ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball Opening Night Telecast to Introduce Nationals Park

All Sunday Night Baseball Games in HD; on ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes ESPN2 to Televise Games Live from Japan March 25 & 26

March 4, 2008 -- ESPN’s 19th season of Sunday Night Baseball – Major League Baseball’s longest-running, season-long exclusive franchise – will begin with the first Major League Baseball game from Nationals Park, the new home of the Washington Nationals, when the team hosts the Atlanta Braves on Opening Night, March 30, at 8 p.m. ET.

All Sunday Night Baseball telecasts are available in high definition and on ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes. Jon Miller and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan will return for their 19th consecutive season together in the ESPN booth, with baseball insider Peter Gammons also contributing to the Sunday night telecasts. Gary Thorne joins analyst Dave Campbell on ESPN Radio, while Ernesto Jerez returns with analyst Candy Maldonado and reporter Guillermo Celis on ESPN Deportes.

Baseball Tonight will preview Opening Night, with host Karl Ravech and analysts John Kruk, Steve Phillips, and Eric Young, at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

ESPN2 to Televise Oakland vs. Boston from Japan

ESPN2 will televise the first games of the 2008 regular season, when the Oakland Athletics meet the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox, live from Japan March 25 and 26 at 6 a.m. Gary Thorne will call both games from Japan – which will be available in high definition and re-aired at 2 p.m. each day – with analyst Rick Sutcliffe. Additionally, NASN, ESPN’s international network dedicated to North American sports, will deliver both games live to more than 10 million households across 39 countries including UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Nordics, Russia, Baltics, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. The games will also be distributed via ESPN Caribbean, ESPN Dos, ESPN Brazil, ESPN Atlantic (Middle East and Africa), ESPN Pac-Rim (Australia and New Zealand) and ESPN Israel.

Additional Sunday Night Baseball information

Sunday night telecasts will also continue to include the use of “K Zone 2.0,” the enhanced version of ESPN’s Sports Emmy Award-winning “K Zone.” In addition to identifying the speed and location of a pitch in replays, “K Zone 2.0” is also capable of tracking the path of the ball from the pitcher’s hand through the strike zone and numerically sequencing pitches thrown. “K Zone 2.0” debuted May 1, 2006.

Additional highlights from SNB’s early-season schedule:

* multiple appearances by several teams including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston, Detroit, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels;
* the potent lineup of the Detroit Tigers, with newcomer Miguel Cabrera, will face division rival Chicago White Sox April 6 (ESPN2, ESPN2 HD);
* Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees will visit Fenway to meet David Ortiz and the rival Boston Red Sox April 13;
* the Philadelphia Phillies and reigning N.L. MVP Jimmy Rollins will meet the New York Mets and speedster Jose Reyes April 20;
* the St. Louis Cardinals and Albert Pujols will host fellow first baseman Derrek Lee and the Chicago Cubs in a Midwest showdown May 4;
* the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox will visit slugger Justin Morneau and the Minnesota Twins May 11;
* the Yankees and perennial All-Star Derek Jeter will travel cross-town to meet David Wright and the Mets May 18;
* the Chicago White Sox and Nick Swisher will host the Los Angeles Angels and Torii Hunter, with both teams showcasing their recent acquisitions, May 25;
* Matt Holliday and the N.L. World Series representative Colorado Rockies will visit the New York Mets, with Reyes and Wright, July 13;
* The Angels and Vladimir Guerrero will host the Boston Red Sox and Ortiz July 20.

ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Schedule

(all games at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN HD unless noted)

Date - Teams

March 30 - Atlanta at Washington
April 6 - Chicago White Sox at Detroit (ESPN2, ESPN2 HD)
April 13 - New York Yankees at Boston
April 20 - New York Mets at Philadelphia
April 27 - Los Angeles Angels at Detroit
May 4 - Chicago Cubs at St. Louis
May 11 - Boston at Minnesota
May 18 - New York Mets at New York Yankees
May 25 - Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox
June 1 - July 6 - TBD
July 13 - Colorado at New York Mets
July 20 - Boston at Los Angeles Angels (6 p.m. ET)

Source: ESPN

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