MLB Network Personalities

Hall of Fame broadcaster and 29-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas is a host and contributor to MLB Network’s programming.

As MLB Network is now in its 17^th season, Costas is a network original signing back during its groundbreaking first season in 2009. In addition to calling games and being part of special event coverage like Hall of Fame Election Day, Costas has been part of multiple series, including “Studio 42 with Bob Costas,” “MLB’s 20 Greatest Games,” “The Sounds of Baseball” and “Costas at the Movies.” MLB Network’s first night on the air on Jan 1, 2009, featured a never-before-seen replay of Don Larsen’s World Series perfect game in 1956, with Costas interviewing Larsen and catcher Yogi Berra in Studio 42.

In 2018, Costas was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award for major contributions to baseball broadcasting. In 2025, Costas won the fifth Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Baseball Digest. Willie Mays won the inaugural award in 2021, followed by Vin Scully (2022), Joe Torre (2023) and Dusty Baker (2024). In Costas’ case, the award recognizes his widely varied contributions to the game, including play-by-play, for which he received several Emmy nominations and awards. Costas’ commentaries, essays, interviews and contributions to many documentaries, including the acclaimed Ken Burns’ “Baseball,” also played a significant factor in him receiving the Baseball Digest honor.

From 2009 to 2024, Costas served as the lead play-by-play announcer for the MLB Network Showcase series and for several of MLB Network’s exclusive Postseason telecasts. Since June 2020, Costas and Tom Verducci have co-hosted MLB Network’s series The Sounds of Baseball. The tribute series to baseball’s iconic voices has featured Vin Scully, Jack Buck, Jon Miller, Mel Allen, Red Barber, Harry Caray, Joe Garagiola, Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek, Al Michaels and Bob Uecker.

Regarded as one of the best interviewers in broadcasting, Costas has spoken with the biggest names in baseball and beyond for MLB Network, including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, George Brett, Dennis Eckersley, Ferguson Jenkins, Tony La Russa, Ozzie Smith, Whitey Herzog, Juan Marichal, Tom Seaver and Joe Torre; and President Barack Obama at the 2009 All-Star Game.

In 2011, Costas and Verducci co-hosted MLB Network's landmark series MLB's 20 Greatest Games, which ranked the top 20 games of the previous 50 seasons. The series featured interviews with key players, managers and broadcasters from each game, including Jack Morris and John Smoltz discussing Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, the No. 2-ranked game, and Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, 1975 MVP and Rookie of the Year Fred Lynn, Pete Rose, Bernie Carbo, Dwight Evans, Pat Darcy and Denny Doyle talking about Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, which was ranked by MLB Network as the No. 1 greatest game of the previous 50 seasons.

Costas has sat with some of the biggest names in Hollywood for the Costas at the Movies series, such as Billy Crystal, Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Jonah Hill, Tommy Lee Jones, Penny Marshall, Barry Levinson, Brad Pitt, Chadwick Boseman and many more.

Costas also contributes to MLB Network's breaking news coverage throughout the year. In January 2010, Costas conducted the exclusive first television interview with Mark McGwire following his admission of steroid use during his playing career. Costas also secured the first interview with Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts after she broke the news in February 2009 of Alex Rodriguez's use of performance enhancing drugs. Bob has also led MLB Network’s remembrances of legendary figures who have been lost, such as Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Tommy Lasorda, Joe Morgan, Al Kaline and Bob Uecker, among others.

Over the course of his career, Costas hosted four World Series for NBC (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988) and called three Fall Classics for the network (1995, 1997, 1999). In addition, he hosted or called eight All-Star Games and did play-by-play of 10 LCS. From 1982 to 1989, Costas and Tony Kubek were a popular pairing on NBC's Game of the Week telecasts.

Bob is the author of Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball, which made the New York Times Best Seller list in 2000. The book's net proceeds were donated to B.A.T. (Baseball Assistance Team), an organization providing financial assistance to those in need in the baseball family.

Outside of baseball, Costas served as NBC's primetime host for a U.S.-television record 11 Olympic Games - every Olympics on NBC from 1992 to 2016, including the 2012 London Games, which is the most-watched television event in U.S. history. In the 1990’s, Costas both hosted and called games as part of the NBA on NBC, including his iconic call of Michael Jordan’s title-winning shot for the Chicago Bulls in their “Last Dance” season of 1998.

From 2006 to 2016, Costas served as the host of the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, Football Night in America. Costas also served as the host of NBC's presentation of the Triple Crown Horse Races, as well as the U.S. Open Golf Championship.

