Tim McCarver, the longtime lead analyst for Fox Sports'
coverage of Major League Baseball, announced Wednesday that he will step down
at the conclusion of the 2013 World Series.
"Although I am neither tired of broadcasting baseball nor
have I in any way lost my interest in baseball, with which I have been
associated as a player and broadcaster for 55 years, it's time to cut
back," said McCarver, during a conference call with
reporters. "I am very proud to have been a part of all the things
that make this game so special for all of us who follow it day-to-day,
week-to-week and year-to-year."
McCarver has been with Fox since 1996 as the lead game
analyst with play-by-play man Joe Buck, and is the only MLB analyst to have
worked for all four major broadcast networks. He has worked 28 consecutive MLB postseasons
on network television dating back to 1984, providing analysis for a record 23
World Series and 20 All-Star Games.
"Like a lot of great broadcasters, I think you start
with one thing and that is that Tim, in a way, was a teacher," added former
Fox Sports president and vice chairman Ed Goren.
"Tim McCarver has chronicled the national pastime on
our biggest stages, including a record 23 World Series and 20 All-Star Games,
for a generation of baseball fans," said MLB commissioner Bud Selig. "As
an analyst, he has always thought like a manager in the dugout, and in the
process he helped redefine what sports fans expected from the broadcast
booth."
"Tim McCarver is not only one of the best sports analysts
I've ever worked with, but more importantly, one of the best I've ever heard,"
added News Corp. senior EVP David Hill. "McCarver lives up to John
Madden's credo for great sports analysis -- the great ones tell you what you're
seeing, but not seeing."
Buck recalled during his first World Series game in 1996 at
the old Yankee Stadium, that he was "scared out of my mind" and said
that McCarver was his "biggest asset" in making him feel comfortable.
"What he's meant to me goes beyond a professional, in-the-booth,
relationship."
Over his career, McCarver won three consecutive Emmy Awards
for "Outstanding Sports Event Analyst" from 2000-02 and was named the
2012 recipient of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's Ford C. Frick
Award.
"I wanted to step down while I know I could still do
the job and be proud of the job I've done," said McCarver.
McCarver's broadcasting career began at WPHL Philadelphia in
1980 calling Philadelphia Phillies games. Later, he spent 16 seasons as an
analyst for New York Mets broadcasts on WWOR, three seasons working New York
Yankees games on WNYW, and one year with the San Francisco Giants on KTVU.
Prior to broadcasting, McCarver spent 21 seasons in the big
leagues, splitting time between the St. Louis Cardinals, Phillies, the former
Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox.
His nationally-syndicated sports interview
program, The Tim McCarver Show, is in its 12th season, airing in
all top 50 markets and more than 90% of the U.S.
