ESPN tabs Joe Buck to do something he hasn't done in four years

It's been four years since Joe Buck called a baseball game on national television. ESPN will change that soon.

According to multiple reports Tuesday, Buck will be in the booth when the New York Yankees play the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day of the new baseball season in North America, March 27.

Buck is ESPN's highest-paid play-by-play announcer in any sport, reportedly making $15 million as their lead NFL voice. The son of longtime St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck, Joe Buck got his start in baseball early, calling the 1996 World Series when he was 27 years old.

Now 55, Buck will return to an MLB booth for what he told The Athletic is a "one-off assignment."

Buck's impressive MLB resume includes the 1996, 1998 and 2000-19 World Series; the 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003-05, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 American League Championship Series; the 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 National League Championship Series; and the 1997, 1999, 2001-19 All-Star Games.

Buck had also been calling football games on FOX since the network landed its first NFL contract in 1994. He made the move to ESPN along with color analyst Troy Aikman in 2022.

The Yankees are looking to get back to the World Series after falling short in a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Oct. 2024.

Buck was not included in ESPN's press release last week announcing its 2025 baseball broadcasting lineup. Karl Ravech will return as the lead play-by-play commentator for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN.

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