Smithsonian Channel, MLB Pitch Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth Specials

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

The Smithsonian Channel will team up with Major League Baseball to develop profiles for four of the sport’s biggest names beginning in February with Hank Aaron.

The series, Major League Legends, will launch Feb. 29 with a profile of Aaron, the first player ever to hit more than 714 home runs, and will run consecutive Monday nights, said network officials.

Other players to be profiled as part of the series include Babe Ruth (March 7); Lou Gehrig (March 14) and Ted Williams (March 21), said the network.

Each of the specials will be narrated by Martin Sheen and will take an in-depth look at the history, psychology and mythology of each of the Baseball Hall of Famers, said Smithsonian.

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.