“Major League Baseball on ABC”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

In {{baseball year|1976}}, ABC picked up the television rights^[36] for Monday Night Baseball^[37] games from NBC. For most of its time on ABC, the Monday night games were held on "dead travel days" when few games were scheduled. The team owners liked that arrangement as the national telecasts didn't compete against their stadium box offices. ABC on the other hand, found the arrangement far more complicated. ABC often had only one or two games to pick from for each telecast from a schedule designed by Major League Baseball. While trying to give all of the teams national exposure, ABC ended up with far too many games between sub .500 clubs from small markets. Reviewing the network's first two weeks of coverage for Sports Illustrated, William Leggett opined: "It may be unfair to say that Monday Night Baseball, as it has been presented by ABC so far this season, is the worst television treatment ever given a major sport, because by all odds somebody at sometime must have done something worse. But it is difficult to remember when or where that might have happened."^[38]

Just like with Monday Night Football, ABC brought in the concept of the three-man-booth (originally with Bob Prince, Bob Uecker, and Warner Wolf^[39] as the primary crew) to their baseball telecasts. Said ABC Sports head Roone Arledge "It'll take something different for it to work - i.e. curb viewership yawns and lulls with Uecker as the real difference", so Arledge reportedly hoped. Prince disclosed to his broadcasting partner Jim Woods about his early worries about calling a network series for the first time. Prince for one, didn't have as much creative control over the broadcasts on ABC as he did calling Pittsburgh Pirates games on KDKA radio. On the June 7, 1976 edition of Monday Night Baseball, Prince returned to Three Rivers Stadium, from which he had been exiled for over a year. Although Prince received a warm reception, he was confused when the next day the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette read: "Ratings are low, negative reviews rampant."^[40]

June 28, 1976, the Detroit Tigers faced the New York Yankees on Monday Night Baseball, with 47,855 attending at Tiger Stadium and a national television audience, Tigers pitcher Mark "The Bird" Fidrych talked to the ball and groomed the mound, as the Tigers won, 5-1 in a game that lasted only 1 hour and 51 minutes. After the game, the crowd would not leave the park until Fidrych came out of the dugout to tip his cap.^[41]

For ABC's coverage of the 1976 All-Star Game, the team of Bob Prince, Bob Uecker and Warner Wolf alternated roles for the broadcast. For the first three innings, Prince did play-by-play with Wolf on color commentary and Uecker doing field interviews. For the middle innings, Uecker worked play-by-play with Prince on color and Wolf doing the interviews. For the final three innings, Wolf worked play-by-play with Uecker on color and Prince doing interviews.

Bob Prince was gone by the fall of 1976, with Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell,^[42]^[43] and guest analyst Reggie Jackson calling that year's American League Championship Series. (Warner Wolf, Al Michaels and guest analyst Tom Seaver worked the NLCS.) On the subject of his dismissal from ABC, Bob Prince said "I hated Houston, and ABC never let me be Bob Prince."^[44] MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn strongly objected to ABC's recruitment of Howard Cosell^[45] because of comments by Cosell in recent years about how dull baseball had become. But Roone Arledge held the trump card as the contract he had signed with Major League Baseball gave ABC the final say over announcers. So Cosell worked the 1976 ALCS and became a regular member of Monday Night Baseball the next season.

Keith Jackson was unavailable to call Game 1 of the 1976 ALCS because he had just gotten finished calling an Oklahoma-Texas college football game for ABC. Thus, Bob Uecker filled-in for Jackson for Game 1. Uecker also took part in the postgame interviews for Game 5 of the 1976 ALCS, while Warner Wolf did an interview of George Brett in the Kansas City locker room.

Still on the disabled list toward the end of the {{baseball year|1977}} season, Mark Fidrych worked as a guest color analyst on a Monday Night Baseball telecast for ABC; he was subsequently criticized for his lack of preparation, as when play-by-play partner Al Michaels tried talking with him about Philadelphia Phillies player Richie Hebner and Fidrych responded, "Who's Richie Hebner?"^[46] As an American League player, Fidrych had never had to face Hebner, who played in the National League.

The 1977 World Series marked the first time that the participating teams' local announcers were not featured^[47] as booth announcers on the network telecast of a World Series. 1977 was also the first year in which one announcer (in this case, ABC's Keith Jackson) provided all of the play-by-play for a World Series telecast. In previous years, the play-by-play announcers and color commentators had alternated roles during each game. Meanwhile, Yankees announcer Bill White and Dodgers announcer Ross Porter alternated between pregame/postgame duties on ABC and calling the games for CBS Radio. White worked the ABC telecasts for the games in New York (including the clubhouse trophy presentation ceremony after Game 6) while Porter did likewise for the games in Los Angeles.

"The Bronx is Burning"

Howard Cosell was widely attributed with saying the famous phrase "the Bronx is burning". Cosell is credited with saying the quote during Game 2 of the 1977 World Series, which took place in Yankee Stadium on October 12, 1977. For a couple of years, fires had routinely erupted in the South Bronx, mostly due to low-value property owners setting their own properties ablaze for insurance money. During the bottom of the first inning, an ABC aerial camera panned a few blocks from Yankee Stadium to a building on fire, giving the world a real-life view of the infamous Bronx fires. The scene became a defining image of New York City in the 1970s. Cosell supposedly stated, "There it is, ladies and gentlemen, The Bronx is burning."^[48] This was later picked up by candidate Ronald Reagan, who then made a special trip to the Bronx, to illustrate the failures of then-day politicians to address the issues in that part of New York City.

In 2005, author Jonathan Mahler published Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning, a book on New York in 1977, and credited Cosell with saying the title quote during the aerial coverage of the fire. ESPN produced a 2007 mini-series based on the book called The Bronx is Burning. Cosell's comment seemed to have captured the widespread view held at the time that New York City was on the skids and in a state of decline.

