(Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images)
ESPN has reached a multi-year extension with Major League Baseball analyst Dallas Braden (@DallasBraden209). The former Oakland Athletics perfect-game pitcher will continue to appear on Baseball Tonight and will also serve as a game analyst. Braden joined ESPN at the start of the 2014 season.
“I’m thankful to continue working with some terrific people both in front of – and behind – the camera at ESPN,” said Braden. “I’ve been everything in the big leagues from the 25th man on the roster to the Opening Day starter. Without trying to reinvent the wheel, I try to tap into those experiences, which have given me a unique stance on the game and the way I see it unfold. I look forward to bringing the fans a little closer to the clubhouse and a little deeper inside the pitch-to-pitch and game-to-game thought processes.”
Braden’s first appearance of the 2015 season is currently scheduled for Monday, April 6 – Opening Day – when he’ll serve as the game analyst alongside play-by-play commentator Dave Flemming for the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants’ opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
“As a baseball analyst, Dallas oozes passion and enthusiasm,” said Phil Orlins, ESPN MLB senior coordinating producer. “He brings energy, knowledge and a blue collar personality that connects with our viewers, just like it did with the fans in Oakland.”
