Recently Retired Stars Named NBC Sports’ Pregame Team for Exclusive Coverage of MLB Postseason Wild Card Round
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – February 8, 2026 – Recently retired Major League Baseball stars Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo, and Joey Votto have joined NBC Sports’ Major League Baseball coverage, it was announced today.
Kershaw, Rizzo, and Votto will serve as NBC Sports’ pregame analysts for its exclusive MLB Postseason coverage of all Wild Card games on NBC and Peacock.
In addition, based upon schedules and availability, the three will appear on select pregame shows leading into regular-season Sunday Night Baseball games on NBC and Peacock, alongside hosts Bob Costas and Ahmed Fareed.
“We’re excited to welcome Clayton, Anthony and Joey, three stars right off the field who can provide fresh perspective on the players, teams, and everything that makes baseball special,” said Sam Flood, Executive Producer and President of Production, NBC Sports. “We look forward to rolling out some new concepts to take advantage of the unique insights of each analyst, beginning on Opening Day.”
Following is a look at NBC Sports’ new MLB analysts:
- Clayton Kershaw completed his 18th and final season in 2025 by winning his third World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the most dominant pitchers of his generation, Kershaw posted a 223-96 career record for a .699 winning percentage – third best in MLB history (minimum 100 decisions). A left-hander, he recorded more than 3,000 career strikeouts, was an 11-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner and National League Most Valuable Player in 2014, a year in which he pitched a no-hitter. In addition, the Dallas native led the NL in earned run average five times and in wins and strikeouts three times. In 2012, Kershaw earned MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award, which is regarded as MLB’s most prestigious individual honor for a player who exhibits exemplary community service, for his charitable work, which included building an orphanage with his wife, Ellen, in Africa.
- Anthony Rizzo is a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove-winning first baseman who is perhaps best known for catching the final out of the 2016 World Series for the Chicago Cubs, breaking the team’s 108-year championship drought. Rizzo also hit .360 in that World Series. In 2016, Rizzo was awarded the Platinum Glove as the NL’s best overall defensive player. Over 14 seasons with the Padres, Cubs and Yankees, the lefty slugger hit 303 home runs and had four seasons with at least 100 RBIs. A survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the Florida native was the 2017 recipient of the Clemente Award for the work of the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, which benefits cancer research and families affected by the disease.
- Joey Votto spent 17 years with the Cincinnati Reds, with whom he was a six-time All-Star, the 2010 NL Most Valuable Player and 2011 Gold Glove first baseman. Known for his power and patience, the left-handed hitter compiled a .294 career batting average and blasted 356 career home runs while leading the NL in on-base percentage seven times. He helped the Reds reach the Postseason four times in his career. Votto, a native of Toronto, also turned in numerous memorable interviews and mic’d up moments as a player, becoming a fan favorite across the game.
In November 2025, NBCUniversal and Major League Baseball announced a three-year media rights agreement that returns baseball to NBC and Peacock with a showcase package of exclusive games and events. NBC Sports’ schedule begins on Thurs., March 26 with 2025 NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates facing Juan Soto and the New York Mets at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, followed by the only MLB primetime game that night as the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers raise their banner leading into a matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks (8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock).
The agreement is headlined by exclusive packages across NBC, NBCSN and Peacock, including primetime’s Sunday Night Baseball, a Peacock-exclusive MLB Sunday Leadoff package of games followed by a Sunday afternoon whip-around show, an exclusive “Opening Day” primetime game (March 26), a new Labor Day primetime tradition, and the entire Wild Card round of the Postseason.
ABOUT NBC SPORTS
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