The Cleveland Guardians have had a greater mix of television stations in their home broadcasts this season than fans are accustomed to.
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It’s not that Matt Underwood, Rick Manning or Andre Knott are gone, but they have already had temporary absences, and that will continue to some extent.
It’s simply a change the Guardians are experiencing this season, broken down in a new article by Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes.
Why don’t Matt Underwood, Rick Manning and Andre Knott do every Guardians game?
This is a change that has to do with Guardians broadcasts now being produced by Major League Baseball.
“Changes are being made to who will call Guardians games on television,” Hoynes writes. The moves began last year per MLB instructions and will continue this season. MLB is producing local broadcasts for the Guardians and 13 other teams. This is the second year that MLB has produced the Guardians’ local broadcasts. The changes mean the former team of Underwood, Manning and game reporter Andre Knott will no longer play most games together. “Other personalities will be mixed in the broadcasts.”
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The article doesn’t specifically explain why MLB is mixing things up, but the changes don’t appear to be driven by the preferences of Underwood, Manning or Knott, but rather the higher-ups making the decision.
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Who else does the Guardians broadcasts?
The most notable change early in the season has been a lot of colorful commentary from Chris Gimenez, a former catcher.
When Underwood isn’t doing the play-by-play, Al Pawlowski handles it.
Former Cleveland closer Cody Allen is on the schedule for color commentary later this season.
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Knott will also be replaced at times by Cayleigh Griffin, who anchors pre- and post-game coverage of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Guardians fans are certainly used to their main trio, but this season there will be more voices to feel comfortable with.