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In its 10th yeartelevising baseball’s postseason, Turner Sports is trying out some new ideas.
One is taking Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. out of the booth and stationing him near the dugouts during games.
“We’re experimenting now with getting him closer to the field so he can see up close and personal what’s going on and help bring that to the fans,” says Matt Mosteller, VP of content for Turner Sports.
“He’ll still have that regular interaction with Ernie [Johnson] and Ron [Darling] just like he’s in the booth, but he’ll be able to see how certain plays happen, or how a pitcher responds to a bad inning, and he’ll be able to relate that to the fans at home,” Mosteller says.
“We are continuing to innovate and try new things as we try to bring fans the best viewing experience possible,” he says.
Turner is adding cameras that will be mounted on the foul poles to get a definitive look at whether potential home runs are fair or not, and it is putting the finishing touches on a new studio that will have brick accents like many of the new ballparks that have been designed to look like old ballparks.
Coincidentally, the studio has 162 monitors, which corresponds with the number of games in a Major League Baseball season.
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Turner will also be taking its camera to the bars in the away-teams’ cities. “Last year, with the Cubs series, we got a lot of good reactions from those fans going crazy,” Mosteller says.