The truth was discovered after Major League Baseball published a complete DVD set of all of the games of the 1977 World Series. Coverage of the fire begins with Keith Jackson commenting on the enormity of the blaze, while Cosell added that President Carter had visited that area just days before. As the top of the second inning began, the fire was once again shown from a helicopter-mounted camera, and Cosell commented that the New York Fire Department had a hard job to do in the Bronx as there were always numerous fires. In the bottom of the second, Cosell informed the audience that it was an abandoned building that was burning and no lives were in danger. There was no further comment on the fire, and Cosell appears to have never said "The Bronx is Burning" (at least not on camera) during Game 2.^[48]

Mahler's confusion could have arisen from a 1974 documentary entitled "The Bronx is Burning": it is likely Mahler confused the documentary with his recollection of Cosell's comments when writing his book.^[49]

1978-1979

In {{baseball year|1978}},^[50] Baseball Hall of Famer Don Drysdale joined ABC Sports with assignments such as Monday Night Baseball, Superstars, and Wide World of Sports. In {{wsy|1979}}, Drysdale covered the World Series Trophy presentation. According to Drysdale "My thing is to talk about inside things. Keith [Jackson] does play-by-play. Howard's [Cosell] role is anything since anything can happen in broadcasting." When ABC released and then rehired him in {{baseball year|1981}}, Drysdale explained it by saying "If there is nothing to say, be quiet." Ultimately, Drysdale seemed to be slowly phased out of the ABC picture as fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer was considered ABC's new poster child "[of] superior looks and...popularity from underwear commercials." By 1989, Palmer would earn $350,000 from ABC for appearing on around ten regular season broadcasts and making a few postseason appearances.^[51]

For a national television audience, the 1978 American League East tie-breaker game (New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox) aired on ABC with Keith Jackson and Don Drysdale on the call. Meanwhile, the game aired locally in New York on WPIX and on WSBK in Boston. Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer and Bill White called the game on WPIX while Dick Stockton and Ken Harrelson called the game on WSBK. Also in {{baseball year|1978}}, Keith Jackson called an Oklahoma-Texas college football game for ABC and then, flew to New York, arriving just in time to call Game 4 of the ALCS that same night (October 7).

In {{baseball year|1979}}, the start of ABC's Monday Night Baseball coverage was moved back to June, due to poor ratings during the May sweeps period. In place of April and May prime time games, ABC began airing Sunday Afternoon Baseball games in September.^[52] The network also aired one Friday night game (Yankees at Angels) on July 13 of that year. On August 6, 1979 the entire Yankee team attended team captain/catcher Thurman Munson's funeral in Canton, Ohio. Teammates Lou Piniella and Bobby Murcer, who were Munson's best friends, gave eulogies. That night (before a national viewing audience on ABC's Monday Night Baseball) the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5–4 in New York, with Murcer driving in all five runs with a three-run home run in the seventh inning and a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth.^[53]

1980s

ABC hardly showed any baseball games during the regular season in the 1980s and when they did, it was only on either Monday or Thursday nights from the end of Sweeps Week in late May until the NFL preseason started in the first week of August, and then not again until the playoffs. ABC also had a clause where they could air a game the last day of the regular season if it had playoff implications, such as in 1987 in regards to the Detroit Tigers' American League East pennant chase against the Toronto Blue Jays. However, in 1986, ABC did do a number of early season Sunday afternoon games before they went into Monday Night Baseball.

1980-1982

ABC's contract was further modified prior to the {{baseball year|1980}} season, with the network airing just five Monday Night Baseball telecasts in June of that year, followed by Sunday Afternoon Baseball in August and September. ABC did Sunday afternoon games late in the season in order to fulfill the number of games in the contract and to not interfere with Monday Night Football. Also in 1980, ABC (with Al Michaels and Bob Uecker on the call) broadcast the National League West tie-breaker game between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers.^[54] On October 11, 1980, Keith Jackson called an Oklahoma-Texas college football game for ABC in the afternoon, then flew to Houston to call Game 4 of the NLCS).^[55] In the meantime, Don Drysdale filled-in for Jackson on play-by-play for the early innings (up until the middle of the fourth inning). Meanwhile, ABC used Steve Zabriskie^[56] as a field reporter during the 1980 NLCS.

In {{baseball year|1981}}, ABC planned to increase coverage to 10 Monday night games and eight Sunday afternoon games, but the players' strike that year ended up reducing the network's schedule to three Monday night and seven Sunday afternoon telecasts. Also in {{baseball year|1981}}, as means to recoup revenue lost during a players' strike, Major League Baseball set up a special additional playoff round (as a prelude to the League Championship Series). ABC televised the American League Division Series while NBC televised the National League Division Series. The Division Series round wasn't officially instituted until 14 years later. Games 3 of the Brewers/Yankees series and Royals/Athletics series were aired regionally. On October 10, Keith Jackson called an Oklahoma-Texas college football game for ABC and missed Game 4 of the Milwaukee-New York series. In Jackson's absence, Don Drysdale filled-in for him on play-by-play alongside Howard Cosell. On a trivial note the ABC's affiliates, WTEN in Albany, New York and its satellite WCDC-TV in Adams, Massachusetts, as well as WIXT (now WSYR-TV) in Syracuse, New York, did not carry any of ABC's games at that time because of the New York Yankees games that were simulcasted from New York City's WPIX, movies, and syndicated series and specials among others in order to provide advertising for those extra money.

In {{baseball year|1982}}, ABC aired 11 Monday night games and one Sunday afternoon game. Game 1 of the 1982 NLCS had to be played twice. In the first attempt (on October 6), the Atlanta Braves led against the St. Louis Cardinals 1–0 behind Phil Niekro. The game was three outs away becoming official when the umpire stopped it. When the rain did not subside, the game was canceled.^[57] Game 1 began from the start the following night in a pitching match-up of Pascual Pérez for the Braves and longtime Cardinal starter Bob Forsch. Howard Cosell did not broadcast Game 2 of the 1982 NLCS (alongside Al Michaels and Tommy Lasorda) because of his commitment of hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers' 50th Anniversary dinner in Pittsburgh on October 9, 1982, which was broadcast live on Pittsburgh's ABC affiliate, WTAE-TV and Pittsburgh's NBC affiliate, WPXI-TV. ABC's Jim Lampley^[58] interviewed the winners in the Cardinals' clubhouse after clinching the National League pennant in Game 3.

1983-1989 television package

On April 7, 1983, Major League Baseball, ABC, and NBC agreed to terms of a six-year television package worth $1.2 billion. The two networks continued to alternate coverage of the playoffs (ABC in even numbered years and NBC in odd numbered years), World Series (ABC televised the World Series in odd numbered years and NBC in even numbered years), and All-Star Game (ABC televised the All-Star Game in even numbered years^[59] and NBC in odd numbered years) through the 1989^[60] season, with each of the 26 clubs receiving $7 million per year in return. The last package gave each club $1.9 million per year. ABC contributed $575 million for regular season prime time and Sunday afternoons and NBC paid $550 million for thirty Saturday afternoon games. It should be noted that ABC was contracted to televise 20 prime time regular season games a year in addition to other games (the aforementioned Sunday afternoon games). But ABC didn't come close to using that many, which meant they actually paid for games they weren't showing. To give you some perspective, ABC televised six prime time games in 1984 and eight 1985. They planned to again televise eight prime time games in 1986.

1983 marked the last time that local telecasts of League Championship Series games were allowed. In 1982, Major League Baseball recognized a problem with this due to the emergence of cable superstations such as WTBS in Atlanta and WGN-TV in Chicago. When TBS tried to petition for the right to do a "local" Braves broadcast of the 1982 NLCS,^[62] Major League Baseball got a Philadelphia federal court^[63]^[64] to ban^[65] them on the grounds that as a cable superstation, TBS could not have a nationwide telecast competing with ABC's.

