David Cone, one of the most highly regarded baseball analysts in the business, is out at ESPN. The network confirmed the former Yankees and Mets pitcher is leaving in a statement to Front Office Sports.
“We appreciate David’s many contributions to our Major League Baseball coverage and wish him the best,” a spokesperson said.
The move was not unexpected. Cone was well respected within ESPN, say sources. But once the network traded the rights to MLB’s Sunday Night Baseball for a package of midweek games, it became difficult to square Cone’s ESPN schedule with his work at the Yankees YES Network. So ESPN decided not to extend Cone’s contract.
Cone will continue to call Yankees games for YES this coming season. Jared Boshnack, executive producer and VP of production, has penciled Cone in for more than the 40-game telecasts he called last season. “David is phenomenal. He makes our team better,” Boshnack previously told FOS. “We’re very happy to have him.”
With the new package, ESPN also wants to take a fresh look at its baseball announcing talent. The question now is whether Cone will jump to NBC as it takes over ESPN’s old Sunday night slot, in addition to Sunday morning games.
