Major League Baseball’s new network is close to a deal to make Matt Vasgersian its first studio host, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the deal.
Vasgersian will leave his job as the television play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres. The highly-respected broadcaster will also be leaving his role at Fox Sports, for which he called both NFL and MLB games.
Prior to the Padres, Vasgersian handled play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers. He also was a member of NBC’s 2008 Olympic coverage and among several other roles, was the lead voice for the XFL, the one-season football league that was run by NBC and World Wrestling Entertainment.
The MLB Network is set to launch on January 1, 2009 and will roll out with distribution in approximately 50 million homes.
A MLB spokesperson declined to comment.