On June 6, 1983, Al Michaels officially succeeded Keith Jackson as the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Baseball. Michaels, who spent seven seasons working backup games, was apparently very miffed over ABC Sports' delay in announcing him as their top baseball announcer. Unlike Jackson, whose forte was college football, Michaels had gigs with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants before joining ABC in 1976. TV Guide huffed about Jackson by saying "A football guy, on baseball!" Jackson was unavailable for several World Series games in {{wsy|1979}} and {{wsy|1981}} because of conflicts with his otherwise normal college football broadcasting schedule. Thus, Michaels did play-by-play for games on weekends.

Earl Weaver was the #1 ABC analyst^[66] in {{baseball year|1983}}, but was also employed by the Baltimore Orioles as a consultant. At the time, ABC had a policy preventing an announcer who was employed by a team from working games involving that team. So whenever the Orioles were on the primary ABC game, Weaver worked the backup game. This policy forced Weaver to resign from the Orioles' consulting position in October in order to be able to work the World Series for ABC.

The 1984 NLCS^[67] schedule (which had an off day after Game 3 rather than Game 2) allowed ABC to have a prime time game each weeknight even though Chicago's Wrigley Field did not have lights at the time (which remained the case until four years later). ABC used Tim McCarver as a field reporter during the 1984 NLCS. During the regular season, McCarver teamed with Don Drysdale (who teamed with Earl Weaver and Reggie Jackson for the 1984 NLCS) on backup games^[68] while Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver/Howard Cosell formed ABC's number one broadcasting team. For ABC's coverage of the 1984 All-Star Game, Jim Palmer only served as a between innings analyst.

Had the 1984 ALCS between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals gone the full five games (the last year that the League Championship Series was a best-of-five series), Game 5 on Sunday October 7, would have been a 1 p.m. ET time start instead of being in prime time. This would have happened because one of the presidential debates between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale was scheduled for that night. In return, ABC was going to broadcast the debates instead of a baseball game in prime time. Al Trautwig^[69] interviewed the Detroit Tigers from their clubhouse following their pennant clinching victory in Game 3.

In 1985, ABC announced that every game of the World Series would be played under the lights for the biggest baseball audience possible. Just prior to the start of the 1985 World Series, ABC removed Howard Cosell from scheduled announcing duties as punishment for his controversial book I Never Played the Game. In Cosell's place came Tim McCarver (joining play-by-play man Michaels and fellow color commentator Jim Palmer), who was beginning his trek of being a part of numerous World Series telecasts. Reportedly, by {{baseball year|1985}}, Cosell was considered to be difficult to work with on baseball telecasts. Apparently, Cosell and Michaels got into a fairly heated argument following the conclusion of their coverage of the 1984 American League Championship Series due to Cosell's supposed drunkenness among other problems.^[70]^[71]^[72] Rumor has it that Michaels went as far as to urged ABC executives to remove Cosell from the booth. Ultimately, Michaels went public with his problems with Cosell. Michaels claimed that "Howard had become a cruel, evil, vicious person."

By {{baseball year|1986}}, ABC only televised 13 Monday Night Baseball games.^[74] This was a fairly sharp contrast to the 18 games to that were scheduled in {{mlby|1978}}. The Sporting News believed that ABC paid Major League Baseball to not make them televise the regular season. TSN added that the network only wanted the sport for October anyway. Going into {{mlby|1987}}, ABC had reportedly purchased 20 Monday night games but only used eight of those slots. More to the point, CBS Sports president Neal Pilson said "Three years ago, we believed ABC's package was overpriced by $175 million. We still believe it's overpriced by $175 million."^[73]

During the 1986 season, Don Drysdale did play-by-play ABC's Sunday afternoon games, which aired until July, when Monday Night Baseball began. Al Michaels did the main Sunday game usually with Jim Palmer, while Drysdale and Johnny Bench did the backup contests. Keith Jackson, usually working with Tim McCarver did the #2 Monday night games. Bench took a week off in June (with Steve Busby filling in), and also worked one game with Michaels as the networks switched the announcer pairings. While Drysdale worked the All-Star Game in Houston as an interviewer he did not resurface until the playoffs. Bench simply disappeared, ultimately going to CBS Radio.

On October 15, 1986, Game 6 of the NLCS ran so long (lasting for 16 innings, 5 hours and 29 minutes), it bumped up against the start time of Game 7 of the ALCS (also on ABC). During Game 6 of the NLCS, color commentator Tim McCarver left the booth during the bottom of the 16th, in order to cover the expected celebration in the New York Mets' clubhouse. As a result, play-by-play man Keith Jackson was on the air by himself for a short time. Eventually, McCarver rejoined the broadcast just before the end of the game, watching the action on a monitor in the Mets' clubhouse, then doing the postgame interviews with the Mets. Meanwhile, Corey McPherrin, a sports anchor with WABC (ABC's flagship station out of New York) interviewed Mike Scott when he was presented with the 1986 NLCS MVP award after Game 6. During the late 1980s, McPherrin delivered in-game updates during ABC's Monday Night Baseball and Thursday Night Baseball broadcasts. In his last ever ABC assignment, Don Drysdale interviewed the winners in the Boston clubhouse following Game 7 of the 1986 ALCS.

For the 1987 World Series between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals, ABC utilized 12 cameras and nine tape machines. This includes cameras positioned down the left field line, on the roof of the Metrodome, and high above third base. There have been a few occasions when two Monday Night Football games were played simultaneously. In 1987, a scheduling conflict arose when Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins went to Game 7 of the World Series (which also aired on ABC^[74]), making the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome unavailable for the Minnesota Vikings' scheduled game (against the Denver Broncos) that Sunday.

Although Al Michaels, Jim Palmer and Tim McCarver had done the 1985 and 1987 World Series together as well as the 1986 All-Star Game, ABC did not team them on a regular basis on Monday Night Baseball until {{baseball year|1988}} (after three 'experiments' in {{baseball year|1987}}).

During the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, networks benefited from sports programming, including NBC, which relied on the Summer Olympics in September and the World Series in October, and ABC, which in addition to its postseason baseball coverage, moved up the start time for the early weeks of Monday Night Football (when Al Michaels was unavailable to do play-by-play on Monday Night Football, which he had done for ABC beginning in 1986 due to his postseason baseball duties, Frank Gifford covered for him) from 9 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. ET (MacGyver, which normally aired at 8 p.m., was not yet ready with new episodes).

ABC's coverage of Game 2^[75] of the 1988 NLCS^[76] didn't start until 10 p.m. ET due to a presidential debate. This is the latest ever scheduled start for an LCS game.

