Joe Buck Calling Opening Day Game On ESPN

Joe Buck is heading back to baseball — well, for one day.

Buck will call a Major League Baseball game on national television for the first time since 2021 when he does the play-by-play of the Opening Day contest between the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers on ESPN, which will air the game on March 27 at 3 p.m. ET.

Buck’s previous national baseball telecast goes back to in 2021, when he called the World Series between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves on Fox Sports. He did a local broadcast of a St. Louis Cardinals game last year along with Chip Carey.

After calling a record 24 World Series for Fox Sports, Buck left the network in 2022 for ESPN, where he calls “Monday Night Football.”

He called the Opening Day gig a “one-off opportunity” with no plans of returning to baseball in any permanent way.

Buck will call the game in the Bronx alongside former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Bill Schroeder, the lead color analyst for the Brewers.

“Opening Day has always been a signature day on the sports calendar and, personally, it remains special,” Buck said in a statement. “ESPN approached me with this one-off opportunity to help launch the season and it was a quick ‘yes.’ Joe and Bill are both great friends and better baseball minds and I know they will carry the telecast, while I just plan to be along for the ride.”

Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, pointed out that Buck “is synonymous with Major League Baseball and his presence in the booth will be an incredible addition to our Opening Day coverage.”

The game between the Brewers and reigning American League champion Yankees will be the opener of an Opening Day doubleheader on ESPN, which also will air the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers hosting the Detroit Tigers at 7 p.m. ET.

Buck said he welcomed the offer from ESPN senior vice president Mark Gross, with whom he has developed a strong relationship through “Monday Night Football.”

“I know what I’ve said in the past about this stuff, but I’m not really good at saying no and I think I inherited that from my dad,” said Buck of his late father, Jack Buck, a broadcasting legend. “Because Mark asked me and I really love the guy and think the world of him, I said, “Yes.’”