From 2001 to 2009 and again in 2021 and 2022, Costas’ HBO programs were critically-acclaimed and received multiple Emmy Awards and nominations, as did his late-night interview show Later, a non-sports program, which followed David Letterman on NBC for six years (1988-94). On radio, Costas’ popular “Coast to Coast,” a nationally syndicated talk and interview show ran from 1986 to 1996. Costas handled regional NFL and NBA assignments for CBS Sports from 1976 to 1979, while also working as the radio voice of University of Missouri basketball, and one season as the TV voice of the Chicago Bulls on WGN (1979-80).

Costas has been honored as Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association (NSSA) a record eight times and was the youngest to receive such an honor when he won the award in 1985. Costas was inducted into the NSSA Hall of Fame in 2012. Among his numerous honors, Costas has received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Musial Award for Sportsmanship in St. Louis and the Sam Lacy-Wendell Smith Award for Sports Journalism.

Bob began his broadcasting career in 1973 at WSYR in Syracuse, while attending the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. For one season, he was the radio voice of the Eastern Hockey League’s Syracuse Blazers, a prototype team of the league that was captured in the Paul Newman movie “Slapshot.” Soon after, at the age of 22, Costas became the voice of the ABA’s Spirit of St. Louis, broadcasting their games on the legendary radio station KMOX.

Ron Darling, a 1985 National League All-Star and 13-year Major League pitcher, is an MLB Network offseason studio analyst, where he regularly appears on the Emmy Award-winning flagship show MLB Tonight and the daily offseason morning show Hot Stove. Darling joined MLB Network in 2013.

Since beginning his broadcasting career in 2000, Darling has won two Emmy Awards for Best Sports Analyst for his work covering the New York Mets on SportsNet New York (SNY), and he works as a game analyst for Turner Sports' MLB regular season and Postseason coverage.

Over his pitching career, Darling collected 136 wins with a 3.87 ERA and won the World Series with the Mets in 1986. Darling also won 17 games for the 1988 NL East champion Mets and was the first Mets pitcher to be awarded the Gold Glove Award in 1989. Darling began his MLB career with the Mets (1983-1991) and spent time with the Montreal Expos (1991) and Oakland Athletics (1991-1995).

Ryan Dempster, a 16-year MLB pitcher and 2013 World Series champion, is the co-host of MLB Network’s “Intentional Talk” alongside Kevin Millar and Siera Santos. In addition to his MLB Network role, Dempster contributes to the Marquee Sports Network as both a game and studio analyst.

A two-time National League All-Star, Dempster won 132 games and saved 87 games during 16 seasons as a starter and a reliever. He pitched 200 innings or more in seven seasons, including two seasons with more than 200 strikeouts.

Dempster began his career with the Florida Marlins (1998-2002) and Cincinnati Reds (2002-2003), and after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2003, Dempster spent nine seasons with the Chicago Cubs (2004-2012) before joining the Texas Rangers (2012). After starting 29 games in 2013 for the Boston Red Sox, Dempster closed out Game 1 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, on the way to the Red Sox's third championship in 10 years. Dempster currently serves as a special advisor to the Chicago Cubs.

In 2000, Dempster received the James "Tip" O'Neill Award from the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, and he was the Chicago Cubs' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award for community service in 2006 and 2008. A native of Gibsons, British Columbia, Dempster was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Robert Flores is a host appearing across MLB Network's studio programming. During the regular season, Flores co-hosts MLB Network's weekday morning show MLB Central alongside Mark DeRosa and Lauren Shehadi. MLB Central features extensive on-field highlights, context on the latest news and interviews with guests, celebrities and insiders from around the league.

Flores joined MLB Network and NHL Network in 2016 from ESPN, where he anchored SportsCenter, ABC's college football studio updates and ESPN2's Fantasy Football Now. Flores joined ESPN in 2005 as an ESPNews anchor and later contributed to a variety of studio shows, including Baseball Tonight, NBA Fastbreak and Friday Night Fights.

A native of Houston, Texas, Flores earned his bachelor's degree in radio and television from the University of Houston in 1992. Flores attended J. Frank Dobie High School in Houston and is a member of their JFD Hall of Fame.

Cliff Floyd, a 17-year Major League veteran and 1997 World Series champion, is an analyst appearing across MLB Network's programming, including the Emmy Award-winning flagship studio show MLB Tonight.

During his playing career, Floyd batted .278 with 1,479 hits, 233 home runs and 865 RBI as an outfielder and first baseman. Floyd was named to the National League All-Star team in 2001, when he batted .317 with 31 home runs and 103 RBI for the Florida Marlins. Defensively, Floyd led all National League outfielders with 15 assists in 2005 while with the New York Mets. Floyd was a part of four Postseason teams, including the 1997 World Series champion Marlins. Floyd broke into MLB with the Montreal Expos (1993-1996, 2002), and spent time with the Marlins (1997-2002), Boston Red Sox (2002), Mets (2003-2006), Chicago Cubs (2007), Tampa Bay Rays (2008) and San Diego Padres (2009).