Gary Bender did play-by-play for the 1988 American League Championship Series^[77]^[78] between the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox. Bender spent two years (1987-1988) as the #2 baseball play-by-play man for ABC behind Al Michaels. Bender worked the backup Monday Night Baseball broadcasts (with Tim McCarver in 1987 and Joe Morgan^[79] in 1988) as well as serving as a field reporter for ABC's 1987 World Series coverage. After Bender spent an entire summer developing a team with Joe Morgan, ABC brought in Reggie Jackson^[80] to work with the duo for the 1988 ALCS. According to Bender's autobiography Call of the Game (pages 118-120)^[81], ABC's decision to bring in Jackson to work with Bender and Morgan caused problems: {{cquote|Reggie is one of the strongest personalities I've ever met. He epitomizes the big-name athlete who has become a great player, in part because of his ego, but who does not have the sensitivity to let go of that ego when working with others. Consequently, Reggie demanded things he hadn't earned the right to demand. He wanted more attention. He insisted we adjust our way of doing things for him.}}

It should be noted that during the spare time of his active career, Reggie Jackson worked as a field reporter and color commentator for ABC Sports. During the 1980s (1983, 1985, and 1987 respectively), Jackson was given the task of presiding over the World Series Trophy presentations.

1989

In {{baseball year|1989}} (the final year of ABC's contract with Major League Baseball), ABC moved the baseball telecasts to Thursday nights^[82] in hopes of getting leg up against NBC's Cosby Show. After braving the traumatic Loma Prieta earthquake^[83] and an all-time low 16.4 rating for the 1989 World Series,^[84] Al Michaels took ABC's loss of baseball to CBS^[85]^[86] as "tough to accept."Michaels added that "baseball was such an early stepchild at ABC and had come such a long way."^[87] Gary Thorne,^[88] who served as ABC's backup play-by-play announcer in 1989 and was an on-field reporter for the World Series^[89] that year (and covering the trophy presentation in the process), simply laughed while saying "Great reviews, just as ABC baseball ends."^[90] Meanwhile, Dennis Swanson, president of ABC Sports, noted in a statement that baseball had been a blue-chip franchise since 1976 for the network, which was disappointed to lose it.^[91] After ABC lost the Major League Baseball package to CBS, they aggressively counterprogrammed CBS' postseason baseball coverage with made-for-TV movies and miniseries geared towards female viewers.^[92]

Loma Prieta earthquake

As previously mentioned, Game 3 of the 1989 World Series^[95] (initially scheduled for October 17) was delayed by ten days due to the Loma Prieta earthquake.^[96] The earthquake struck at approximately 5:04 p.m. Pacific Time. At the moment the quake struck, ABC's color commentator Tim McCarver^[97] was narrating taped highlights of the previous Series game. Viewers saw the video signal begin to break up, heard McCarver repeat a sentence as the shaking distracted him, and heard McCarver's colleague Al Michaels exclaim, "I'll tell you what, we're having an earth—."^[98] At that moment, the feed from Candlestick Park was lost.^[99] The network put up a green ABC Sports graphic as the audio was switched to a telephone link. Michaels had to pickup a POTS phone in the press booth (phones work off a separate power supply) and call ABC headquarters in New York, at which point they put him back on the air. Michaels cracked, "Well folks, that's the greatest open in the history of television, bar none!" accompanied by the excited screams of fans who had no idea of the devastation elsewhere.^[100]

After about a 15-minute delay (ABC aired a rerun of Roseanne and subsequently, The Wonder Years in the meantime), ABC was able to regain power via a backup generator. ABC's play-by-play man, Al Michaels (who was familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area dating back to his days working for the San Francisco Giants from 1974-1976) then proceeded to relay reports to Ted Koppel at ABC News' headquarters in Washington, D.C. Al Michaels was ultimately nominated for an Emmy for his on-site reporting at the World Series.

The Goodyear blimp was aloft above the ballpark to provide aerial coverage of the World Series. Blimp pilot John Crayton reported that he felt four bumps during the quake.^[101] ABC was able to use the blimp to capture some of the first images of the damage to the Bay Bridge.^[102]

That picture was very much a mirror of the feel and the mood that had enveloped the Bay Area...and most of Northern California. Their baseball teams, the Giants and A's, had won pennants, and the people of this region were still basking in the afterglow of each team's success. And this great American sporting classic, the World Series, was, for the time being, exclusively theirs.

Then of course the feeling of pure radiance was transformed into horror and grief and despair- in just fifteen seconds.^[103] And now on October 27, like a fighter who's taken a vicious blow to the stomach and has groggily arisen, this region moves on and moves ahead.

And one part of that scenario is the resumption of the World Series. No one in this ballpark tonight- no player, no vendor, no fan, no writer, no announcer, in fact, no one in this area period- can forget

the images. The column of smoke in the Marina. The severed bridge. The grotesque tangle of concrete in Oakland. The pictures are embedded in our minds.

And while the mourning and the suffering and the aftereffects will continue, in about thirty minutes the plate umpire, Vic Voltaggio will say 'Play Ball', and the players will play, the vendors will sell, the announcers will announce, the crowd will exhort. And for many of the six million people in this region, it will be like revisiting Fantasyland.

But Fantasyland is where baseball comes from anyway and maybe right about now that's the perfect place for a three-hour rest.^[104]|Al Michaels at the beginning of ABC's telecast of the resumption of Game 3 of the 1989 World Series.}}

1990s

After a four-year-long hiatus (when CBS exclusively carried the Major League Baseball television rights), ABC returned to baseball in {{baseball year|1994}}.

Under a six-year plan, Major League Baseball was intended to receive 85% of the first $140 million in advertising revenue (or 87.5% of advertising revenues and corporate sponsorship from the games until sales top a specified level), 50% of the next $30 million, and 80% of any additional money. Prior to this, Major League Baseball was projected to take a projected 55% cut in rights fees and receive a typical rights fee from the networks.

After NBC was finished with their post-1994 All-Star Game six-week baseball coverage, ABC (with a reunited Al Michaels, Tim McCarver, and Jim Palmer as the primary crew) then picked up where NBC left off by televising six more regular season games. Joining the team of Michaels, McCarver, and Palmer was Lesley Visser, who served as the lead field reporter for the CBS' baseball coverage from 1990-1993. Visser was reuniting with McCarver, for whom she had worked with on CBS. The regular season games fell under the Baseball Night in America umbrella which premiered on July 16, 1994. On the subject of play-by-play man Al Michaels returning to baseball for the first time since the infamous 1989 World Series, Jim Palmer said "Here Al is, having done five games since {{mlby|1989}} and steps right in. It's hard to comprehend how one guy could so amaze." Meanwhile, Brent Musburger,^[105]^[106]^[107]^[108] CBS alumnus Jim Kaat, and Jack Arute became the secondary team for ABC.

