Last week, YES Network announced that Carlos Beltran was being added to the roster of analysts for New York Yankees telecasts. The former Yankees slugger is expected to call 36 games, making up for David Cone’s decreased workload after joining ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball crew.
More than calling games for his former team and taking a broadcast gig that has been a springboard to national baseball broadcasts, Beltran working for YES is being viewed in some circles as an attempt to redeem his reputation.
The veteran outfielder was considered the “ringleader” of the 2017 Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scheme in Major League Baseball’s investigation. That association with one of baseball’s worst cheating scandals in decades resulted in Beltran being fired as New York Mets manager before he could begin the 2020 season.
According to the New York Post‘s Ken Davidoff, the Yankees aren’t requiring Beltran to address the sign-stealing scandal as a condition of the job. But in the columnist’s view, YES could be missing out on an opportunity for some media goodwill and potential TV ratings.
What if Beltran held a press conference before spring training to answer questions from reporters about his role in the Astros’ scandal? What if YES aired a special with Beltran answering questions from one of the network’s reporters, like Jack Curry? That could presumably settle any concerns or quiet down any snark viewers might have about Beltran’s analysis.
If the Yankees end up signing free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa — who was a protégé of Beltran’s on that 2017 Astros team — after the MLB lockout ends, the matter will already have been addressed. Correa would still face questions about the sign-stealing, of course, since Houston defeated the Yankees in the 2017 American League Championship Series. But Beltran Could give Correa something to lean on.
Then there’s the larger-picture reason that Beltran may want to answer questions about the 2017 sign-stealing scandal. He’ll be on the 2023 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. With a .270 career avearge, .837 OPS, 2m725 hits, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBI, and 312 stolen bases, Beltran presents a strong case for election, especially in a year when no other first-timers stand out while Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are no longer on the ballot.
As Davidoff points out, Beltran stands to benefit by talking about the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal far more than he would suffer. Rip off the Band-Aid quickly and move on.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
CBS Sports is preparing for coverage of its 68th consecutive year of The Masters, but the 2023 event could prove to be unlike any before it, and CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus is cognizant of the situation.
After several former Masters champions departed the PGA Tour for the upstart LIV Golf, many pondered what that meant for the sport’s major championships. The Masters decided to continue to allow the golfers who are now playing exclusively with the Saudi-backed league to compete for the green jacket. McManus shared that CBS will continue the showcase the golfers as it always has.
“We’re not gonna cover up or hide anything,” McManus said, as reported by Golf Digest. “As I’ve said so often, our job is to cover the golf tournament. We’re not gonna show any different treatment for the golfers who have played on the LIV tour than we do the other golfers. And if there’s a pertinent point or something that we need to, or we feel that we should bring up in our coverage on Saturday and Sunday, or on our other coverage throughout the week, you know, we’re not gonna put our heads in the sand.
“Having said that, unless it really affects the story that’s taking place on the golf course, we’re not gonna go out of our way to cover it. I’m not sure there’s anything that we could add to the story as it already exists. We’ll cover it as, as is suitable.”
Amazon will have to wait for flex scheduling. NFL owners decided to table a proposal that would allow the league to create more compelling matchups for Thursday Night Football later in the season.
That doesn’t mean flex scheduling won’t be a reality on Thursday nights this season. The owners have simply decided to wait until May to make their decision.
Earlier this week, Peter King of NBC Sports reported that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing the idea. Coaches have been outspoken about how much they dislike it, complaining about managing injuries and the competitive disadvantage that would come with finding out you suddenly have a shorter week of preparation than expected. According to King, Goodell is trying to make Amazon happy after the first season of Thursday Night Football failed to deliver projected audience numbers for Prime Video.
League owners did take a step they hope will lead to fewer games between losing teams. Last season, teams could only be scheduled once for a Thursday night game. The owners decided to bump that limit up to twice per season.
Goodell defended the proposal against accusations that the league is prioritizing revenue over player safety.
“We always look at the data with respect to injuries,” he told the media gathered at the league meetings. “That is what drove our decisions throughout the first 12 or so years of Thursday Night Football and how it’s evolved. I think the data was very clear: it doesn’t show a higher injury rate. But we recognize shorter weeks. We went through this with COVID, too.”
When the idea of flex scheduling is revisited in May, it will require the support of 24 team owners in order to become a reality.
Derek Jeter is going to work a very limited schedule for FOX next season. Still, before he came on board, FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks wanted the support of Jeter’s former Yankees teammate and on-again/off-again friend Alex Rodriguez.
Andrew Marchand is reporting that Shanks reached out to ARod personally. Rodriguez gave his approval to the network.
“Why wouldn’t we reach out?” a Fox Sports spokesman said when TheNew York Post reached out for confirmation.
While Derek Jeter is now part of the FOX family, fans shouldn’t expect to see him every time baseball is on the network. He is only scheduled to work “marquee events”. This season, those include the London series, the All-Star Game, and the World Series.
He will be at the desk alongside Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortíz, and Rodriguez.
