Thom Brennaman to host 'PBL Roundup Show' about Pioneer League with Joe List, Bill Bavasi

The Pioneer Baseball League announced Tuesday that former Cincinnati Reds play-by-play broadcaster Thom Brennaman will host "The PBL Roundup Show" about the league, which includes clubs in Montana (Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, and Kalispell), Idaho (Boise and Idaho Falls), Utah (Ogden), and Colorado (Grand Junction, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs).

In 2020, the league was designated a "Partner League" of Major League Baseball.

"I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am to be a part of this," said Brennaman, per pioneerleague.com. "We're going to be on the cutting edge of how live sports, particularly baseball, needs to be re-packaged in order to attract new fans. For me personally, this is a great opportunity to give something back to help assure the future of the game."

Doc's Morning Line: Brennaman deserves another shot at his broadcasting career

From Pioneer Baseball League via Twitter:

More from the league's release:

The PBL Roundup Show will stream each Wednesday night of the PBL season (see schedule below) on pblnetwork.com, pioneerleague.com and the Pioneer League team websites. The format of The PBL Roundup Show will include insider baseball commentary, analysis, comedy, special baseball and entertainment industry guests and unique in-game, first-hand perspectives from players, coaches and fans. Live cut-ins to each of the PBL games that night will be featured.

“Think Peyton and Eli meets Red Zone Football,” said Pioneer League President Mike Shapiro. “We want to immerse the audience into the joy and passion of minor league baseball through a completely different lens. It’s part podcast, part comedy show and part analysis from some very knowledgeable baseball insiders.”

In addition to Brennaman, The PBL Round Up Show will be co-hosted by famed comedian Joe List.

The third co-host, Bill Bavasi, brings a wealth of baseball experience having served as General Manager of both the Mariners and Angels, farm director of the Dodgers, VP of Player Development and Scouting for the Reds and, recently, the general manager of MLB’s Arizona Fall League.

Brennaman appeared in Nov. 2021 on the podcast of former Sacramento Kings broadcaster Grant Napear, "If You Don't Like That With Grant Napear," and suggested that he's seen and heard enough of the criticism of his on-air apology in 2020 for using a homophobic slur, which included a Nick Castellanos home-run call.

During a sportsbroadcastjournal.com interview with David J. Halberstam in Sept. 2021, Brennaman talked about calling high school football games and hosting a podcast as he's done since losing his jobs calling Reds games in addition to NFL games for Fox.

In July 2021, Brennaman appeared on "The Josh Potter Show" and discussed a number of subjects, including being able to accept people's jokes about the now-famous "drive into deep left field by Castellanos" call he made while apologizing.

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