Sox 4-0	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	May 18	New York Mets at Los Angeles 4-2; Toronto at Chicago White Sox 9-2	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	May 25	Los Angeles at Cincinnati 8-1; Cleveland at Milwaukee 5-4	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 15[link]	Chicago Cubs at San Diego 7-3; California at Boston 3-13	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 22	Pittsburgh at Los Angeles 1-4; Minnesota at New York Yankees 4-3	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 29	St. Louis at Chicago Cubs 4-6; Boston at Baltimore 3-7	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Tuesday	July 9[link]	All-Star Game (Toronto): NL vs. AL 2-4	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver
Saturday	July 13	Baltimore at Oakland 2-0; St. Louis at Atlanta 5-10	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 20	Los Angeles at New York Mets 11-7; Detroit at Kansas City 4-8	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 3[link]	Toronto at Boston 1-4; Pittsburgh at St. Louis 5-6 (10 innings)	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 24	Cincinnati at New York Mets 7-0; Minnesota at Baltimore 3-7	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 14[link]	Los Angeles at Atlanta 2-3 (11 innings); Oakland at Toronto 0-6	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 21	Toronto at Oakland 0-4; New York Yankees at Boston 1-12	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 28	Los Angeles at San Francisco 1-4; Houston at Atlanta 4-5	Jack Buck and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat

Jack Buck for Sean McDonough

After two years of calling baseball telecasts for CBS, Jack Buck was dismissed in December 1991. According to the radio veteran Buck, he had a hard time adjusting to the demands of a more constricting television production. CBS felt that Buck should've done more to make himself appear to be a set-up man for lead analyst Tim McCarver. Jack Buck's son Joe tried to rationalize his father's on-air problems by saying "My dad was brought up in the golden age of radio, I think he had his hands tied somewhat, being accustomed to the freedom of radio. I'm more used to acquiescing to what the producer wants to do, what the director wants to do." Jack Buck himself sized up CBS' handling of the announcers by saying "CBS never got that baseball play-by-play draws word-pictures. All they knew was that football stars analysts. So they said, 'Let [analyst Tim] McCarver run the show.'" Buck added "In television, all they want you to do is shut up. I'm not very good at shutting up." Buck though, would add that although he knew Tim McCarver well, they never developed a good relationship with each other on the air despite high hopes to the contrary. Phil Mushnick added insult to injury to Buck by accusing him of "Trying to predict plays, as if to prove he was still on top."

"My biggest problem was understanding my role. They wanted him to dominate the broadcast and have me be the mechanic and stay out of the way. I didn't want to broadcast that way. I guess I should have accepted it, but relying on my experience on "GrandStand" (NBC's NFL pregame show that Buck hosted in 1975) when I had not challenged anyone, I couldn't let others make all the decisions that put me in a position where I couldn't perform at all." - Jack Buck in his autobiography That's a Winner.

Jack Buck got into deep trouble with CBS executives (namely, director Ted Shaker, who approached Buck in the hotel lobby to tell him that he was in trouble) over questionable comments made towards singer Bobby Vinton. While on air during the 1991 National League Championship Series in Pittsburgh, Buck criticized Vinton's off-key rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. What got Buck into trouble was that his pot-shot towards Vinton sounded as if he was making a prejudicial remark centered on Vinton's Polish heritage. Joe Buck believed that the Bobby Vinton situation was ironic because his father was "trying to help the guy." Legend has it, that Buck soon received death threats from Pirate fans and discovered a footprint on his pillow once he returned to his hotel room.

1992

Jack Buck was soon replaced by Boston Red Sox announcer Sean McDonough. Ted Shaker called McDonough about his interests for the top announcing job. After McDonough hung up the telephone, he claimed that he didn't want to act like a 10 year old, but he jumped so high that he put a hole in his ceiling. In 1992, McDonough at 30 years of age, became the youngest man to call a national broadcast of a World Series.

Also in 1992, Tim McCarver ran afoul of Atlanta Braves outfielder Deion Sanders while in the Braves' clubhouse following Game 7 of the NLCS. Sanders dumped a bucket of ice water on McCarver as retaliation for McCarver's on-air comments that criticized Sanders' life as a two-sport athlete (the other sport being as a member of the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL).

Speaking of Tim McCarver, during the 1992 postseason, Norman Chad criticized McCarver in Sports Illustrated by saying that he's someone who 'when you ask him the time, will tell you how a watch works.' Chad's critique of McCarver was a reference to McCarver's supposed habit of overanalyzing. Chad went further by saying "What's the difference between Tim McCarver and appendicitis? Appendicitis is covered by most health plans."

