The Great Peter Gammons Leaving ESPN Update

Update: Well, it appears I got my wish and then some.

The MLB Network has officially sent out a press release stating that Peter Gammons will be joining the network, as well as MLB.com as an on-air and online analyst.

The press release also states that Gammons has signed a multi-year deal with NESN starting in 2010 to be a studio analyst and reporter. NESN is home to the Boston Red Sox.

Gammons leaving ESPN for the MLB Network is a massive blow to ESPN and their baseball coverage. As one of my commenter's pointed out, ESPN’s coverage of sports in general lately has been mediocre at best.

With Gammons leaving, it just got worse.

As much as I like Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian, I really don’t see a reason to watch Baseball Tonight anymore. The MLB Network’s coverage of baseball is superior and they cover the game with the respect it deserves.

You can view the entire press release here .

Original Post

It’s a sad day for baseball fans everywhere.

The great Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN.

My decision to leave ESPN and move on at this point in my life has been conflicted,” said Gammons in a statement. “I owe a great deal of my professional life to ESPN, having spent more than half of my 40 years in journalism working for the network, and the choice to move on was made with nothing but the strongest feelings for the people with whom I worked. ESPN gave me a great deal more than I gave it, and will always be a huge part of who I am.”

ESPN says Gammons is leaving to pursue future endeavors.

I idolize very few people in this world, but Gammons is one of them. When I was studying Sports Management at UMass, Gammons was always the guy I wanted to be.

He was the most respected writer and analyst in baseball. He changed the way baseball was covered and his articles were always must reads.

Gammons is one of the main reasons that I write today.

I remember in college, my roommate Odie had a subscription to the Sunday Boston Globe–I really just showed my age with that one. When the Globe came to our apartment, we used to run or move briskly (there was very little running in our apartment on a Sunday morning) to the door in order to be the first one to read Gammons’ Sunday article–true story.

At the time, Gammons was the only credible “insider.” His Sunday article gave us information that we couldn’t get anywhere else. Today, there are hundreds of “insiders” thanks to people like Gammons.

Now ESPN said Gammons is leaving to pursue future endeavors, which means other opportunities. It doesn’t sound like Gammons is going to retire.

My guess is Gammons ends up in either of two places–the MLB Network or NESN.

Could you imagine if he ended up at the MLB Network? Tom Verducci, Jon Heyman, Ken Rosenthal, and Gammons all on the same network. That is baseball geekdom at its best.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg