The first night game in Major League Baseball history occurred on May 24, 1935, when the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field. The original plan was that the Reds would play seven night games each season, one against each visiting club.Hy Hurwitz, "Cronin Urges More Clubs to Put Player Names on Uniforms" The Sporting News, May 3, 1963, page 4. Night baseball quickly found acceptance in other Major League cities and eventually became the norm; the term "day game" was subsequently coined to designate the increasingly rarer afternoon contests.
Monday Night Baseball was born on October 19, 1966, when NBC signed a three-year contract to televise the game. Under the deal, NBC paid roughly $6 million per year for the 25 Games of the Week, $6.1 million for the 1967 World Series and 1967 All-Star Game, and $6.5 million for the 1968 World Series and 1968 All-Star Game. This brought the total value of the contract (which included three Monday night telecasts each season) up to $30.6 million.
The last non-expansion/non-relocated team to play all their home games in the daytime were the Chicago Cubs; they played their first official night game in Wrigley Field on August 9, 1988, and beat the New York Mets 6–4, one night after their initial attempt at night baseball (against the Philadelphia Phillies) was rained out before it became official. The Cubs still play the fewest home night games of any major league club (35 per season, as of 2014).
The first night All-Star Game was held at Philadelphia's Shibe Park in 1943, while the first World Series night game was Game 4 of the 1971 Series at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. All All-Star Games since 1969, and all World Series games since Game 6 of the 1987 Series, have been played at night.
2020s YearNetwork(s)Play-by-playColor commentary2026NBCJason BenettiGuest commentatorsTBSBrian AndersonAlex FaustBrandon GaudinBrendan BurkeRon DarlingJeff FrancoeurESPNKarl RavechJon SciambiJoe BuckKevin BrownMike MonacoRoxy BernsteinMike MonacoEduardo PerezDavid RossJessica MendozaTim KurkjianDoug GlanvilleBen McDonaldGregg OlsonAdam OttavinoTodd FrazierMLB NetworkMatt VasgersianPaul SeverinoTom VerducciEric HosmerYonder AlonsoApple TV+Alex FaustRich WaltzRyan SpilborghsDontrelle WillisNetflixMatt VasgersianHunter PenceCC Sabathia2025ESPNKarl RavechJon SciambiRoxy BernsteinDavid Cone and Eduardo PérezKyle PetersonChris BurkeJessica MendozaTim KurkjianTBSBrian AndersonAlex FaustDon OrsilloTom McCarthyBrandon GaudinRon DarlingJeff FrancoeurCurtis GrandersonJimmy RollinsMLB NetworkMatt VasgersianPaul SeverinoTom VerducciDan PlesacMark DeRosaYonder AlonsoApple TV+Alex FaustRich WaltzRyan SpilborghsDontrelle Willis2024ESPNKarl RavechDavid Cone and Eduardo PérezTBSBrian AndersonDon OrsilloJeff FrancoeurRon DarlingMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianDan PlesacTom VerducciApple TV+Wayne RandazzoAlex FaustDontrelle WillisRyan Spilborghs2023ESPNKarl RavechDavid Cone and Eduardo PérezTBSBrian AndersonBob CostasDon OrsilloRon DarlingJeff FrancoeurMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianTom VerducciApple TV+Wayne RandazzoAlex FaustDontrelle WillisRyan Spilborghs2022ESPNKarl RavechDavid Cone and Eduardo PérezTBSBrian AndersonBob CostasDon OrsilloRon DarlingJeff FrancoeurMLB NetworkBob CostasRich WaltzTom VerducciApple TV+Melanie NewmanStephen NelsonChris Young and Hannah KeyserHunter Pence and Katie Nolan2021ESPNMatt VasgersianJason BenettiDave FlemmingDan ShulmanJon SciambiKarl RavechAlex RodriguezBuster OlneyTim KurkjianDoug GlanvilleJessica MendozaRick SutcliffeEduardo PérezJeff PassanMLB NetworkBob CostasScott BraunStephen NelsonMatt VasgersianJim KaatJohn SmoltzTom Verducci2020ESPNMatt VasgersianKarl RavechJon SciambiTom HartAlex RodriguezBuster OlneyEduardo PérezTim KurkjianChipper JonesRick SutcliffeJessica Mendoza
Notes Starting with the 2022 season, TBS' weekly games were moved from Sunday afternoons to Tuesday nights. The Tuesday night program was expected to include a 30-minute studio show before and after each game. On March 29, 2022, MLB announced that Apple TV+'s first Friday night games would air on April 8, 2022, with a doubleheader of New York Mets–Washington Nationals and Houston Astros–Los Angeles Angels as the inaugural matchups. Apple also announced that Friday Night Baseball will be free-of-charge for its first 12 broadcasts. For the 2020 season abbreviated due to COVID-19, Matt Vasgersian and Alex Rodriguez would broadcast all games from a studio at ESPN's Bristol, Connecticut, headquarters.