McCarver was also known to make many gaffes from time to time. One of his more amusing miscues came during the 1992 National League Championship Series when he repeatedly referred to Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Tim Wakefield as "Bill Wakefield." He finally explained that Bill Wakefield was one of his old minor-league teammates, and he laughed at himself because ''"I forgot my own name!"'

During the 1992 postseason, CBS missed covering one of the three debates among U.S. presidential candidates George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and H. Ross Perot. The network had planned to join other broadcast and cable networks in the telecast; however, Game 4 of the ALCS between the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics did not end until 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, about the time the debate ended. The Blue Jays won the game on an 11th-inning home run from Roberto Alomar. The other networks reported very good ratings for the debate, part of one of the more compelling election campaigns in recent times.

Day	Date	Teams	Announcers
Saturday	April 18[link]	Chicago Cubs at St. Louis; Detroit at Baltimore	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	April 25	Oakland at Minnesota	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver
Saturday	May 2[link]	New York Mets at Atlanta; Texas at Chicago White Sox	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 13[link]	Boston at Toronto; Los Angeles at Cincinnati	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 20	Oakland at California; Los Angeles at Houston	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	June 27	New York Mets at St. Louis; Atlanta at Cincinnati	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 4[link]	Chicago Cubs at Atlanta; Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 11	St. Louis at Los Angeles; Phiadelphia at San Diego	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Tuesday	July 14	All-Star Game (San Diego)	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver
Saturday	July 18	Boston at Minnesota; Atlanta at Houston	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 25	Texas at Baltimore; Minnesota at Boston	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 1[link]	St. Louis at Pittsburgh; New York Yankees at Toronto	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 8	Los Angeles at Atlanta; New York Mets at Chicago Cubs	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 29	Cincinnati at New York Mets; Milwaukee at Toronto	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 19[link]	Texas at Toronto; Baltimore at Milwaukee	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 26	New York at Pittsburgh; Oakland at Milwaukee	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Dick Stockton and Jim Kaat

1993

During CBS' coverage of the 1993 World Series, umpires are upset with the overhead replays being televised by CBS. Dave Phillips, the crew chief, said just prior to Game 2 that the umpires want "CBS to be fair with their approach."

Rick Gentile, the senior vice president for production of CBS Sports, said that Richie Phillips, the lawyer for the Major League Umpires Association, tried to call the broadcast booth during Saturday's game, but the call was not put through. Richie Phillips apparently was upset when Dave Phillips called the Philadelphia Phillies' Ricky Jordan out on strikes in the fourth inning, and a replay showed the pitch to be about 6 inches outside.

National League President Bill White, while using a CBS headset in the broadcast booth during Game 1, was overheard telling Gentile and the producer Bob Dekas: "You guys keep using that camera the way you want. Don't let Phillips intimidate you."

Trivia

In 1993, CBS aired the private detective show on South of Sunset starring Glenn Frey of rock band The Eagles. This was the first U.S.-produced series to be cancelled after one episode since 1969. South of Sunset was heavily promoted during CBS' coverage of the 1993 World Series. The remaining five episodes eventually aired on the VH1 cable network a year later. MTV also aired episodes while celebrating the Eagles' reunion tour.

Day	Date	Teams	Announcers
Saturday	April 17[link]	New York Mets at Cincinnati; Chicago White Sox at Boston	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	April 24	Florida at Colorado; Cincinnati at Chicago Cubs	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	May 1[link]	St. Louis at Atlanta; Minnesota at Detroit	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	May 8	Baltimore at Toronto	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver
Saturday	May 15	Los Angeles at Houston	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver
Saturday	May 22	California at Texas	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver
Saturday	May 29	San Francisco at Atlanta; Montreal at Chicago Cubs	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 10[link]	San Francisco at Philadelphia; Detroit at Kansas City	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Tuesday	July 13	All Star Game (Baltimore)	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver
Saturday	July 17	Oakland at New York Yankees; Houston at St. Louis	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 24	Philadelphia at San Francisco; Chicago Cubs at Houston	Sean McDonugh and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	July 31	Atlanta at Houston; Oakland at Toronto	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	August 7[link]	Milwaukee at Toronto; Chicago Cubs at St. Louis	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Jim Kaat and Steve Stone
Saturday	August 28	Chicago Cubs at Atlanta; Boston at Kansas City	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 18[link]	New York Mets at Atlanta; Boston at New York Yankees	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	September 25	Atlanta at Philadelphia; Texas at Chicago White Sox (postponed)	Sean McDonough and Tim McCarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat
Saturday	October 2[link]	Colorado at Atlanta; San Francisco at Los Angeles	Sean McDonough and Tim Mccarver; Greg Gumbel and Jim Kaat

Tim McCarver interviews Joe Carter following Carter's World Series clinching home run in 1993.

