Tim Kurkjian Champions America’s National Pastime, One Game at a Time

It makes sense that as a baseball love, his favorite event to cover is the World Series.

“I’ve covered every World Series since 1981. The 1991 World Series, I think, was the most exciting event that I’ve ever covered… In 1990, the [Atlanta] Braves and the [Minnesota] Twins had finished in last place, and then both teams ended up in the World Series the next year. The first six games of the World Series were tremendous and spectacular, and then we got this epic game 7 with a 1-0 shutout pitched by Jack Morris that could never happen today,” Kurkjian said.

“It [The Metrodome in Minnesota] was in the loudest building I’ve ever been in in my life. It was so unbelievably loud in there, it was wonderful. Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated and I were writing that story. I wrote the sidebar, he wrote the game story, and I couldn’t even hear him speak. It was so loud in that building, and I was sitting right next to him. So you add the flavor of the ballpark, the stakes, which is game seven of the World Series, and then you get this amazing 1-0 game that’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever covered,” he explained.

Awards and Recognition

His dedication to baseball is such that he has done what few other non-players have done: The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, for his work and dedication to baseball, honored him for his achievements. He also became the 73rd writer to win the career excellence award in 2022.

He said, “The Career Excellence Award was the greatest weekend, professional weekend of my life. And there, there is not a close second,” Kurkjian said. “I was actually at the grocery store when I got the news that I had won the award. I was dragging a rotisserie chicken through the self-scanner at the Harris Teeter when I got the call from Jack O’Connell of the baseball writers that I had won and right there and the Harris Teeter, I started to cry.”

“The next morning, Johnny Bench, the greatest catcher of all time, in my opinion, called me on the phone and said, ‘Welcome to The Club, you’re one of us now.’ … It is a huge difference obviously, but the greatest catcher of all time called me and he told me, among other things, he said, ‘You know, Tim, it’s moments like this that take you back to Little League”, and I was just about ready to cry again.’

Despite all the prestige and recognition, the humble and self-effacing Kurkjian still acknowledges his primary goal is telling stories about baseball.

“I would never sit around and say I don’t have to try this week, I’m a Hall of Famer. I can write a lousy story because I’m a Hall of Famer, or I don’t have to do a good job on this game or this story or this show that I’m doing on TV because I’m a Hall of Famer. No, you can’t do that,” Kurkjian said.

“It doesn’t matter what you did before. There’s a story to write tonight, there’s a game to do, there’s a show to do, and it’s your job to do it right. At least it doesn’t matter to me what I’ve accomplished up to this point. If I don’t do the job tonight, I have failed, and I just can’t let that happen, no matter what,” he said.

Baseball for Little Ones

Kurkjian is primarily known for his work covering professional baseball, but his reputation has given him the opportunity to cover other levels of baseball beyond the professional level. He is part of ESPN’s coverage of the Little League World Series. Kurkjian described the unique experience of seeing kids simply playing for the love of the game.

“The Little League World Series, other than the real World Series, is my favorite event to cover. I just think it is the purest form of baseball. It’s a bunch of 12-year-old kids who love the game. It’s about mom and dad, little brother, little sister, grandma, and grandpa coming to watch a 12-year-old play on national TV. And I just think it’s the most wholesome thing in the world,” Kurkjian said.

“I talked to a woman who drove from Oregon to Williamsport, Penn., because she knew it was a bucket list destination, and I hear those stories all the time. It’s the most beautiful story out there, and I just love being a part of it. Television doesn’t do justice to going to Williamsport. You actually have to go into that beautiful little ballpark in that ludicrously charming little place to appreciate how great it is,” he added.

Kurkjian touched on other topics outside of the major leagues, addressing the proposals to add baseball to the Summer Olympics with the Los Angeles 2028 games four years away.

“I think baseball should be in the Olympics every four years. Baseball is a great game, and when it’s played in the Olympics, it’s really good. The only problem is, there’s just no way that I could see that we can play our best players in the Olympics,” Kurkjian said.

“We can’t ask Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, and all these people to leave their major league teams, which are paying them an enormous amount of money, and leave for two weeks in the heart of the baseball season, in the middle of the pennant race. I just don’t see how we’re going to be able to do that… So I’m all in favor of the Olympics every year having baseball, but I don’t think there’s a real way to keep all the major leaguers involved,” he explained.

State of Baseball

Kurkjian began covering baseball in 1979. He explained how the perception of the sport has changed throughout his career and how it does not hold the same position at the top for many.

“I’m a little worried. When I first started covering baseball in 1979, baseball was the national pastime, and there was no doubt about it. I say this with great regret and sadness. I don’t believe it’s the national pastime anymore,” Kurkjian said. “Obviously, it’s still the greatest game ever. It always will be, and there is an exceptionally large pocket of fans that feel the same way that I do, but it’s clear to me that football is now King in this country.”

