MLB Network‘s “Prime 9” countdown show is returning to the schedule.
The program, which has been off the programming list since 2015, is set to return on Monday, December 11, with noted sportscaster Bob Costas as the host. During the show, MLB Network offers the “nine best” in a wide array of different categories, including the nine best players at each on-field position in the sport.
““When MLB Network started in 2009, and for the first few years after that, Prime 9 was a signature program for the network. There were dozens of various categories, but eventually the inventory ran its course But in the decade-plus since then, new players, new baseball issues, new records, new “curses” broken and extended and more have emerged,” says Costas in a statement. “All sports have histories, debates, and generational comparisons. But baseball has the richest history of any American sport. And has more ongoing debates and “all-time lists” than any other sport. Those conversations have long been part of the lifeblood of the game. As someone who has followed and reveled in all that my entire life, I am very pleased to be the voice of the next episodes of Prime 9.”
MLB Network will air the program across five nights, from December 11 to December 15, with two new episodes each day. Episodes will air at 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. eastern, then run again at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Costas has deep roots with MLB Network, serving as one of its original personnel when the network debuted in 2009. He 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.