Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez is re-signing with TBS for its playoff coverage in a multi-year, seven-figure deal, The Post has learned.
Martinez, 47, is also likely to return to MLB Network as well, though a contract has not been worked out yet, according to sources.
On his old TBS/MLBN deals, Martinez was making a little more than a million dollars for what amounts to about two months on the job, as he works the playoffs for TBS and does 30 appearances for MLBN. He is expected to receive a substantial raise when both new contracts are completed.
While Martinez did not speak with Fox about leaving via free agency, there were brief overtures from ESPN.
Martinez’s talks with ESPN never really got off the ground because it was an uncertain fit. Martinez only wants to work a smaller schedule, while ESPN usually demands more year-round tonnage from its analysts.
With ESPN’s Sunday night game crew already set with analysts Alex Rodriguez and Jessica Mendoza, and with Mark Teixeira and David Ross the main “Baseball Tonight” analysts, it is unclear if ESPN and Martinez could have found a match, even if Martinez had real interest.
The rest of Turner’s group consists of host Casey Stern as well as Martinez’s fellow analysts, Jimmy Rollins and Gary Sheffield. Turner’s studio coverage is only during the playoffs, so if it were to make any changes, it still has plenty of time to decide.
Upon further review: What really separates the standout broadcast teams is having the instincts to notice subtle things that the viewer either can’t see or may not have thought about. If they do it without a “look at me” or forced style, it is that much better.
On Sunday, right before the Dolphins’ miracle finish over the Patriots, CBS’ Dan Fouts pointed out what was not on screen: Rob Gronkowski was in at safety for the final play for a possible Hail Mary.
In the flow of the miraculous, 69-yard lateral score, play-by-player Ian Eagle pointed out it was Gronkowski who couldn’t find the angle to tackle Kenyan Drake.
Fouts and Eagle nailed the story in real time. Their broadcasting was better than Bill Belichick’s coaching on Sunday.
Quick clicks: Most sports TV analysts used to play the game they call, but few, if any, call their sport one minute and then compete on the same night. NBC’s Sean O’Connell has been a color analyst on Facebook Watch’s broadcasts of the Professional Fighters League this year and then fought later in the night, when the fights moved to NBC Sports Network.
On New Year’s Eve, O’Connell won’t don his headset, but he will be fighting for a million bucks against Vinny Magalhaes in the PFL light heavyweight division at Madison Square Garden. The most O’Connell has ever made in one MMA fight is $88,000, so with $200,000 going to the loser, he will have his biggest payday no matter what happens. He plans on winning the million.
Sean O’Connell (left) fights Gian Villante.Getty Images“If you are smart about it, a million bucks can change your life pretty significantly, and I plan on being smart about it,” O’Connell, 35, said.
Besides the PFL commentating, O’Connell was a drive-time sports talk show host in San Francisco and Salt Lake and now is on SiriusXM’s Pac-12 channel five days a week and does work on its Fight Nation station.
“My fight style is pretty contradictory as I hope I sound as an announcer and a broadcaster,” O’Connell said. “I hope I sound informed and thoughtful and eloquent and whatever else. But as a fighter, I’m little bit sloppy, a little bit wild, usually pretty brutal. It is like the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing.
“I always joke that I’m probably a better broadcaster than I am a fighter, but the stakes are a lot higher.”
Former ESPNer, currently of The Athletic and all-around lover of baseball Jayson Stark is the recipient of the JG Spink Award as the writer who will be added to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Stark has always been a star wherever he has worked, but also a great teammate. Well deserved.
Book review: “The Last Pass,” the Gary M. Pomerantz book about Bob Cousy, receives a solid 4.2 out of 5 from Papa Clicker. Papa Clicker says the book has vivid detail, including about Cousy’s complicated relationship with his Celtic teammate Bill Russell. While it is a good read, it didn’t reach the upper realms of the Clicker grading system because it spends a little too much time, in Papa Clicker’s estimation, on Cousy’s challenges as he ages. Still, if you would like to know more about Cousy, it is worth your time.