2010s YearNetwork(s)Play-by-playColor commentary2018ESPNMatt VasgersianJon SciambiDave FlemmingSean McDonoughSteve LevyKarl RavechAlex RodriguezJessica MendozaRick SutcliffeEduardo PerezDavid RossTim KurkjianMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianJim KaatJohn Smoltz2017ESPNDan ShulmanJon SciambiDave O'BrienDave FlemmingSean McDonoughSteve LevyKarl RavechAaron BooneJessica MendozaRick SutcliffeEduardo PerezDoug GlanvilleDavid RossTim KurkjianDallas BradenMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianPaul SeverinoJim KaatJohn SmoltzTom Verducci2016ESPNDan ShulmanChris BermanJon SciambiDave FlemmingSean McDonoughSteve LevyKarl RavechAaron BooneJessica MendozaRick SutcliffeEduardo PerezJohn KrukCurt SchillingDoug GlanvilleDallas BradenMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianMike EmrickJim KaatJohn SmoltzTom VerducciHarold Reynolds2015ESPNDan ShulmanChris BermanJon SciambiDave O'BrienDave FlemmingSean McDonoughSteve LevyKarl RavechJohn KrukCurt SchillingRick SutcliffeAaron BooneDoug GlanvilleManny ActaMark MulderDallas BradenJessica MendozaMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianJim KaatJim KaatJohn SmoltzTom VerducciTim McCarver 2014ESPNDan ShulmanChris BermanJon SciambiDave O'BrienSean McDonoughSteve LevyKarl RavechJohn KrukCurt SchillingRick SutcliffeAaron BooneDoug GlanvilleManny ActaMark MulderBarry LarkinMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianJim KaatJim KaatJohn SmoltzTom VerducciBob Uecker 2013ESPNDan ShulmanChris BermanDave O'BrienSean McDonoughJon SciambiSteve LevyKarl RavechOrel HershiserJohn KrukRick SutcliffeAaron BooneNomar GarciaparraDoug GlanvilleManny ActaCurt SchillingMark MulderBarry LarkinMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianPaul SeverinoJim KaatJohn SmoltzTom VerducciJoe MagraneHarold ReynoldsAl LeiterBilly Ripken2012ESPNDan ShulmanChris BermanDave O'BrienSean McDonoughSteve BerthiaumeOrel HershiserTerry FranconaRick SutcliffeAaron BooneNomar GarciaparraMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianBrian KennyJim KaatJohn SmoltzBilly RipkenAl Leiter2011ESPNDan ShulmanChris BermanDave O'BrienSean McDonoughSteve BerthiaumeOrel HershiserBobby ValentineRick SutcliffeAaron BooneNomar GarciaparraMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianRich WaltzJim KaatAl MichaelsJim KaatJohn SmoltzDavid ConeTom VerducciSean CaseyJoe Magrane 2010ESPNJon MillerChris BermanDan ShulmanDave O'BrienSteve BerthiaumeJoe MorganOrel HershiserRick SutcliffeAaron BooneNomar GarciaparraChris SingletonMLB NetworkBob CostasMatt VasgersianGreg AmsingerJim KaatJohn SmoltzJoe MagraneMitch WilliamsSean CaseyHarold ReynoldsTom VerducciBarry Larkin
Notes In 2010, Jon Miller and Joe Morgan began their 21st consecutive season working together for ESPN. Among U.S. network television sportscasters, only Pat Summerall and John Madden (who called NFL games for CBS and Fox from 1981 to 2001) have had a similar length partnership in the booth. Following the 2010 season, ESPN announced that the television contracts of Miller and Morgan would not be renewed. Miller was offered, but chose to decline, a continued role with ESPN Radio. Steve Phillips joined them for the 2009 season, and Orel Hershiser did so for the 2010 season following Phillips' dismissal by the network. Play-by-play announcer Dan Shulman joined color commentators Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine as the new Sunday Night Baseball crew beginning in 2011. In an essential trade deal, following the hiring of Valentine as the Boston Red Sox manager, his predecessor Terry Francona was hired to join Shulman and Hershiser for the 2012 season. Francona stayed with ESPN for only one season before he was hired by the Cleveland Indians to be their manager for the 2013 season. Francona was replaced by John Kruk, who had been part of the Baseball Tonight team since 2004. Like Miller and Morgan before them, Shulman and Hershiser also formed the lead team on ESPN Radio's World Series coverage. Prior to the 2014 season, Hershiser left ESPN to become an analyst for the Dodgers on SportsNet LA, and was replaced by Curt Schilling; however, Schilling's subsequent diagnosis of and treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer led to his being unavailable to ESPN for most of the season. Shulman and Kruk worked as a two-man booth until Schilling joined them in September. On July 8, 2011, Al Michaels teamed up with Bob Costas (with the two announcers alternating between play-by-play and color commentary) to call a game between the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants on MLB Network. It was Michaels's first appearance on a baseball telecast since August 6, 2003 (when he served as a guest commentator on an ESPN game at Dodger Stadium between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds) and his first as a primary announcer since Game 5 of the 1995 World Series on ABC. (Michaels had called Games 1, 4 and 5 of that series with Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver, while Costas called Games 2, 3 and 6 with Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker for NBC.) Michaels and Costas also made appearances on SportsNet New York and Comcast SportsNet Bay Area during the game's middle innings, since the MLB Network broadcast was blacked out in the Mets' and Giants' respective home markets. In 2012, Fox would revive the Baseball Night in America title (previously used for The Baseball Network's games) for a series of Saturday night games. Unlike The Baseball Network, Fox did not carry every game that was scheduled for a given Saturday, only choosing five to six games to distribute to its affiliates. On August 30, 2015, former softball player Jessica Mendoza joined the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team as a color commentator. For the 2016 MLB season, former Yankees player Aaron Boone joined Shulman and Mendoza in the broadcast booth as the second color commentator for SNB. Shulman stepped down at the conclusion of the 2017 season, while Boone left the booth after being named new Yankees manager. On July 8, 2016, NHL on NBC broadcaster Mike Emrick called his first MLB regular-season game at PNC Park when the Pirates hosted the Chicago Cubs for MLB Network with Bob Costas. The Pirates won the game, 8–4, with Emrick calling some of the action. On January 23, 2018, ESPN announced that Alex Rodriguez and Matt Vasgersian would join the SNB crew for the 2018 season as analyst and play-by-play respectively.
2000s