Anthony Rizzo Primed to Become Face of MLB on NBC
Hey, so this pretty cool. In case you didn’t know, NBC will broadcast MLB games beginning in 2026, marking a return to baseball coverage since 2000. NBC will be the new home of Sunday Night Baseball, home of the Wild Card Round and will have more prime time games on its streaming service Peacock as well as NBC Sports Network. Bob Costas will be the main studio host and now it appears as though Anthony Rizzo is primed to become the fact of MLB on NBC.
Sports Business Journal reported on Thursday that Rizzo is set to be the lead MLB studio analyst for NBC. Clayton Kershaw and Joey Votto are also reportedly joining the studio show, but Rizzo has been picked to be the number one analyst.
Via Sports Business Jounral.
NBC is set to hire former MLBer Anthony Rizzo as one of its lead MLB analysts for MLB studio work this season, sources tell SBJ. The network is also close to signing a deal with Clayton Kershaw to serve as an analyst, but sources noted Kershaw would only be doing a couple of weeks of work, and sometimes work alongside Bob Costas.
Rizzo, 36, officially retired last September after 14 seasons in MLB. The first baseman began his pro career with the Boston Red Sox, who drafted him out of high school in 2007. Rizzo spent four years in Boston’s minor league system before he was part of a trade to the San Diego Padres. The Florida native made his big-league debut with the Padres during the 2011 season and the following year he was traded to the Chicago Cubs.
While Rizzo made it to the World Series during his 3.5 years playing with the New York Yankees he’ll always be remembered for his time on the Cubs. Rizzo played in 10 seasons for the Cubs, appearing in 1,305 games from 2012-21. During his time with the Cubs Rizzo made three consecutive All-Star Games, won four Gold Glove awards, a Silver Slugger Award and of course was a key to the 2016 World Series championship team.
Rizzo was the face of the Cubs during his time in Chicago and handled the media extremely well when he played for the Yankees.
He’s got a great personality, has done well in previous media appearances so this is a home run for NBC. The network signed a three-year deal with MLB, so it’ll be great to see Rizzo shine on a national stage.