Reasons for CBS losing so much money may include:

In the end, CBS wound up losing approximately half a billion dollars from their television contract with Major League Baseball. CBS repeatedly asked Major League Baseball for a rebate, but MLB wasn't willing to do this.

• CBS alienated and confused fans with their sporadic treatment of regular season telecasts. With a sense of true continuity destroyed, fans eventually figured that they couldn't count on CBS to satisfy their needs (thus poor ratings were a result). CBS televised about 16 regular season Saturday afternoon games (not counting back-up telecasts) which was 14 less than what NBC televised during the previous contract. CBS used the strategy of broadcasting only a select amount of games in order to build a demand in response to supposedly sagging ratings.

Marv Albert, who hosted NBC's studio baseball pregame show for many years said about CBS' baseball coverage "You wouldn't see a game for a month. Then you didn't know when CBS came back on." Sports Illustrated joked that CBS stood for Covers Baseball Sporadically. USA Today added that Jack Buck and Tim McCarver "may have to have a reunion before [their] telecast." Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News took it a step further by calling CBS' baseball deal "The Vietnam of sports television."

NBC play-by-play man Bob Costas believed that a large bulk of the regular season coverage beginning in the 1990s to cable (namely, ESPN) because CBS, the network that was taking over from NBC the television rights beginning in 1990 didn't really want the Saturday Game of the Week. Many fans who didn't appreciate CBS' approach to scheduling regular season baseball games believed that they were only truly after the marquee events (i.e. All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and the World Series) in order to sell advertising space (especially the fall entertainment television schedule).

• The Toronto Blue Jays were in back-to-back World Series from 1992-1993. Unfortunately, Canada does not factor in the Nielsen Ratings so as a consequence, CBS got the lowest ratings in over 20 years for a World Series (not counting the earthquake interrupted 1989 World Series that was televised by ABC). In any other World Series, viewership increases across the country and spikes to off-the-chart ratings shares in the two competing cities (especially in 1991 when CBS was fortunate to cover the riviting, ultra intense, seven game battle between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves). Another reasoning behind the poor ratings likely has to do with the gradual attrition of the audience for almost all network programming.

• The country at the time was going through a recession.

• CBS couldn't properly maximize the deal because the Division Series wasn't created yet (thus automatically giving CBS more games to carry) and they didn't have a cable outlet like Fox's Fox Sports Net. More postseason games could increase the inventory. In other words it could give the networks more time to sell in front of large audiences to advertisers. It should be noted that both ABC and NBC lost money on their in-season games the last three years they carried baseball (1987-1989).

• CBS simply made way too high of a bid (especially for a network that wound up frustrating fans with its lack of regular season coverage) and substained a shortfall in advertising revenue.

In 1991, it cost CBS $4.8 million per game in venue productions alone to show the National League Championship Series. This doesn't include studio backup operations or the satellite time needed to transmit the game to New York for broadcast on their network frequencies. The American League Championship Series (between the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays) was another problem because of the tariffs and labor laws they had to endure going into Canada. CBS averaged $1.9-$2.4 million per regular season game. In return, it was typical for the production cost to double come playoff time.

The final Major League Baseball game that CBS has televised to date, was Game 6 of the 1993 World Series on October 23. Before Major League Baseball decided to seek the services of other networks, CBS offered $120 million in annual rights fees over a two-year period, as well as advertising revenues in excess of $150 million a season.

The Future of MLB on CBS

In October 1995, when it was a known fact that ABC and NBC were going to end their television deal/joint venture with Major League Baseball, preliminary talks rose about CBS returning. It was rumored that CBS would show Thursday night games while Fox would show Saturday afternoon games. CBS and Fox were also rumored to share the rights to the postseason although CBS' involvement did not come to pass.

With Fox renewing its contract with MLB to telecast baseball through the 2013 season in July 2006, the likelihood of Major League Baseball returning to CBS in the near future is all but non-existent. This is in line with a June 6, 2006 article from Broadcasting and Cable[link], which stated that although CBS had preliminary discussions with Major League Baseball, it was not a likely suitor given its current strength in prime time.

