Anthony Rieber: Can't see Home Run Derby on Netflix? You can hear it on ESPN Radio and it's free

After a 31-season run on ESPN, the Home Run Derby will be on Netflix this year.

A subscription is required.

But if you don’t have or want a Netflix account, there is another way to follow the action on Monday night.

On the radio.

Karl Ravech and Doug Glanville will be calling the Derby nationally for ESPN Radio. It can be heard locally on ESPN New York 880.

How do you call a Home Run Derby on the radio? The late John Sterling would have had a field day with a barrage of “It is high, it is far, it is gone” calls, even on balls that barely made it past the infield.

Ravech, who has called the last eight Derbys for ESPN on TV, has a plan.

“I've been fortunate enough to do the American League playoffs on the radio the last three or four or five years and I love the medium,” Ravech told Newsday on Saturday in a telephone interview. “In a lot of ways, I think it's easier than TV because TV, everybody can see things, so you don't really need to say much.

“In radio, I think it's important to set the stage with who these players are, their background a little bit. But then literally every swing you are the eyes of the person who's listening. I think a lot of people recognize that the Home Run Derby is a TV event. It's a fun event, but that doesn't mean that there aren't people traveling and they'll be in cars listening to these things, and baseball folks love to listen to the radio.

“So I think you be as descriptive as possible about the swing, about where the pitch was, certainly where it lands, how high it is, how far it went. There is a lot of information to kind of share with the audience that is relevant to the actual competition. And the Derby is a competition. That's really what's wonderful about it. Somebody is a champion at the end. So I think you'd just be very descriptive about it. I think there's a ton of opportunities to literally paint the picture for those at home and make them feel like they're sitting in the fifth row watching it.”

There is a big rules change this year that should help the radio broadcast breathe a little (and could lead to more dead time on TV): the clock has been eliminated, so if a contestant wants to wait it out and only swing at strikes, his time at the plate could theoretically stretch all night long.

“It's likely going to be a little bit longer than the ones that we've had in years past,” said Ravech, who will call Tuesday’s All-Star Game on ESPN Radio and will be back doing TV play-by-play when the Mets visit the Phillies in a standalone second-half opener on ESPN on Thursday night. “You get into your 15th to 20th swing, you're going to make sure the pitch is perfect. So we'll see. I'll be interested to see how it plays out.”

The rosters for the Derby were finalized on Friday. With the event being held in Philadelphia, the NL will be led by hometown sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Ben Rice of the Yankees is among the hitters on the AL squad.

There are a total of eight players competing. There are also a total of eight people on Netflix’s overstuffed announcing team: Elle Duncan, Barry Bonds, CC Sabathia, Hunter Pence, Anthony Rizzo, Lauren Shehadi, Matt Vasgersian and former NFL wide receiver Michael Irvin, who hosts a podcast on the streaming service.

Netflix used NFL quarterback Jameis Winston as part of its crew for the highly-criticized standalone MLB season opener in March between the Yankees and Giants. Winston’s cringey appearances and the constant barrage of segments promoting Netflix shows made the broadcast nearly impossible to watch.

At least that game was on the radio, too.

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.