In even-numbered years, NBC had the rights to the All-Star Game and both League Championship Series while ABC had the World Series and newly created Division Series. In odd-numbered years, the postseason and All-Star Game television rights were supposed to alternate.

ABC won the rights to the first dibs at the World Series in August 1993 after ABC Sports president Dennis Swanson won a coin toss by calling "heads." Ken Schanzer, who was the CEO of The Baseball Network, handled the coin toss. Schanzer agreed to the coin toss by ABC and NBC at the outset as the means of determining the order in which they'd divvy up the playoffs.

The long term plans for The Baseball Network crumbled when the players went on strike on August 12, 1994 (thus forcing the cancellation of the World Series). In July 1995, ABC and NBC, who wound up having to share the duties of televising the 1995 World Series as a way to recoup (with ABC broadcasting Games 1, 4, and 5 and NBC broadcasting Games 2, 3, and 6), announced that they were opting out of their agreement with Major League Baseball. Both networks figured that as the delayed {{mlby|1995}} baseball season opened without a labor agreement, there was no guarantee against another strike. Both networks soon publicly vowed to cut all ties with Major League Baseball for the remainder of the 20th century.

The network's final Major League Baseball game to date was Game 5 of the 1995 World Series (October 26). Calling the final out of the game, Al Michaels yelled, "Back to Georgia!" as the Cleveland Indians took Game 5.

After losing its Major League Baseball broadcast rights again, this time to Fox, ABC counterprogrammed against Fox's postseason coverage by airing a mix of miniseries and TV-movies aimed at female viewers. One of the movies aired on ABC, Unforgiven, aired opposite Andy Pettitte's shutout in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series (Fox's first World Series, and the final game in Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium history).

