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MLB Home Plate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| MLB Home Plate | |
 |
|
| Broadcast area | United States Canada |
|---|---|
| Branding | MLB Home Plate |
| Slogan | XM's 24/7 Major League Baseball Channel |
| First air date | 2005 |
| Frequency | XM175 |
| Format | Sports Radio |
| Class | Satellite Radio Station |
| Owner | XM Satellite Radio |
| Website | homeplate.xmradio.com |
MLB Home Plate is a popular destination on the XM Satellite Radio dial for fans of Major League Baseball, as it features round the clock MLB related talk shows, as well as archives and live reports.
MLB Home Plate launched in February 2005, as an incentive to entertain the new listeners who signed up for XM's lucrative Major League Baseball deal when the games weren't on. MLB Home Plate is currently carried on XM channel 175, and used to be carried on DirecTV for a few months.
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MLB Home Plate launched at the start of the Major League Baseball season in 2005, ready to entertain the new customers who bought XM to hear their favorite teams. It launched with a full lineup, and several guests immediately. On day one of broadcast, José Canseco made the claim to his former manager turned Home Plate host Kevin Kennedy that Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire took steroids during the 1998 Home Run Chase. XM Satellite Radio even put out a press release about the broadcast.[1] Around launch time, XM announced that they had signed Cal Ripken, Jr. to do a Saturday mid-morning show on Home Plate. The channel was aided throughout the season as XM's subscriber growth prediction exceeded what they expected, with retailers claiming that 15-17% of people who signed up for XM did it for baseball.
The end of the 2005 season was especially active as the satellite company carried both feeds of both teams during the post-season games, and 4 feeds per world series game (which included a promotion where XM gave out free Roady XTs to all who attended the first World Series 2005 game). Currently in the off-season, MLB Home Plate is mainly hot stove talk until training coverage begins in Feb 2006. Hosts are also using this time for their vacations.
At the beginning of MLB's second season on XM Radio, XM Radio Canada decided to add all 14 MLB Play-by-Play channels to their platform. Canada already carried Home Plate, and now they would carry the complete Major League Baseball package barring XM 190 (Spanish broadcasts). In exchange, they would produce channel 179 with some select exclusive content, and make that channel the home for all the Toronto Blue Jays home games. XM Canada also produced interviews for play on the other play-by-play channels when no games were being aired.
In late April 2006, DirecTV removed the MLB Home Plate channel from their lineup. DirecTV wanted to go completely music programming. Talk channel High Voltage was also removed, but put back on the lineup within a week due to fan response. DirecTV also claims that there is a rights issue brewing over the MLB audio broadcasts, but this has been debated.
- Rob Dibble - Former MLB pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers. After 7 seasons, he turned to broadcasting, and added his commentary to such shows as The Best Damn Sports Show Period and Gameday on ESPNRadio. He now co-hosts "The Show" in PM drive, with Kevin Kennedy.
- Kevin Kennedy - Former manager of the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers, and regular contributor to MLB's Game of the Week coverage. Now co-hosts "The Show" in PM drive, with Rob Dibble.
- Mark Patrick - Former host of Mark Patrick on Sports on Fox Sports Radio. Mark has had a long radio career, including an award winning stint at The Bob and Tom Show. Mark now co-hosts "Baseball This Morning" exclusively on XM each morning from 6-9 a.m. ET with an encore airing immediately after the program.
- Buck Martinez - 17-year MLB catcher with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays. He won an Emmy Award for Best Sports Special in 1995 for his work as an analyst on ESPN's telecast of the game in which Cal Ripken, Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's record for consecutive games played. Currently he co-hosts "Baseball This Morning" in AM drive.
- Orestes Destrade - Former MLB infielder who played four seasons for three teams including two seasons for the Florida Marlins. He also played 5 seasons for the Seibu Lions of the Japanese Pacific League. Appears on ESPN's Baseball Tonight and co-hosts "Baseball This Morning" in AM drive.
- Cal Ripken Jr. - Future Hall of Fame shortstop, Ripken played his entire 21-year career with the Baltimore Orioles. The baseball legend now hosts a weekly program exclusively on XM's MLB Home Plate 175, where all baseball topics are discussed. Joining Cal on the show will be his brother, fellow MLB veteran Billy Ripken.
- Joe Castellano - Veteran broadcaster and former commentator for Westwood One and CBS Sports. He currently hosts "MLB Live - Late Edition."
- Charley Steiner - Emmy award winning sportscaster for the Dodgers, and is best known for his 15 year service on ESPN's SportsCenter. He currently hosts Baseball Beat in middays.
| ET | PT | Show | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM | 3 AM | Baseball This Morning - Mark Patrick, Buck Martinez and Orestes Destrade | Live |
| 9 AM | 6 AM | Baseball This Morning | Replay |
| 12 PM | 9 AM | Fantasy Focus - Jeff Erickson / John Sickels | Live |
| 1 PM | 10 AM | Baseball Beat - Charley Steiner | Live |
| 3 PM | 12 PM | The Show - Rob Dibble & Kevin Kennedy | Live |
| 6 PM | 3 PM | On Deck - Chuck Wilson | Live |
| 7 PM | 4 PM | MLB Live - Ronnie "Nighttrain" Lane | Live |
| 10 PM | 7 PM | MLB Live - Late Edition - Joe Castellano | Live, Starts at 10 PM on Friday |
| 2 AM | 11 PM | The Show | 5PM Replay |
| 3 AM | 12 AM | MLB Archive |
| ET | PT | Show | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM | 3 AM | Best of Baseball This Morning | |
| 8 AM | 5 AM | Majors and Minors - Grant Paulsen | Live |
| 10 AM | 7 AM | Ripken Baseball - Cal & Bill Ripken | Live |
| 12 PM | 9 AM | On Deck - Chuck Wilson | Holden Kushner |
| 1 PM | 10 AM | MLB Live - Weekend - Holden Kushner & Mark Gray | Live |
| 9 PM | 6 PM | Ripken Baseball | Replay |
| 11 PM | 8 PM | Best of Fantasy Focus | Thurs 12PM replay |
| 12 AM | 9 PM | MLB Archive |
| ET | PT | Show | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 AM | 3 AM | Best of Baseball Beat | |
| 8 AM | 5 AM | Best of The Show | |
| 10 AM | 7 AM | Ripken Baseball | Replay |
| 12 PM | 9 AM | On Deck - Chuck Wilson | Holden Kushner |
| 1 PM | 10 AM | MLB Live - Weekend - Holden Kushner & Mark Gray | Live |
| 9 PM | 6 PM | MLB Archive - 2006 Instant Classic | |
| 12 AM | 9 PM | Ripken Baseball | Replay |
| 2 AM | 11 PM | Best of Fantasy Focus | Fri 12PM replay |
| 3 AM | 12 AM | MLB Archive |
- ^ XM Satellite Radio (2005-02-15). JOSE CANSECO CLAIMS SAMMY SOSA AND MARK McGWIRE TOOK STEROIDS DURING 1998 HOME RUN CHASE ON XM SATELLITE RADIO'S MLB HOME PLATE CHANNEL; PETE ROSE TELLS XM HE SUSPECTS CANSECO MOTIVATED BY MONEY. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
- MLB Home Plate on XM
- MLB Home Plate Lineup - Printable PDF grid featuring the complete MLB Home Plate lineup.