With Major League Baseball in the midst of a lockout, the league’s official network decided to make a notable change to ring in the new year, parting ways with well-renowned insider Ken Rosenthal.
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, MLB Network cut ties with Rosenthal recently. It’s believed that the separation stems back to the summer of 2020 when the reporter criticized commissioner Rob Manfred.
Rosenthal, one of the top newsbreakers in the business, was first kept off the air for about three months in 2020 after he wrote a series of columns for The Athletic, bashing Manfred’s handling of the COVID-19 altered season. He returned in time for the Aug. 31 trade deadline and was reportedly paid by the league-owned network throughout his time off-air, but missed a significant portion of time.
Since then, Rosenthal had returned to MLB Network, regularly appearing on “MLB Tonight.” He was last on-air just before Christmas.
“As MLB Network continues to look at fresh ways to bring baseball to our viewers, there is a natural turnover in our talent roster that takes place each year,” an MLB spokesman told Marchand. “Ken played a significant part at MLB Network over the last 13 years. From spring training to the winter meetings, we thank him for his work across MLB Network’s studio, game and event programming, and wish him the very best going forward.”
Baseball fans and media members were stunned to hear of Rosenthal’s abrupt departure from MLB Network on Monday. Many couldn’t fathom that the network would let go of one of its top reporters, especially if criticizing the commissioner was the final straw.
Softer than Charmin Ultra. Their loss. https://t.co/RwT3yS9Bea
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) January 3, 2022
It’s not like most people took MLBN seriously anyway, but if Manfred got his feefees hurt and sacked Rosenthal over *that*, the entire network is just a PR exercise. https://t.co/ptWqE8BtgC
— Liz Roscher (@lizroscher) January 3, 2022
Can’t have respected journalists being truthful and working on the league-owned network. https://t.co/0f8YIVU2nW
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) January 3, 2022
Well this is ridiculous https://t.co/SxVqi2Qbe5
— Kavitha A. Davidson (@kavithadavidson) January 3, 2022
“Ken played a significant part at MLB Network over the last 13 years” and yet they kicked him to the curb like he was a freelancer on a 3-month contract. @Ken_Rosenthal deserves more respect than this. He’s earned it. Anyone who disagrees doesn’t recognize game. https://t.co/W82OnghkeV
— Miguel A. Melendez (@MelendezReports) January 3, 2022
Rosenthal, who has yet to comment on his departure from MLB Network, will remain at Fox Sports, where he’s carved out a role for himself in the network’s weekly baseball coverage and serves as an in-game reporter. He will also continue to contribute at The Athletic.
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