Announcers

References

1. ^{{cite news |last=Sarni|first=Jim|date=7 October 1988|title=Abc Is Good Or Bad, Depending On Series|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-10-07/sports/8802280638_1_mccarver-abc-dodgers|newspaper=Sun Sentinel|location= |access-date= }}
2. ^{{cite book |last=Walker and Bellamy, Jr. |first= James Robert and Robert |authorlink= |title=Center Field Shot: A History of Baseball on Television |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6kPQhpS-X8YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Center+Field+Shot:+A+History+of+Baseball+on+Television&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GyN-UdfsNan3igL5yoBQ&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=ABC&f=false |accessdate= |year= |publisher= |location= |isbn= |page=}}
3. ^{{cite web |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.sport.baseball/RJv0lY7G1AI|title=Searchable Network TV Broadcasts - ABC Sports|last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date= |website=rec.sport.baseball|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
4. ^{{harvnb|Walker|Bellamy|2008|page=103}}
5. ^{{cite news|date=March 14, 1954|title=Club Owners Veto Television of Spring Games|newspaper=The Spokane-Review|author=Associated Press|page=1}}
6. ^{{cite news|title=Major League Ball Game on KECA-TV; Topper Series Set as 'Irma' Replacement|date=June 13, 1953|first=Walter|last=Ames|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=A5}}
7. ^{{cite news|title=Albany Club Owner Asks for Video Of Major League Games in His Area|date=June 6, 1953|author=Associated Press|newspaper=Hartford Courant}}
8. ^{{cite news|title=L.A.-Las Vegas Relay Ready by Fall; Lamenting Berle Seeks New Home|date=May 8, 1954|first=Walter|last=Ames|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=A5}}
9. ^{{cite news|date=March 11, 1954|author=Associated Press|newspaper=The Daily Reporter|title=TV Baseball Ban Denied By Official|page=1}}
10. ^{{cite news|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/content/sports/epaper/2008/04/24/georgegiants_0708.html|title=San Francisco|date=April 25, 2008|first=Dave|last=George|newspaper=Palm Beach Post}}
11. ^{{cite news|title=Was in Slump All His Career|date=May 15, 1954|newspaper=Beaver Valley Times}}
12. ^{{cite news|title=SPORTS BRIEFS|date=March 6, 1954|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=B3}}
13. ^{{cite news|title=Dodgers Confident of National Flag|date=September 29, 1959|first=Joe|last=Reichler|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Times Daily|page=5}}
14. ^{{cite news|title=Crosby Sings Plenty|date=September 29, 1959|first=Cynthia|last=Lowry|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Kentucky New Era|page=18}}
15. ^{{cite news|title=Vet, Rookie Combine for LA Playoff Win|date=September 30, 1959|author=United Press International|newspaper=The Modesto Bee|page=C10}}
16. ^{{cite news|title=TELEVISION NOTEBOOK; Baseball Scores A Hit Among Week's Shows|date=October 4, 1959|newspaper=New York Times|page=X17}}
17. ^{{cite book |last=Buck|first=Jack|date= |title=Jack Buck: ÒThat's a Winner!Ó|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D3roBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT240&dq=That%27s+a+Winner&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-74PVf_1M46yoQTgoIKwAw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=ABC&f=false|location= |publisher=Sports Publishing|page= |isbn= |access-date= }}
18. ^{{cite news|date=April 12, 1960|title=ABC Signs Erskine as TV Color Man|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|author=Associated Press|page=C7}}
19. ^{{cite news|title=Can't Hide No-Hitter From Fans—Erskine|date=June 5, 1960|author=Associated Press|newspaper=The Miami News|page=2C}}
20. ^{{cite news|date=January 1, 1961|author=Associated Press|newspaper=Hartford Courant|title=No Major Changes Loom in TV Sports During 1961}}
21. ^{{cite news|title=ABC Adds Saturday Fights, Fifth Game|date=March 17, 1960|author=Associated Press|newspaper=Prescott Evening Courier|page=13}}
22. ^{{cite news|title=TV Scout Preview|date=April 16, 1960|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|page=10B}}
23. ^{{cite news|title=NETWORKS PLAN WIDE U.N. REPORT|date=September 19, 1961|first=Val|last=Adams|newspaper=New York Times|page=71}}
24. ^{{cite news|title=ABC-TV to Film Tilt 154|date=September 19, 1961|newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|author=Associated Press}}
25. ^{{cite news|title=ABC Lands a 3-Sport TV Contract|date=March 27, 1960|newspaper=The Milwaukee Sentinel|page=2T}}
26. ^{{cite news|title=Television Package is Baseball's Aim|date=December 11, 1964|author=Associated Press|newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News|page=7}}
27. ^{{cite news|title=ABC Signs $12.2 Million Baseball Pact|date=December 15, 1964|author=Associated Press|newspaper=Reading Eagle|page=14}}
28. ^{{cite news|title=ABC Plans on 'Instant Replays'|newspaper=The Miami News|author=New York Times|page=6B|date=April 8, 1965}}
29. ^{{cite news|title=Tele-Log|date=April 14, 1965|newspaper=Deseret News|page=2B}}
30. ^{{cite news|title=Baseball in New Venture|date=April 16, 1965|first=Rick|last=Dubrow|agency=United Press International|newspaper=Beaver Country Times|page=7}}
31. ^{{cite news|title=ABC Doubtful About Televising Baseball in '66|date=August 19, 1965|first=Val|last=Adams|newspaper=New York Times|page=61}}
32. ^{{cite news|title=TV Baseball Has Problems|date=August 22, 1965|first=Joe|last=Reichler|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Herald-Tribune|page=4D}}
33. ^{{cite news|title=SPORTSLOOK; Up to Our Chins in NBA Dribbles|date=April 17, 1965|first=Don|last=Page|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=B2}}
34. ^{{cite news|title=CBS RIVALS BACK SALE OF YANKEES|date=February 24, 1965|first=Steve|last=Cady|newspaper=New York Times|page=46}}
35. ^{{cite news|title=Jackie Robinson Is Back in Baseball As a Commentator|date=March 18, 1965|first=Val|last=Adams|newspaper=New York Times|page=67}}
36. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcsports.com/our-history#decade_5|title=NBC splits MLB Rights|last= |first= |date= |website=NBC Sports History Page|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
37. ^{{cite news |last=Lucas|first=Ed|date=May 19, 2016|title=Lucas: ABC's 'Monday Night Baseball' was ahead of its time|url=http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/05/lucas_abcs_monday_night_baseball_was_ahead_of_its.html| work=The Jersey Journal|location= |access-date= }}
38. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1976/05/10/616352/abc-has-the-monday-blahs|title=ABC has the Monday blahs|last=Leggett|first=William|work=Sports Illustrated|date=May 10, 1976|accessdate=October 20, 2018}}
39. ^{{cite book |last=Shea|first=Stuart|date= |title=Calling the Game: Baseball Broadcasting from 1920 to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p5QcCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA47&dq=Calling+the+Game:+Baseball+Broadcasting+from+1920+to+the+Present&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv5urTwYPWAhXhjFQKHUvRBWEQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=ABC&f=false|location= |publisher=SABR, Inc.|page=372|isbn= |author-link= }}
40. ^{{cite news|title=Tearful Prince In King's Return|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|last=Fink|first=David|page=16|date=June 8, 1976}}
41. ^{{Harvnb|Fidrych|1977|p=149}}
42. ^{{cite book |last=Walker and Hughes|first=James R. and Pat|date=1 May 2015 |title=Crack of the Bat: A History of Baseball on the Radio|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u3PlBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=Crack+of+the+Bat:+A+History+of+Baseball+on+the+Radio&source=bl&ots=mClnzrNudY&sig=fRbFflA7DBNCa3-ybsTwRTeGrgo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-SQNVaCKCs33oATqj4LIDw&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Crack%20of%20the%20Bat%3A%20A%20History%20of%20Baseball%20on%20the%20Radio&f=false|location= |publisher=U of Nebraska Press|page=214|isbn= |access-date= }}
43. ^{{cite web |url=http://thebiglead.com/2015/04/30/howard-cosell-was-quite-incorrect-about-the-future-fortunes-of-espn-and-john-madden/|title=Howard Cosell Was Quite Incorrect About the Future Fortunes of ESPN and John Madden|last1=Glasspiegel|first1=Ryan|last2= |first2= |date= April 30, 2015|website=The Big Lead|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
