After two years, Tom Verducci and Harold Reynolds are out of the Fox broadcast booth, and John Smoltz will be the network’s lead game analyst. Smoltz and play-by-play man Joe Buck will be the new World Series team.
Fox Sports made the announcement Tuesday. The news of the broadcast booth shakeup was first reported by the Daily News earlier in the day.
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Following the departure of longtime analyst Tim McCarver after the 2013 World Series, Fox tapped Verducci, a highly respected baseball writer for Sports Illustrated, and Reynolds, a former player and an on-air personality for MLB Network. The three-man booth drew mixed reviews, and now Fox is making a change.
Verducci and Reynolds will likely have a role in Fox’s coverage, but the specifics have not yet been determined, and could include studio work or other reporting. Fox is still considering various options for its broadcast, but all with Buck and Smoltz in the booth.
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Smoltz, 48, was a top postseason performer during the Atlanta Braves’ glory years, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. He has been broadcasting for MLB Network.
Mets analyst Ron Darling is typically in the mix for national jobs, but fans do not have to worry about losing him to Fox in this particular shakeup. Darling remains under contract with SNY, TBS and MLB Network. Keith Hernandez’s current SNY contract is expiring, but he is not believed to be a candidate for a role at Fox, either.
