NY Fans Rejoice, Others Cringe at ESPN's 'Manningcast' Spinoff

ESPN caught lightning in a bottle with their creation of the "Manningcast" broadcast during the NFL season.

Former Yankees' infielder Alex Rodriguez / Getty Images

Looking to springboard off of that success, ESPN has laid out a plan to create a similar program for the baseball season. New York Yankees' fans are rejoicing, while other fans across the country are...well, divided, to say the least.

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Yankees' Notables A-Rod, Michael Kay Teaming Up on ESPN

In case you missed it, ESPN and their PR Department announced the following new programming for the 2022 MLB season...

In a similar fashion to the NFL's Manningcast, former New York Yankees' great Alex Rodriguez will helm baseball's new tandem show. A-Rod's role in the show was announced first, with the addition of Michael Kay coming roughly one day later.

Yankees' broadcaster Michael Kay / Getty Images for The David Cone

While details of the show itself are still scarce, we can assume that the show will include interviews, special analysis from A-Rod during the game, and will use the Sunday Night Baseball game itself as background content to the conversation happening in the foreground. Kay's role will likely be aimed at teeing up A-Rod and guests for their breakdowns.

A-Rod Will Leave Sunday Night Baseball's Main Broadcast

The creation of the "Kay-Rod" telecast is the second shoe to drop in ESPN's shuffling of the Major League Baseball deck. The first shoe was the announcement of a new Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team, led by play-by-play man Karl Ravech, with analysts Eduardo Perez and David Cone joining the booth to form a completely new team.

Alex Rodriguez broadcasting on Sunday Night Baseball / Getty Images

Matt Vasgersian, who called Sunday Night Baseball games most recently, had already announced that he would be leaving the position at the end of 2021.

With the shuffling of the broadcast booth, that left A-Rod with a contract, but without a home. Allowing Rodriguez to have his own studio show, in my opinion, will be a better use of his baseball analysis. Whether he has the personality to be the face of a show similar to the Manningcast, however, is yet to be seen.

The Internet Reacts to the "Kay-Rod" News

Some folks are nervous about A-Rod's on-air presence for this type of show...

Fans of other teams are worried about a bias towards...well, a certain team...

Others are very excited about the announcements...

Still others are not as convinced...

Well, your turn to be the judge. Are you excited for the Kay-Rod broadcast?

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