44. ^{{cite book |last=Smith|first=Curt|date=2005 |title=Voices of Summer: Ranking Baseball's 101 All-Time Best Announcers |url=http://www.curtsmithusa.com/vos.asp|location= |publisher=Carroll & Graf Publishers|page=175|isbn=0-7867-1446-8|author-link=}}
45. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.classictvsports.com/2018/02/howard-cosell-black-hat-in-booth.html|title=Howard Cosell - Black Hat in the Booth|last=Haggar|first=Jeff|date=February 18, 2018|website=Classic TV Sports|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
46. ^{{cite news |title=The Bird doesn't rule the roost in the television announcer's booth |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Miami News |date=September 6, 1977}}
47. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.enterprisenews.com/opinions/x1659493843/OPINION-World-Series-misses-home-team-announcers-on-national-broadcasts|title=OPINION: World Series misses home-team announcers on national broadcasts|date=October 31, 2009|first=David|last=Maril|work=Enterprise News}}
48. ^¹{{cite news| url=https://nypost.com/2010/05/16/why-the-bronx-burned/ | work=New York Post | first=Joe | last=Flood | title=Why the Bronx burned | date=May 16, 2010}}
49. ^{{cite web |url=http://bestblog.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/08/did_howard_cose_1.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2009-12-15 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213023329/http://bestblog.mlblogs.com/archives/2007/08/did_howard_cose_1.html |archivedate=2010-12-13 |df= }}
50. ^{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Howard |date=13 April 1978 |title=ABC Is Tops In Baseball |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2202&dat=19780413&id=E5gzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GOkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2779,1252024 |newspaper=Gettysburg Times |location= |accessdate= }}
51. ^{{cite news|last=Hyman|first=Mark|title=Jim Palmer more than ever an ex-ballplayer|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-02-12/sports/sp-698_1_jim-palmer|accessdate=February 8, 2014|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 12, 1990}}
52. ^{{harvnb|Walker|Bellamy|2008|page=143}}
53. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA197908060.shtml|title=New York Yankees 5, Baltimore Orioles 5|date=1979-08-06|publisher=Baseball-reference.com}}
54. ^{{YouTube|title=Dodgers vs Astros 1980 |id=fyhgpTGJzHI}}
55. ^{{cite web |url=http://classicsportsmedia.blogspot.com/2012/10/keith-jackson-and-abc-conflicts-with.html |title=Keith Jackson and ABC conflicts with college FB and MLB playoffs (1976-1986) |author= |date=10 October 2012 |work=Classic Sports TV & Media |publisher= |accessdate=11 October 2012}}
56. ^{{YouTube|title=1980 NLCS - Game 4 @mrodsports|id=-2kkfWU0zz4}}
57. ^{{cite news|title=ABC's Playoff Coverage Not Flashy, but Solid|date=October 7, 1982|first=Dennis|last=D'Agostino|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Beaver County (Pa.) Times|page=B3}}
58. ^{{YouTube|title= St. Louis Cardinals 1982 NL Champions 2/2|id=9PLacIKgEug}}
59. ^{{YouTube|title=1988 MLB All-Star Game - COMPLETE|id=PBsANb3VABc}}
60. ^{{cite news |last=Goodwin|first=Michael|date=February 18, 1986|title=TV SPORTS; SWANSON, NEW ABC CHIEF, PROVES DEFT|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/18/sports/tv-sports-swanson-new-abc-chief-proves-deft.html?mcubz=1|work=New York Times|location= |access-date= }}
61. ^{{cite book |last=Leifer |first=Eric M. |authorlink= |title=Making the Majors: The Transformation of Team Sports in America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41NVmG3EEnMC&pg=PA165&dq=Major+League+Baseball+on+CBS&hl=en&sa=X&ei=je7LUbbkOqmqiAKW5oC4Aw&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=Major%20League%20Baseball%20on%20USA&f=false |accessdate= |year= |publisher= |location= |isbn= |page=1964}}
62. ^{{cite news|title=Kuhn Out to Stop Braves Broadcasts|date=October 1, 1982|author=Associated Press|newspaper=Tuscaloosa News|page=14}}
63. ^{{cite news|title=Judge Bars WTBS From Braves Games|date=October 5, 1982|author=United Press International|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|page=10B}}
64. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/06/sports/turner-is-denied-review-of-order.html?&pagewanted=print|date=October 6, 1982|title=Turner Is Denied Review of Order|author=Associated Press|newspaper=New York Times}}
65. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/05/sports/turner-telecasts-enjoined-by-court.html?&pagewanted=print|date=October 5, 1982|author=United Press International|newspaper=New York Times|title=Turner Telecasts Enjoined by Court}}
66. ^{{cite web |url=http://classicsportsmedia.blogspot.com/2013/02/history-of-1-analyst-demotions.html |title=History of #1 analyst demotions |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date=18 February 2013 |work=Classic Sports TV and Media |publisher= |accessdate=29 March 2013}}
67. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.desipio.com/?p=4283|title=Soul crushing flashback: Cubs-Padres Game 5, 1984|last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date=February 11, 2013|website=Desipio|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
68. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/08/sports/scouting-in-the-booth.html?&pagewanted=print|title=SCOUTING; In the Booth|date=June 8, 1985|first=Thomas|last=Rogers|first2=Roy S.|last2=Johnson|newspaper=New York Times}}
69. ^{{YouTube|title=1984 ALCS game 3 Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers PART 2|id=DHPA7tYB6Wg}}
70. ^{{cite web |url=http://deadspin.com/5860103/howard-cosells-boozy-baseball-broadcasts-drunken-fights-with-al-michaels-and-the-rise-of-tim-mccarver |title=Howard Cosell's Boozy Baseball Broadcasts, Drunken Fights With Al Michaels, And The Rise Of Tim McCarver |last1=Ribowsky |first1=Mark |last2= |first2= |date=12 November 2011 |work=Deadspin |publisher= |accessdate=19 April 2013}}
71. ^{{cite news |last=Getle |first=Larry|date=16 November 2014|title=Al Michaels on Cosell's drinking and OJ's 'guilt'|url=https://nypost.com/2014/11/16/al-michaels-on-howard-cosells-drinking-and-ojs-guilt/|newspaper=New York Post|location= |accessdate= }}
72. ^{{cite book |last=Kindred|first=Dave |date= |title=Sound and Fury: Two Powerful Lives, One Fateful Friendship|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qvz2QD6g4usC&pg=PA261&dq=al+michaels&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DwNLVbbEPNCNoQT684Eg&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=al%20michaels&f=false|location= |publisher=Simon & Schuster New York|page=261|isbn= |access-date= }}
73. ^{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/10/sports/tv-sports-quiet-talks-for-baseball.html?scp=1&sq=Major+League+Baseball+on+ABC&st=nyt+TV&pagewanted=print|title=TV SPORTS; QUIET TALKS FOR BASEBALL|date=February 10, 1987|first=Michael|last=Goodwin|newspaper=New York Times}}
74. ^{{cite journal|url=http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Producer+Curt+Gowdy+Jr.+and+a+top+trio+at+the+mikes+gave+-+11.02.87+-+SI+Vault&expire=&urlID=414117177&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fmagazine%2FMAG1066647%2Findex.htm&partnerID=289881|title=Baseball Clinic From Abc|date=November 2, 1987|first=William|last=Taaffe|journal=Sports Illustrated}}
75. ^{{YouTube|title=1988 10 05 1988 NLCS Game 2 New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers|id=Q_yOarMIJmU}}
76. ^{{cite news |last=Nidetz|first=Steve|date=11 October 1988 |title=Abc Deserves Kudos For Nl Show But Barbs For Al Coverage|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-10-11/sports/8802060831_1_tim-mccarver-relief-pitcher-jay-howell-mccarver-and-palmer|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|location= |access-date= }}
77. ^{{cite news |last=Sarni |first=Jim|date=October 7, 1988|title=Abc Is Good Or Bad, Depending On Series|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1988-10-07/sports/8802280638_1_mccarver-abc-dodgers|work=Sun Sentinel|location= |access-date= }}
78. ^{{cite news |last=Taaffe|first=William|date=October 17, 1988|title=MIXED MESSAGE|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1988/10/17/106779605/scorecard#|work=Sports Illustrated|location= |access-date= }}
79. ^{{YouTube|title=New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics 1988 05 30 ABC Monday Night Baseball|id=KvVvqsI3Pts&t=2217s}}
80. ^{{YouTube|title=1988 ALCS game 1 Oakland Athletics at Boston Red Sox|id=A_f5fcTVcWM&t=130s}}
