Peter Gammons announced he was leaving ESPN today, and Ronald Blum of the ASSOCIATED PRESS reported shortly thereafter that Gammons had already struck a deal to join MLB Network. Additionally, two sources told me today that Gammons will soon be joining NESN.
(What, you didn’t expect me to run this did you?)
Sources familiar with the Gammons negotiations with ESPN and MLB Network told me that MLB Net offered the longtime baseball writer more money than ESPN, and just as important, the ability to reduce travel. The 64-year-old had grown weary of commuting even to nearby Bristol, so he jumped at the opportunity to make more money while working closer to home in Boston and Cape Cod.
Still, for a guy so associated with one television network, it seems a little strange for him to be leaving ESPN. I was also told by the same sources that ESPN execs weren’t so upset at Gammons leaving the network for NESN, but were disturbed when word came down he was joining MLB Network.
ESPN has had a contentious relationship with baseball’s official television network since its recent launch, and the Gammons move will do nothing to calm the growing rivalry between the two outlets. Adding Gammons certainly is a major shot of credibility for the fledging baseball net, and an unavoidable embarrassment for the folks who helped establish Gammons as the country’s pre-eminent electronic media baseball reporter.
I was also told though that Gammons going to MLB Network was not intended as a shot at ESPN, it was just an opportunity he couldn’t pass up personally and professionally.
This is a logical move in that Gammons will do much more to drive ratings and revenue at MLB Net than he would at goliath ESPN. But that doesn’t mean the Bristol suits have to like the move.
I still have some feelers out on this situation, hoping to glean a few more perspectives on the matter from inside ESPN HQ. Stay tuned.
8:41 pm on December 8th, 2009
Raise your hand if you’re surprised that Gammons is only 64?
8:51 pm on December 8th, 2009
Not many reporters stand out from the crowd as much as Gammons. At NESN, he’ll feel more at home around Red Sox lovers and he won’t have to endure the pain of tolerating people in Bristol that supported the Yankees all summer. I don’t know how many Yanks fans he worked with, but one is too many.
8:53 pm on December 8th, 2009
Above — meant to write “Tough to replace a Legend.”
8:55 pm on December 8th, 2009
Gammons looks like Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill….
9:56 pm on December 8th, 2009
Great analyst I’m just glad he will still be on tv. He’s the best in the business.
11:23 pm on December 8th, 2009
Nothing in the article stated of he would give up his other gig of posing for the $20 bill. Shoddy reporting. I’m very disappointed in the SbB staff.
1:55 am on December 9th, 2009
Now that he’s not at ESPN he doesn’t have to feign tepid concern about steroids in baseball. He can just ignore the issue altogether. His reverence for Bonds, McGwire, Arod, and the rest is nauseating.
10:44 am on December 9th, 2009
I thought he was 74 Damn peter g
11:33 am on December 9th, 2009
Yes! I like Peter, and he will make a great addition to MLB Network which imo is the best of the major pro sports networks. The baseball analyst on ESPN is just god awful, Baseball Tonight is a frickin joke anymore.
12:21 pm on December 9th, 2009
Mah, I didn’t like him before… Now I’ll have to watch him more often.
1:20 pm on December 9th, 2009
My cat’s breath smells like cat food.
2:15 pm on December 9th, 2009
Less work and more pay.
2:39 pm on December 9th, 2009
This is just the icing on the cake, I love watching Harold Reynods on MLBN, this just makes it sweeter.
7:42 pm on December 9th, 2009
Good reporter for ESPN for many yrs, but time to move on. Very suprise that he’s 64???……ESPN will do just fine w/the revolving crew.
12:17 pm on December 10th, 2009
Hand up!
12:43 pm on December 10th, 2009
Gammons is lazy and assuming. He says things like “more than people think,” — how does he know what people think? He is a Red Sox homer in the worst way— good riddance– now we can get real insider info on ESPN.
12:16 pm on April 19th, 2010
i was wondering why i havent seen peter gammons on espn’s baseball tonight then when i saw nomar garciaparra on there i go ton my computer and saw that gammons had left for mlb network
5:34 pm on April 26th, 2010
Nomar is a far cry from Peter,nothing personal Nomar loved you as a player though!
2:11 pm on October 8th, 2010
Wow. A lot of broadcasters have left ESPN — for the NFL network especially, but also for MLB network.