Quick Pitch (TV Show)
Encyclopedia
Quick Pitch is an American television show centered around showing highlights of baseball games from the previous night. Quick Pitch airs on MLB Network
during the MLB regular season at 1 A.M. ET every weeknight (sometimes earlier if there are fewer than three west coast games), 8 P.M. ET every Sunday, and after Saturday Night Baseball or MLB Tonight
every Saturday. Reruns of Quick Pitch are also shown every morning during the regular season.
A unique trait of Quick Pitch is that in some highlights, they use the television or radio announcers' call of the game to go through the highlights instead of the host commentating every play.
Quick Pitch is similar in format to the ESPN
show SportsCenter
but covers baseball exclusively.
hosting Sunday-Thursday and Matt Yaloff hosting Friday and Saturday. For the 2011 season, Mae and Yaloff moved to a new afternoon program, The Rundown. Newly-hired anchor Paul Severino
now anchors the Monday and Wednesday editions of the show, and fellow newly-hired anchor Ahmed Fareed
anchors Thursday-Sunday. Lisa Kerney serves as a frequent Sunday night and fill-in anchor.
Due to the typical lack of MLB Tonight on Tuesday nights in 2011 because of doubleheader live game coverage, MLB Network uses an anchor-analyst format for Quick Pitch on the Tuesday edition, which is nicknamed "Two-fer Tuesday" for this reason. Greg Amsinger hosts and Dan Plesac provides analysis. This format has become a regular Tuesday feature and airs every Tuesday, even if MLB Tonight does air prior to Quick Pitch. Amsinger serves as a fill-in host on other nights should the regular hosts be unavailable.
On June 23, 2011, Quick Pitch experimented with a "Three-fer Thursday" version of Quick Pitch in which host Ahmed Fareed
was joined by analysts Dan Plesac and Harold Reynolds. The most likely reason for this experiment was the short 5-game MLB schedule on that particular day, resulting in a lack of highlights to air. Since the show runs for a full hour regardless of the number of games, the analysts filled up time in the show with in-depth discussion and analysis. In previous years, this extra time had to be filled by long-form recorded segments due to the single-host format of the show. Having analyst(s) join the host is now a common feature on nights with a small slate of games, as Sean Casey and Eric Byrnes
infrequently join host Ahmed Fareed on certain nights.
MLB Network
MLB Network is an American television specialty channel dedicated to professional baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball. Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications have minority ownership of the new network, with MLB retaining a controlling two-thirds share...
during the MLB regular season at 1 A.M. ET every weeknight (sometimes earlier if there are fewer than three west coast games), 8 P.M. ET every Sunday, and after Saturday Night Baseball or MLB Tonight
MLB Tonight
MLB Tonight is the signature program that airs on MLB Network and is simulcast on MLB Network Radio. The show offers complete coverage of all Major League Baseball games from 6pm ET till 1am ET during the regular season. It is taped live in Studio 3 of the MLB Network facility in Secaucus, New...
every Saturday. Reruns of Quick Pitch are also shown every morning during the regular season.
Format
Quick Pitch is set in MLB Network's Studio 42 (which is constructed to look like a baseball field) with the host(s) standing on the set. The show is typically consists of highlights, but major stories such as contract signings, trades or player retirements are also covered. Usually after each highlight, the starting pitchers for the teams' next game are shown.A unique trait of Quick Pitch is that in some highlights, they use the television or radio announcers' call of the game to go through the highlights instead of the host commentating every play.
Quick Pitch is similar in format to the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
show SportsCenter
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
but covers baseball exclusively.
Hosts
In 2009 and 2010, Quick Pitch was exclusively a single-host program with Hazel MaeHazel Mae
Hazel Mae is a sportscaster in Canada. She was the former lead anchor for the New England Sports Network's SportsDesk news program and most recently the anchor on MLB Network. She is the current anchor for Rogers Sportsnet's 6PM broadcast of Sportsnet Connected. Mae worked for Sportsnet until...
hosting Sunday-Thursday and Matt Yaloff hosting Friday and Saturday. For the 2011 season, Mae and Yaloff moved to a new afternoon program, The Rundown. Newly-hired anchor Paul Severino
Paul Severino
Paul Severino is an sportscaster and studio host for MLB Network. He joined MLB Network in 2011 after working for ESPN from 2005 until 2010.He hosts shows such as Hot Stove, MLB Tonight, Front Burner, and Quick Pitch....
now anchors the Monday and Wednesday editions of the show, and fellow newly-hired anchor Ahmed Fareed
Ahmed Fareed
-Early life:Fareed is a native of Sparta, Michigan. He is a graduate of Syracuse University S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.-Career:...
anchors Thursday-Sunday. Lisa Kerney serves as a frequent Sunday night and fill-in anchor.
Due to the typical lack of MLB Tonight on Tuesday nights in 2011 because of doubleheader live game coverage, MLB Network uses an anchor-analyst format for Quick Pitch on the Tuesday edition, which is nicknamed "Two-fer Tuesday" for this reason. Greg Amsinger hosts and Dan Plesac provides analysis. This format has become a regular Tuesday feature and airs every Tuesday, even if MLB Tonight does air prior to Quick Pitch. Amsinger serves as a fill-in host on other nights should the regular hosts be unavailable.
On June 23, 2011, Quick Pitch experimented with a "Three-fer Thursday" version of Quick Pitch in which host Ahmed Fareed
Ahmed Fareed
-Early life:Fareed is a native of Sparta, Michigan. He is a graduate of Syracuse University S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.-Career:...
was joined by analysts Dan Plesac and Harold Reynolds. The most likely reason for this experiment was the short 5-game MLB schedule on that particular day, resulting in a lack of highlights to air. Since the show runs for a full hour regardless of the number of games, the analysts filled up time in the show with in-depth discussion and analysis. In previous years, this extra time had to be filled by long-form recorded segments due to the single-host format of the show. Having analyst(s) join the host is now a common feature on nights with a small slate of games, as Sean Casey and Eric Byrnes
Eric Byrnes
Eric James Byrnes , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He has played for the Oakland Athletics, the Colorado Rockies, the Baltimore Orioles, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Seattle Mariners...
infrequently join host Ahmed Fareed on certain nights.