Sports Media Report
SiriusXM and the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced today a multi-year collaboration to produce a new podcast dedicated to telling the stories of the all-time great players who are enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
“The Road to Cooperstown” will debut June 8th and air every Saturday at 9 am ET on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio channel and on the SiriusXM app. Season 1 will run from June through October and each week’s episode will feature a long form conversation between SiriusXM host Jon Paul Morosi and a different Hall of Famer.
Election into the Baseball Hall of Fame is the ultimate recognition of baseball greatness, and listeners will hear directly from these greats first-hand as they reflect on their life in the game, remembering the highlights as well as the challenges they faced on their way to earning a place in baseball’s most exclusive club.
The series premieres on June 8th with a conversation with Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench. Ensuing episodes will feature fellow Cooperstown inductees Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken Jr., George Brett, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Craig Biggio, Joe Torre and many more.
“Induction into the Hall of Fame is the greatest honor in all of sport, and each one of our 346 Hall of Famers faced and overcame challenges en route to a plaque in Cooperstown,” said Josh Rawitch, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “‘The Road to Cooperstown’ brings these stories to listeners through the voices of the legends themselves, sharing with fans the amazing character and skill that made them the greatest players in the game’s history. We are proud to work with SiriusXM to bring this engaging and inspiring series to listeners around the world.”
Each episode of “The Road to Cooperstown” will be available as a podcast on all major podcast platforms the Tuesday after its Saturday SiriusXM premiere. Episode 1 of the series becomes available as a podcast on June 11th, the day before the Museum’s 85th birthday. On June 12, 1939, the Hall of Fame opened its doors for the first time in Cooperstown.
“A visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame creates a very special connection between the fan and the game’s all-time great players,” said Eric Spitz, VP of Sports Programming for SiriusXM. “We’re producing ‘The Road to Cooperstown’ to create that same kind of connection for fans around the country through SiriusXM. And we’re the perfect medium to do it. After all, fans have connected with their favorite teams and players through radio broadcasts for more than a century. On this series fans will not only learn more about the living legends of the game, but hear them in their own words talk about the ups and downs of their careers, and what drove them to be great.”
Highlights from future conversations on “The Road to Cooperstown:”
John Smoltz: “My road to Cooperstown was an incredible ride. It was a roller coaster at times but it was an incredible ride. At the end of the day, I got a chance to compete in a ton of playoffs and win a World Series, but the journey was worth every single surgery and every single bump in the road because it was a unique one. It wasn’t one that was a cookie-cutter and that’s not who I am. I’m one that will do whatever it takes to try to win.”
Ozzie Smith: “People ask me, ‘Would I change anything?’ I wouldn’t change a thing. There were rocks in the road, there were boulders in the road, but making it to Cooperstown was one of the greatest achievements of my life. It’s not something that I set out to do. I think it became a byproduct of working hard to be the very best that I could be every day.”
SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio channel is available to listeners nationwide in their cars on channel 89 and on the SiriusXM app.
Eligible customers can get their first three months of SiriusXM for free. Go to siriusxm.com/GetSiriusXM3mos to sign up and experience all that SiriusXM has to offer. See Offer Details.
