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FOX has made a major move on the baseball front, announcing a change for their leading coverage crew. The quartet of Kevin Burkhardt, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, and Frank Thomas has been a staple for the network over the last handful of years.
We’ll have a new lineup soon, however, which has fans on social media up in arms.
The company announced that Derek Jeter would replace Frank Thomas, who’s been with FOX Sports for nearly a decade. “The Big Hurt” has been an analyst on the network’s biggest pregame show, covering All-Star games and World Series for a national audience.
It now looks like his time at FOX is through. Here’s what a spokesperson had to say about the move to the NY Post.
“Frank has been an integral member of the FOX MLB studio team for nearly a decade and has helped raise the bar on our coverage while continuously growing the game of baseball. Although he is not a part of our coverage this season, ‘The Big Hurt’ will always be a member of our Fox Sports family and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
According to the Post article, Jeter will take over for Thomas in June during the London Series. He’ll then roll his coverage into the All-Star Game in July and World Series in October.
Fans online weren’t exactly happy to see the change. Check out the immediate social media response.
Horrible swap
— – (@MonteJr5) April 1, 2023
Some doubt whether Jeter will bring enough personality to the set.
This is an L, unless Jeter has a personality that he has never shown before.
— Hale (@awHALEnaw2) April 1, 2023
Unfortunately, it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke…
April Fo…..
Wait this is a real thing. Wow 😮
— Rafael Antonio Palacios (@rafo_waffle) April 1, 2023
Many believed either Ortiz or ARod should’ve been given the boot instead of Frank Thomas if FOX really wanted to add Derek Jeter.
Ortiz needs to go. Great player, great person, terrible analyst. Doesn’t give insight on the game, he’s a cheerleader
— Pathetic 2022 White Sox (@SultanOfClout) April 1, 2023
Should’ve gotten rid of A-Roid instead.
— Jawn Kruk (@JawnKruk215) April 1, 2023
This is something we’ve seen with FOX on the football side of things, too, as Tom Brady is expected to replace Greg Olsen if he decides to pursue a role in the booth. His $375M contract certainly gives him some incentive to do so.
It will be interesting to see how the show adapts to the Derek Jeter/Frank Thomas swap.