Ken Rosenthal Dropped by MLB Network After 12 Years

Martin Holmes January 4, 2022, 9:27 am

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Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal has been let go from the MLB Network following previous criticism of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

Rosenthal confirmed the news on Monday evening, tweeting, “Can confirm MLB Network has decided not to bring me back. I’m grateful for the more than 12 years I spent there, and my enduring friendships with on-air personalities, producers and staff. I always strove to maintain my journalistic integrity, and my work reflects that.”

Can confirm MLB Network has decided not to bring me back. I’m grateful for the more than 12 years I spent there, and my enduring friendships with on-air personalities, producers and staff. I always strove to maintain my journalistic integrity, and my work reflects that. 1/2

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 4, 2022

In the early months of the pandemic, Rosenthal publicly criticized Manfred’s handling of the league in his column for The Athletic. In one article, he wrote that Manfred needed to “strike a deal with the union and salvage the 2020 season, or ruin his legacy as commissioner of baseball.”

According to the New York Post, Rosenthal was quietly kept off the air for around three months following his comments. The MLB Network did not announce an official suspension, and Rosenthal was still paid during his time-out. He returned for the Trade Deadline on August 31 and remained on screen until his contract expired at the end of 2021.

“As MLB Network continues to look at fresh ways to bring baseball to our viewers, there is a natural turnover in our talent roster that takes place each year,” an MLB spokesman told the NY Post. “Ken played a significant part at MLB Network over the last 13 years. From spring training to the winter meetings, we thank him for his work across MLB Network’s studio, game and event programming, and wish him the very best going forward.”

Rosenthal joined MLB Network in 2009 as a “baseball insider” and later contributed to Trade Deadline and National Baseball Hall of Fame coverage, as well as the offseason weekday morning show Hot Stove.