Miscellaneous Quotes

"Everyone at CBS who cared about baseball felt like they went through hell with it." - Ed Goren

"The overall revenues of the game have more than doubled since the early 1990s. The problem isn't that the game has insufficient popularity or revenues, the problem is that the game has an imperfect economic system, which often renders any amount of revenue, in the long run, inadequate. You know, they get another source of revenue and they flush it right down the drain. Look what happened when NBC lost baseball in the late 1980s. CBS comes in with this enormous deal for baseball, so the revenues are exponentially increased, but they frittered it all away immediately when the salary structure just immediately exploded right after that. At that time the top paid player made about $2 million a year. Within a couple of years you had dozens and dozens of players making $5 million a year." - Bob Costas[link]

Ratings

Regular Season (Saturday afternoons: April-September)

Year	Network	Rating
1987	NBC	5.9
1988	NBC	5.5
1989	NBC	4.9
1990	CBS	4.7
1991	CBS	4.1
1992	CBS	3.4
1993	CBS	3.4

All-Star Game Television Ratings Breakdown: 1986-1993

Year	Network	Rating	Share	Households
[1986]	ABC	20.3	35	17,440,000
[1987]	NBC	18.2	37	15,910,000
[1988]	ABC	20.4	33	18,070,000
[1989]	NBC	18.2	33	16,450,000
[1990]	CBS	16.2	33	14,940,000
[1991]	CBS	17.4	32	16,200,000
[1992]	CBS	14.9	27	13,720,000
[1993]	CBS	15.6	28	14,550,000

American League Championship Series Ratings

Year	Network	Match-up	Rating
[1987]	NBC	Min vs. Det	14.5
[1988]	ABC	Oak vs. Bos	11.0
[1989]	NBC	Oak vs. Tor	10.0
[1990]	CBS	Oak vs. Bos	11.1
[1991]	CBS	Min vs. Tor	9.2
[1992]	CBS	Tor vs. Oak	8.7
[1993]	CBS	Tor vs. Chi	10.7

National League Championship Series Ratings

Year	Network	Match-up	Rating
[1987]	NBC	StL vs. SF	15.4
[1988]	ABC	LA vs. NY	15.3
[1989]	NBC	SF vs. Chi	15.0
[1990]	CBS	Cin vs. Pit	12.0
[1991]	CBS	Atl vs Pit	13.9
[1992]	CBS	Atl vs Pit	12.1

World Series Television Ratings Breakdown: 1986-1993

Year	Network	Rating	Share
1986	NBC	28.6	46
1987	ABC	24.0	41
1988	NBC	23.9	39
1989	ABC	16.4	30
1990	CBS	20.8	36
1991	CBS	24.0	39
1992	CBS	20.2	34
1993	CBS	17.3	30

Memorable Calls

"Fly ball into deep, deep center field, McGee going back...it's going to go!!! You would think they had just won the World Series!" - Jack Buck calling Eric Davis' home run off of Dave Stewart in Game 1 of the 1990 World Series.

"That ball is...FAIR!!! Cincinnati's ahead 2 games to none!!!" - Jack Buck calling Joe Oliver's game winning base hit in Game 2 of the 1990 World Series.

"(Billy) Hatcher flies to right field and (José) Canseco can't get it! It's off his glove...Hatcher's gonna end up at 3rd!" - Jack Buck, calling Billy Hatcher's seventh consecutive hit in the 1990 World Series.

"Cincinnati, the champions of baseball for 1990...with an improbable sweep over Oakland!!!" - Jack Buck calling the final out in Game 4 of the 1990 World Series.

"In Atlanta let the celebration begin!!!" - Jack Buck informing the viewers that the Atlanta Braves have clinched the 1991 Western Division title in the National League. This was ensured immediately after the Los Angeles Dodgers lost a game against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.

"And the Minnesota Twins have gone from the cellar to the penthouse in the American League!" - Dick Stockton calling the final out in Game 5 of the 1991 American League Championship Series.

"That's going to be a winner for Atlanta!!! The runner tags at third, here's the throw from Mack, here's Lemke...he is out..safe, safe, safe!!! They called him safe! Atlanta wins and they're going to say that Harper did not tag him!" - Jack Buck calling Jerry Willard's game winning sacrifice fly in Game 4 of the 1991 World Series.

