Exclusive: Twins planning to have “Players Only” telecasts
Former Twins teammates and current analysts Justin Morneau, Glen Perkins and Trevor Plouffe are expected to work together on three games.
There has been talk of the Twins having a “Players Only” telecast for a few years, dating to their time on Bally Sports North. It appears that plan will come to fruition this summer on Twins TV.
While details are still being worked out, the current plan is to have former Twins teammates Justin Morneau, Glen Perkins and Trevor Plouffe work together on three “Players Only” telecasts. Cory Provus, the Twins’ play-by-play voice on TV, will not be in the booth for the games and there will be no traditional telecast.
“There are 150-plus broadcasts throughout the year, and our team likes to try and be creative in how we present the game, players and our own broadcast team to ensure we are not rolling out the same show every night,” said Andrew Halverson, Twins’ senior director of broadcasting. “I feel like our Twins TV team has done a very good job of doing that this year.”
The Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers have aired “Players Only” telecasts in recent seasons. TNT also used the format for some of its NBA games for a few years before discontinuing it. The pace of a baseball game makes it a better candidate for a telecast that includes in-depth discussions about strategy, what’s taking place on the field and likely some stories.
Morneau, Perkins and Plouffe are analysts on Twins TV — Perkins also works a package of games on radio — and the fact Morneau and Plouffe were position players and Perkins was a pitcher should provide a nice mix.
The production for the three games also is likely to be slightly different, enabling the trio of former players to better illustrate their points.
Is everyone going to like this? No. But it’s worth trying on a limited basis. The main benefit is that having three former players work together is likely to result in discussions about things fans don’t think about. The best telecasts are ones in which a viewer comes away having learned something about the game.