Floyd's previous experience in broadcasting includes serving as an expert host on SiriusXM Fantasy Baseball. Floyd has also worked as a pre- and postgame analyst for Marlins games on FOX Sports Florida and has worked an analyst on NBC Sports Network's SportsTalk.

Lauren Gardner is a studio host appearing across MLB Network's programming, including Off Base, MLB Network’s new regular-season afternoon program. The daily program originates from a reimagined set inside Studio 21 with a rotation of guest panelists offering a variety of perspectives, outside-the-box thinking and a passion for baseball that will be infectious to the next generation of fans.

In addition to her role at MLB Network, Gardner serves as a studio host for NHL Network.

Prior to arriving at MLB Network, Gardner appeared on Altitude Sports Network, hosting pre and postgame shows for the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. Gardner has covered the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA, college football, college basketball and multiple Super Bowls for CBS Sports, AT&T SportsNet, FOX Sports Ohio, MTV2, ESPN and the Smithsonian Channel.

Gardner, a Denver native, began her professional career as an intern at FOX Sports Rocky Mountain and Mile High Sports Magazine. Gardner graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a political science degree, before becoming a Denver Broncos cheerleader.

Jon Heyman is an insider appearing across MLB Network's programming. Throughout the year, Heyman contributes to the Emmy Award-winning flagship studio show MLB Tonight as well as MLB Network's Trade Deadline coverage, National Baseball Hall of Fame coverage and the offseason morning show Hot Stove.

In addition to his work for MLB Network, Heyman is an MLB insider for Fancred Sports and regularly contributes to WFAN Radio in New York.

Prior to joining Fancred Sports, Heyman was a baseball insider for CBSSports.com and a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, where he wrote the "Inside Baseball" column, and "The Daily Scoop" for SI.com, a twice-daily in-season baseball notes column. Heyman came to Sports Illustrated in July 2006 after 16 years at Newsday, where he developed a reputation for breaking major baseball stories while serving as a Yankees beat writer and both a baseball and general sports columnist.

Brian Kenny is a host appearing across MLB Network's studio programming, including as the host of the analytics-focused panel program MLB Now and as a host of MLB Network's special event coverage and the Emmy Award-winning flagship studio show, MLB Tonight. He also appears on the offseason countdown series Top 10 Right Now. Kenny is the author of Ahead of the Curve: Inside the Baseball Revolution (Simon & Schuster, 2016).

On MLB Now, Kenny hosts a one-hour live daily panel discussion that covers breaking news and the latest trends in the game with perspectives from baseball journalists, sabermetricians, broadcasters and current and former players and managers.

Kenny joined MLB Network from ESPN, where he was anchor of the 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, host of the Brian Kenny Show on ESPN Radio and Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. He previously served as an ESPN anchor for Baseball Tonight, receiving a Sports Emmy Award in 2003. Kenny called play-by-play for ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball and the World Baseball Classic, and hosted ESPN's coverage of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Kenny was named "Media Personality of the Year" by SI.com in 2004, and in 2005 he was the recipient of the Sam Taub Award, given by the Boxing Writers Association of America to the Boxing Broadcaster of the Year. Kenny appeared as himself in the 2006 film "Rocky Balboa," in the 2007 film "Resurrecting the Champ" and in the IFC series "Brockmire" in 2017.

Prior to joining ESPN, Kenny was Sports Director at WTZA-TV in Kingston, New York, for 11 years (1986-1997). While at WTZA, he won 11 New York State Broadcasters Association Awards and five Associated Press Awards for Journalistic Excellence. From 1985-86, he was a news reporter, then sports anchor at WLIG-TV in Riverhead, New York.

Kenny attended St. John's University and the New York Institute of Technology. He graduated magna cum laude from New York Tech in 1985. He and his wife Nicole have five children.

Mike Lowell, a two-time World Series champion, is an analyst appearing across MLB Network's programming, including the Emmy Award-winning flagship studio show MLB Tonight and MLB Network's special event coverage throughout the year.

Lowell, who joined MLB Network in 2011, is a four-time All-Star and 2005 Gold Glove Award winner. Lowell batted .279 with 223 home runs and 952 RBI in his 13-year playing career. Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999-2005) and Boston Red Sox (2006-2010). He is the recipient of the 2006 MLB.com Defensive Player of the Year Award and the 2006 Jackie Jensen Spirit Award.

As the 2007 World Series MVP, Lowell was a key member of Boston's second World Series championship in four years, batting .400 with four RBI and six runs scored during the series.

Lowell was also part of the 2003 World Series champion Marlins, hitting 32 home runs and recording 105 RBI during the season to win the NL Silver Slugger Award at third base.

Lowell's autobiography, Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within, was published in 2008, detailing his recovery from cancer and rise to World Series champion.