MLB Network To Air Stephen Strasburg’s Debut With Washington

It’s been highly anticipated since he was drafted by the Washington Nationals last year. Now pitcher Stephen Strasburg going to make his Major League debut next Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s such a big event that MLB Network is sending its big guns to Nationals Park to cover it. Bob Costas, John Smoltz and Jim Kaat will be in DC to call the game. Here’s the press release:

MLB Network to Air Washington Nationals Pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s MLB Debut On Tuesday, June 8

Strasburg, the Number-One Overall 2009 Draft Pick, Will Make His Pro Debut Almost One Year to the Day of Being Drafted

MLB Network’s Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and John Smoltz to Call the Game Live from Nationals Park at 7:00 p.m. ET

Secaucus, N.J., June 2, 2010 – MLB Network will air Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s Major League Baseball debut, one of the most anticipated in recent MLB history, on Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and John Smoltz will call the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates live from Nationals Park. Strasburg, the number-one overall selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, had a rapid rise through the Nationals’ Minor League system in 2010, with his 100-mph fastball and a combined 6-2 record with a 1.43 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings for the Harrisburg Senators (Double-A) and Syracuse Chiefs (Triple-A). Strasburg’s MLB debut comes within one year of being drafted on June 9, 2009.

MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian and Dan Plesac will offer pre- and postgame coverage on MLB Tonight starting at 6:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s game telecast will be blacked out in the Nationals’ and Pirates’ home television territory. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will see the San Diego Padres at New York Mets at 7:00 p.m. ET. The remainder of MLB Network’s game schedule for June 8-12 will be announced shortly.

Strasburg is scheduled to make his first Major League start one day after the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday, June 7. The Nationals will once again have the first pick in this year’s Draft, which will be held at MLB Network’s Studio 42 in Secaucus, New Jersey. Coverage will begin at 6:00 p.m. ET with a one-hour pre-Draft show with Greg Amsinger, Peter Gammons, John Hart, Harold Reynolds and Hazel Mae, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Baseball America’s Jim Callis, featuring analysis of top prospects, interviews with Club representatives and front office personnel, and a look back over the key Draft moments over the past 45 years.

The first round will begin on MLB Network at 7:00 p.m. ET, with the first round scheduled to be announced by Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. MLB Network’s production will also feature cameras inside 22 Club draft rooms across the league, including coverage of the Nationals’ draft room from Trenni Kusnierek, and live reactions and interviews via remote from top prospects. MLB.com and MLB Network Radio on XM (channel 175) will simulcast MLB Network’s coverage of the Draft.

Nice to see that MLB Network can make arrangements to pick the game up for fans across the country. Now I’ll watch.