Live From MLB at Rickwood Field: MLB Network Eulogizes Willie Mays in Real Time During Tuesday's MiLB Broadcast Staff in Secaucus, NJ, was a massive help for the smaller crew in Birmingham, AL By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor Thursday, June 20, 2024 - 2:44 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The past three days in Birmingham can easily be seen as a celebration of the Negro Leagues and Major League Baseball, but the festivities turned somber on Tuesday night with the sudden death of all-time great Willie Mays. Producing MiLB at Rickwood Field - a minor-league game between the Birmingham Barons and Montgomery Biscuits - MLB Network's production and operations teams in the broadcast compound and at home in Secaucus, NJ, quickly shifted gears to relay the information to viewers.
Going into the week, no one expected this to happen, says Marc Caiafa, SVP, production, MLB Network. It was amazing that we were here at the field where he started his professional baseball career.
Honoring a Legend on the Fly: Secaucus-Based Crew, Onsite Team Work To Share the News Mays's death shook Major League Baseball and the sports world, and, when the MLB Network crew learned the news in the middle of the game, they acted quickly to convey the information on the live broadcast. Before the San Francisco Giants released their official statement during the minor-league game's seventh inning, the core group of onsite department leads - VP, Live Events, Chris Pfeiffer; Caiafa from production; and Senior Director, Remote Technical Operations, Jason Hedgcock from operations - met in their production facility in the compound to come up with a plan. Nightly studio show Quick Pitch was getting ready in New Jersey after the game's conclusion, but Coordinating Producer Dan Komyati pivoted by bringing host Brian Kenny - on his way home after finishing his on-air duties - back to Secaucus for MLB Tonight after the final out. At Rickwood Field, the front bench - Producer Keith Costas, Director Dan Gentile, Associate Director Sharon Roper, and Technical Director Chris Graham - alerted play-by-play announcer Rich Waltz, analyst Chris Young, and comedian and Birmingham native Roy Wood Jr. Waltz, who lived near the Bay Area and attended many of Mays's games as a kid, delivered the message to viewers with notable emotion.
@RichWaltz was understandably emotional when he read the statement released by the @SFGiants on the passing of Willie Mays.
Rich is currently calling the MiLB at Rickwood Field game, where the festivities to honor the Negro Leagues are underway. pic.twitter.com/1jkhaODOt0
- . (@saul_r26) June 19, 2024
With Chris telling stories about his interactions with Willie and Roy having grown up in Birmingham, the three of them did a great job, says Pfeiffer. We didn't have the [MLB Tonight] studio ready to go, so we did almost an hour's worth of content from the booth as the game was going on.
Before Waltz informed the televised audience, the crew in Birmingham and the team in Secaucus worked to develop a 12-minute-long obituary video that would play live on MLB Network. Supervisor, Media Management, Bobby Brown took the lead by diving into the network's footage archive, downloading the finished video, saving it to a hard drive, and giving it to Hedgcock, who forwarded the feed to the Game Creek Video mobile unit.
24-time All-Star, 12-time Gold Glover, 2-time MVP, World Series champion, Hall of Famer.
MLB Network mourns the passing of one of our game's most iconic figures, Willie Mays. pic.twitter.com/gQLCnbm2lN
- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 19, 2024
We took a commercial break when the obit ended, but we came back just in time for the fans to see and hear the announcement inside the stadium, says Pfeiffer. We showed some of the reactions in the stands and stayed [at Rickwood Field] without taking two breaks. Ultimately, we had a lot of good people in place, and everybody stayed calm in the moment.
It was a full team effort inside the production truck, with contributions from a variety of positions, including Graphics Producer Nathan Daggett, who created a graphic of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred's official statement; Tape Producer Jacob Catalano; Lead EVS Operator Jordan Rebimbas; and A1 Jamie Wehner.
When the Biscuits recorded the final out in their 6-5 victory, Kenny took the reins on MLB Tonight and interviewed numerous guests about Mays's impact on their lives and the game of baseball. Some of these remote guests were booked on short notice by VP, News and Production, Doug Jaclin, including MLB Network's Tom Verducci from his home and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Bob Costas from Yankee Stadium via Ballpark Cam. Zoom interviews with Ken Griffey Jr. and Harold Reynolds were integrated by VP, Content Logistics and Field Production, Ben Friedfeld - working from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
I'm just grateful and thankful that I was able to spend the time I had with him because he is a true giant, on and off the field. Ken Griffey Jr. on Willie Mays pic.twitter.com/wuba7Ee0Gf
- MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 19, 2024
We completely reprogrammed the rest of the night, Caiafa points out. The results of games from across the league became secondary.
Coming Through in the Clutch: Tech Execution, Team Adaptability Prove Pivotal As the proceedings unfolded on screen, Hedgcock and other members of the technical team - including Senior Director, Remote Operations, Brooke Berger and Manager, Remote Broadcast Operations, Jennifer McGinity - were rock solid in providing all the necessary pieces to compose the tribute to one of MLB's greatest ambassadors. Despite being understaffed in Secaucus and the tech challenges related to a century-old stadium in Birmingham, production and operations