81. ^{{cite book |last=Bender, Johnson|first=Gary, Michael L.|date=1994|title=Call of the Game: What Really Goes on in the Broadcast Booth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b19sSuk_qKQC&dq=Call+of+the+Game&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinj-bLs8HVAhUY62MKHXPZCKAQ6AEIKDAA|location= |publisher=Language Arts & Disciplines|page=118|isbn= |author-link= }}
82. ^{{cite news|title=It's 'Let's Make a Deal' time for networks, cable|date=November 12, 1988|first=Rick|last=Warner|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=Gadsden Times|page=B5}}
83. ^{{cite journal|url=http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=%22we%27re+Having+An...%22+-+10.30.89+-+SI+Vault&expire=&urlID=409352532&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fmagazine%2FMAG1068977%2Findex.htm&partnerID=289881|title=we're Having An...|date=October 30, 1989|first=Shelley|last=Smith|journal=Sports Illustrated}}
84. ^{{YouTube|title=1989 World Series Game 1 Giants @ A's pregame|id=SuwmiRF-_iY}}
85. ^{{cite news|title=Baseball to CBS; NBC Strikes Out : ABC Also Falls Short as 4-Year Package Goes for $1 Billion|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1988-12-15/sports/sp-563_1_baseball-strike|authorlink=|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=December 15, 1988|first=Larry|last=Stewart}}
86. ^{{cite web |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1988/12/26/119133/a-whole-new-game-two-megabuck-tv-deals-may-change-the-face-of-baseball-for-good-or-not-so-good|title=A WHOLE NEW GAME Two megabuck TV deals may change the face of baseball for good, or not so good|last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date=26 December 1988|website=Sports Illustrated|publisher= |access-date=}}
87. ^{{cite news |last=Nidetz |first=Steve |date=17 October 1989 |title=Forever Away' Is Here For Michaels |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-10-17/sports/8901230399_1_craig-janoff-major-league-baseball-postseason-coverage |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |location= |publisher= |accessdate= }}
88. ^{{cite news|title=Hernandez's Dream Job Gone, but Now There's a Fantasy|date=February 24, 1989|first=Larry|last=Stewart|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|page=3}}
89. ^{{cite news |last=Encina|first=Eduardo A.|date=October 24, 2014|title=Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne says memories of 1989 World Series earthquake still vivid|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-broadcaster-gary-thorne-says-memories-of-1989-world-series-earthquake-still-vivid-20141024-story.html|work=The Baltimore Sun|location= |access-date= }}
90. ^{{cite book |last=Smith|first=Curt|date=2005 |title=Voices of Summer: Ranking Baseball's 101 All-Time Best Announcers |url=http://www.curtsmithusa.com/vos.asp|location= |publisher=Carroll & Graf Publishers|page=381|isbn=0-7867-1446-8}}
91. ^¹{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/15/sports/a-billion-dollar-bid-by-cbs-wins-rights-to-baseball-games.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|title=A Billion-Dollar Bid By CBS Wins Rights To Baseball Games|date=December 15, 1988|first=Joseph|last=Durso|newspaper=New York Times|authorlink=Joe Durso}}
92. ^{{cite news|title=World Series: A CBS Grand Slam|date=October 30, 1991|first=Steven|last=Herbert|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-30/entertainment/ca-593_1_world-series}}
93. ^{{cite web |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1987/11/02/116499/baseball-clinic-from-abc-producer-curt-gowdy-jr-and-a-top-trio-at-the-mikes-gave-abc-its-best-world-series-yet|title=BASEBALL CLINIC FROM ABC|last=Taaffe|first=William|date=November 2, 1987|website=Sports Illustrated|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
94. ^{{YouTube|title=1989 World Series Game 4 10/28/1989 (STEREO)|id=574GxZZm9LM}}
95. ^{{cite book |last=Rapak|first=Dan|date=11 December 2012|title=Brought to You By . . .|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dH40Fl8vG2IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Brought+to+You+by+.+.+.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=h5dRVeWQLI-sogTs9YG4Aw&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Major%20League%20Baseball&f=false|location= |publisher=AuthorHouse|page=355|isbn= |access-date= }}
96. ^{{cite web |url=http://grantland.com/features/the-1989-world-series-earthquake-oral-history/|title=Rocked: An oral history of the 1989 World Series, which was dominated by the Oakland A's — and devastated by the Loma Prieta earthquake|last1=Curtis|first1=Bryan|last2=Lee|first2=Patricia|date=30 October 2013|website=Grantland|publisher= |accessdate=}}
97. ^{{cite book |last=Palmer; Maimon|first=Jim; Alan|date= |title=Jim Palmer: Nine Innings to Success: A Hall of Famer's Approach to Achieving ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwMuDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Jim+Palmer:+Nine+Innings+to+Success:+A+Hall+of+Famer%27s+Approach+to+Achieving+...&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6st-4mcLPAhUX_WMKHTTGDmkQ6AEIHjAA#v=snippet&q=ABC&f=false|location= |publisher=Triumph Books LLC|page= |isbn=}}
98. ^"Earthquake". Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 2. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
99. ^News report on MLB.COM, 1:50 minutes in. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
100. ^"Earthquake". Time. Monday, October 30, 1989. Ed Magnuson. p. 3. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
101. ^{{cite journal |last=Holler |first=Scott |author2=Vicki Sheff, Lorenzo Benet, Doris Bacon, Tom Cunneff, Michael Alexander, Kristina Johnson, Robin Micheli, Linda Witt |date=30 October 1989 |title=A City Trembled, Its People Held |journal=People |volume=32 |issue=18 |id= |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20121526,00.html |accessdate=August 29, 2009 |quote=High above the ballpark, John Crayton was piloting a Goodyear blimp for ABC. "We were just ready to go on the air when the network feed went blank. The last thing I heard was the director swearing. Then I started noticing transformers blowing up and dust and smoke in the air. I felt—and I know this sounds strange—but I felt four bumps in the blimp. }}
102. ^{{cite book |last=Rapaport |first=Richard J. |title=The Media: Radio, Television, and Newspapers |series=The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989--Lifelines: Performance of the Built Environment |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, Issue 1552 |year=1998 |page=A43-A46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rh0yk2j_gyAC&lpg=SL1-PA45&ots=dYX0LWWIVX&pg=SL1-PA43#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=2013-02-28}}
103. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.athleticsnation.com/2009/10/17/1088907/series-interrupted|title=Series, Interrupted|last1=Marquez|first1=Donald|last2= |first2= |date=17 October 2009|website=SBNation.com|publisher= |accessdate=}}
104. ^{{cite web |url=https://www.sbnation.com/2009/11/9/1122749/scrapbook-memories-1989-world|title=Scrapbook Memories: 1989 World Series, Game 3, Part 2|last1=Marquez|first1=Donald|last2= |first2= |date=9 November 2009|website=SBNation.com|publisher= |accessdate=}}
105. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.sportingnews.com/au/mlb/news/brent-musburger-baseball-announcer-retiring-video-mariners-yankees-1995-alds/14arlwzwhwtlg1mhrb8osn2bos|title=Remember when Brent Musburger called baseball games?|last=Foster|first=Jason|date=January 25, 2017|website=Sporting News|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
106. ^{{cite web |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/brent-musburgers-greatest-baseball-call-was-one-for-the-ages-021440813.html|title=Brent Musburger's greatest baseball call was one for the ages|last=Townsend|first=Mark|date=January 25, 2017|website=Big League Stew|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}
107. ^{{cite news |last=Sandomir|first=Richard|date=October 10, 1995|title=PLAYOFFS 95: TV SPORTS;The Wrong Man in the Baseball Booth|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/10/sports/playoffs-95-tv-sports-the-wrong-man-in-the-baseball-booth.html|newspaper=The New York Times|location= |access-date= }}
108. ^{{cite web |url=https://www.baseballessential.com/news/2015/10/07/revisiting-the-1995-division-series/|title=Revisiting the 1995 Division Series|last=Rabinowitz|first=Gershon|date=October 7, 2015|website=Baseball Essential|publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}

1976-1977