Alex Rodriguez returns to Fox Sports broadcast team for MLB postseason
New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez during batting practice during Game 3 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field on Friday, Oct. 30, 2015. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Alex Rodriguez is back. Sort of.
Rodriguez is returning to Fox Sports for the 2016 MLB postseason.
A-Rod, whose Yankees career came to an end in August when he was released from his contract, will be part of Fox’s playoff broadcast team for the second straight season.
“I had a great experience working with the team at Fox Sports,” Rodriguez said Thursday in a press release. “They made me feel comfortable as a TV rookie and I’m excited to be back with them for the postseason.”
A year ago, Rodriguez received praise for an impressive debut on television, saying his “first day was scary” but that he leaned on help from the folks at Fox, including play-by-play man Joe Buck.
“Alex did a phenomenal job explaining the ‘Why?’ and the ‘How?’ for our baseball viewers last year,” said John Entz, president of production for Fox Sports in a release. “We always knew he’d be great on television but what surprised us all was just how quickly he picked it up. He’s a natural. Plus, he still owes us for that screen he cracked last year.”
That was a reference to Rodriguez throwing a pass to Jay Glazer during a spot on Fox’s NFL pregame show. The football was out of Glazer’s reach and broke a television screen.
Rodriguez’s future beyond this baseball season remains unclear. A-Rod said last year that he had never thought of doing any kind of broadcast work, or any kind of work after his playing career ended.
“I’ve never thought about being a manager, I’ve never thought about being a coach, I’ve never even thought about being a broadcaster once in my life,” Rodriguez said last October while covering the World Series. “So all of it is pretty new.”