"Into deep left-center, for Mitchell...and we'll see you...TOMORROW NIGHT!" - Jack Buck, announcing Minnesota Twins center fielder Kirby Puckett's game winning 11th inning walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series against Charlie Leibrandt. It is believed by some that on the original telecast, Jack Buck confused left field (where Puckett hit the ball) with right field. Soon afterwards, CBS forced Buck to redub his call for subsequent highlight packages.

"The play is to home! Out there...out there!!!" - Jack Buck calling Atlanta Brave Sid Bream hitting into a top of the 8th inning ending double play in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

"Atlanta hasn't scored in ten innings against Jack Morris!" - Jack Buck calling the end of the top of the 10th inning in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

"The Twins are going to win the World Series! The Twins have won it! It's a base hit! It's a 1-0 10th inning victory!" - Jack Buck calling Gene Larkin's game winning bloop single in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

"Deep to left...and there goes Ron Gant's first ever grand slam!" - Sean McDonough calling Ron Gant's home run off of Bob Walk in Game 2 of the 1992 National League Championship Series.

"And a drive hit to right field, Sierra going back, looking up...and this game is tied, Roberto Alomar!" - Dick Stockton calling Roberto Alomar's top of the 9th inning home run off of Dennis Eckersley in Game 4 of the 1992 American League Championship Series.

"Line-drive and a base-hit!!! Justice will score the tying run, Bream to the plate...and he's safe, safe at the plate!!! The Braves go to the World Series!" - Sean McDonough calling Francisco Cabrera's dramatic game winning base hit in Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series.

"The runners go on the 3-and-2 to Winfield...down the line, a base hit into the left-field corner! One run is in, Alomar comes around...It's a two-run double for Dave Winfield, and a 4-2 Toronto lead!" - Sean McDonough calling Dave Winfield's 1992 World Series winning double.

"Timlin...Nixon bunts, Timlin on it, throws to first...for the first time in history, the World Championship banner will fly north of the border! The Toronto Blue Jays are baseball's best in 1992" - Sean McDonough calling the final out of Game 6 of the 1992 World Series.

"Fair ball, into the left field corner! Kruk around to score and Kim Batiste goes from goat to hero in a matter of minutes!" - Sean McDonough calling Phillies infielder Kim Batiste's 10th-inninng game-winning single in Game 1 of the 1993 National League Championship Series. Batiste had committed a 9th-inning error to allow the Atlanta Braves to tie the score and force extra innings.

"And the Philadelphia Phillies have won the National League pennant!" - Sean McDonough calling the final out of Game 6 of the 1993 National League Championship Series.

"Henderson to the plate with the go-ahead run!!!" - Sean McDonough responding to the Toronto Blue Jays regaining the lead in what turned out to be a wild 15-14 contest in Game 4 of the 1993 World Series.

"In Canada, when you say PM they think of Prime Minister, but now they might start thinking Paul Molitor!" - Tim McCarver during Game 6 of the 1993 World Series.

"Well-hit down the left-field line! Way back and gone! Joe Carter with a three-run homer! The winners and still world champions, the Toronto Blue Jays!" - Sean McDonough calling Joe Carter's dramatic World Series home run off of Mitch Williams.

External links

• [MLB Baseball - CBS SportsLine.com]
• [Baseball's Best - 1990s]
• *[1990 World Series | Game 4]
• *[1991 World Series | Game 6]
• *[1991 World Series | Game 7]
• *[1992 NLCS | Game 7]
• *[1992 World Series | Game 6]
• *[1993 World Series | Game 6]
• [Major League Baseball History : History : All-Star Game Recaps - 1993: The Curious At-Bat]

References

See also

• Major League Baseball television contracts
• List of World Series broadcasters
• List of Major League Baseball All-Star Game broadcasters
• List of American League Championship Series broadcasters
• List of National League Championship Series broadcasters
• MLB on ABC
• MLB on NBC
• MLB on FOX
• The Baseball Network
• Major League Baseball Game of the Week
• Major League Baseball on Cable Television

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EASTERN DIVISION Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox New York Yankees Tampa Bay Devil Rays Toronto Blue Jays		CENTRAL DIVISION Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins		WESTERN DIVISION Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EASTERN DIVISION Atlanta Braves Florida Marlins New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals		CENTRAL DIVISION Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds Houston Astros Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals		WESTERN DIVISION Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants
World Series | NLCS | ALCS | NLDS | ALDS | All-Star Game | MLB awards | Hall of Fame | MLBPA | Negro Leagues | Minor Leagues | History of baseball | Major League Baseball television contracts | | World Baseball Classic

 

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