Marshfield’s Scott Gustafson visits Fenway chief of ESPN’s baseball protection
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Gustafson, a lifelong Crimson Sox fan whose household shared season tickets with others from the South Shore city, fondly recollects precisely the place he watched video games from at Fenway in his youth.
As coordinating producer of all ranges of ESPN’s baseball protection, it is smart that Scott Gustafson would know his manner round Fenway Park, particularly since he grew up in Marshfield.
However whereas speaking with him about this weekend’s Crimson Sox-Yankees sequence, which culminates with the rivals’ seventy fifth matchup on “Sunday Evening Baseball,” I didn’t count on Gustafson to disclose a favourite couple of seats on the storied ballpark.
“Part 12, row double P, seats 1 and a pair of,” he mentioned. “Oh, I keep in mind them very nicely.”
Seems that Gustafson is a lifelong Crimson Sox fan whose household shared season tickets with a few different households within the South Shore city.
“I keep in mind these seat numbers like we had been there yesterday,” he mentioned, citing Jim Rice and Wade Boggs as a few his favourite gamers and vividly recalling Carl Yastrzemski’s closing sport in 1983. “Having a July birthday, the one factor I needed to do was go to Fenway in the summertime.”
Gustafson is a number of months from his twenty fifth anniversary at ESPN and has been a part of its baseball protection for the final 15 years. That is his first yr main the community’s MLB manufacturing.
“It was about three weeks previous to spring coaching this yr that I used to be requested if I’d wish to take over all of baseball at ESPN,” he mentioned. “Being one thing that’s a lifelong ardour, it was a no brainer.”
Earlier than taking the lead on MLB manufacturing, Gustafson was on the forefront of the community’s Little League and faculty baseball sport broadcasts, which have grown increasingly in style in recent times.
“The final 4 or 5 years for faculty baseball have simply been phenomenal — not solely simply the scores however the product on air and the vibe and the excitement round it,” Gustafson mentioned. “I feel you’ve actually closed that hole of seeing individuals taking part in in Omaha [at the College World Series] to taking part in in a giant stage at Fenway or Yankee Stadium. Gamers like [former LSU and current Pittsburgh Pirates ace] Paul Skenes get to the majors so quick now.
“After which so far as Little League, that product simply continues to develop, whether or not it’s on the softball aspect or the Little League baseball aspect.”
ESPN found out a intelligent method to join the Little Leaguers and large leaguers with the Little League Traditional. The annual occasion brings two MLB groups (the Mariners and Mets this yr) to Williamsport, Pa., the house of the Little League World Sequence, to play a sport and join with the Little Leaguers.
The occasion is baseball at its greatest and most genuine.
“It positive is,” mentioned Gustafson. “It’s a complete day based mostly across the Little Leaguers attending to be round their heroes. And the massive leaguers have simply as a lot enjoyable as these youngsters as a result of being round these youngsters jogs reminiscences of once they fell in love with the sport. It’s useful for everybody.”
ESPN’s “Sunday Evening Baseball” broadcast staff of Needham’s Karl Ravech, former Yankees and Crimson Sox pitcher David Cone, and Eduardo Perez will name Sunday’s sport.
Gustafson gained’t be in that previous acquainted seat, however within the ESPN manufacturing truck, so it’s not precisely like these previous days of coming to the ballpark as a younger fan. However Gustafson is thrilled to be again, and to have some juice again in a Crimson Sox-Yankees rivalry that has been comparatively stagnant the final couple of seasons.
“There’s nothing higher than late season significant baseball in Boston, and oh sure, particularly vs. the Yankees,” he mentioned. “It’s phenomenal.”
To some Crimson Sox followers, it’s rotten to the core
Every time the Crimson Sox find yourself as one of many groups on Apple TV+’s “Friday Evening Baseball” streamed video games, gripes inevitably and understandably begin pouring into my inbox someday round first pitch, when the conclusion hits that the sport will not be on NESN.
Right here’s a piece of 1 I truly obtained earlier than first pitch Friday that tidily sums up followers’ emotions:
“Why ought to we now have to enroll in Apple to look at a sport? … Most of us have NESN so we will watch the video games. Now, for one of the vital vital video games, we’re blocked out. A free trial doesn’t make it proper.”
Agreed, and I empathize, and I additionally should acknowledge that that is precisely how commissioner Rob Manfred desires it.
MLB signed a seven-year, $585 million take care of Apple for rights to the “Friday Evening Baseball” package deal in March 2022. Manfred’s MLB cares not about you, however income. He’s completely satisfied to divvy up the rights and promote them off as elements. The presumption is that should you actually need to watch Sox-Yankees or no matter sport is on that Friday, you’ll pay up. And if not, robust luck, you had your probability.
It’s doable that Apple isn’t a part of the MLB package deal subsequent season and past. It has been reported elsewhere that within the pending MLB rights deal presently being negotiated, NBC might find yourself with the Friday evening rights regardless that Apple nonetheless has a number of years on its contract.
Ought to that occur and NBC beneficial properties Friday rights, I assume these video games would air on Peacock. Which is now $10.99 a month, by the way in which.
In a associated be aware, I lengthy for the times of the Sox on Ch. 38 extra with every passing week.