He added, “I just think it’s in part because the game (baseball) doesn’t move quickly enough for today’s world in which everyone wants instant gratification. They want something now, they want it to be flashy, they want it to be fast and bright, and baseball doesn’t always provide that. To me, it is and always will be the greatest game, I just don’t think it’s held in as high esteem in this country as maybe it was 40-45 years ago.”

Kurkjian analyzed baseball’s attempt to bring back fans who have stopped watching over the years with the rule changes that have been implemented, such as efforts to make it faster.

“I’m very much in favor of the pitch clock, and I wasn’t sure about that, but after seeing how it has cut out essentially 30 minutes of dead time in every game, that’s a really good thing for baseball,” Kurkjian said. “I’m not sure I understand why we need bigger bases. Why can’t we throw over to first base more than twice. I really will never understand why we put a ghost runner at second base to start the 10th inning of a tie game. Overall, I think baseball has done a good job identifying that it needed to change, and it has changed. And I think for the most part, it has changed for the better.”

Kurkjian has been intrigued, like many other fans, by the close nature of this year’s playoff race in baseball. He expressed his excitement and gave his prediction on who would play in the World Series.

“That’s the most impossible question because we are so evenly matched right now, it’s virtually impossible to figure out. I’m going to say the Phillies are going to play the Orioles in the World Series. So many teams are evenly matched, and I could comfortably pick ten teams to win the World Series. I can’t remember a year where I could say that,” Kurkjian said. “Baseball is the most unpredictable sport, and I think that is its ultimate beauty.”

Tough Questions Facing Baseball

As a well-respected analyst, Kurkjian has had a vote for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for decades, giving him a say in one of the major debates of the 21st century being what to do with the players who used steroids.

“I’ve been a Hall of Fame voter for 32 years or so, and I don’t know how to deal with the steroid guys, but I have to. So, I voted for instance for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens all 10 years that they were eligible. I’m not saying for a second that I was correct doing that, and I would never object to anyone who didn’t vote for those guys,” Kurkjian said. (Both Bonds and Clemens are considered controversial because of their confirmed use of performance enhancing drugs. Neither has been inducted yet into the Baseball Hall of Fame.)

He added, “To me, there was this tacit agreement going on back then where nobody was testing, nobody was checking and there was no penalty. I think so many players were doing it. So that’s why I voted for Bonds and Clemens during that era… But the Hall of Fame steroid users being in or out? Is he a Hall of Famer or isn’t he? It is by far the hardest thing that I’ve had to deal with in all the years that I’ve covered baseball.”

While the steroid era is more a debate about how baseball should be remembered, a new issue that could directly impact the result of the game has emerged in recent years. Many states have loosened restrictions on gambling, increasing popularity of sports betting. It is now easier for fans to bet on games than it ever has been before, and Kurkjian expressed his concern on what it will do to the validity of baseball.

“I’m worried about all the betting that is surrounding baseball and the other sports right now, you know the Black Sox Scandal is something that nearly ruined the game. If you’re not sure whether you know that ball went under the first baseman’s glove because he wasn’t trying, then nothing, nothing else matters. The winning and the losing of the game is all that matters. If in some way that is compromised by a bet or somebody throwing something or not trying to win, then baseball doesn’t mean anything,” Kurkjian said.

“I covered portions of the Pete Rose suspension for life, and it did real damage to the game that one of the greatest players ever bet on baseball while he was the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. So I think we have to be extra, extra careful that we never have another situation like Pete Rose, certainly like the Black Sox. Otherwise, I’m not sure baseball will be able to recover from it, because it is such a serious topic,” he said.

Outside of Baseball

Kurkjian’s job covering baseball varies throughout the year, as the Major League season sees no games from November through the beginning of spring training in February. As such, there is a lot of downtime to be filled throughout the year.

Kurkjian has taken the extra time he has in the offseason to work on other passion projects. Kurkjian has written three books about baseball, America’s Game (2000), Is This a Great Game, or What? (2007), and I’m Fascinated by Sacrifice Flies (2016).

“Writing a book is the most satisfying writing experience that I have. I’ve written three books, I thoroughly enjoyed all three. They were extremely difficult to do because it just requires an enormous amount of work and an enormous amount of discipline. But you know, once those books arrive on your doorstep in a big box and they’ve got your name on it, it’s such a thrill,” Kurkjian said.

“Nothing writing-wise gives me greater pleasure than someone who comes up to me and says, ‘I bought your book.’ To watch a game on TV or watch baseball tonight doesn’t take that much effort. Just sit down on your couch and turn the TV on. For a book, you have to go to the store, buy a book, and read a book. That’s commitment, and it’s such a thrill,” he added.

While Kurkjian has had a long career covering baseball, he is not the only person in his family who has had a stellar career in journalism. His cousin, Stephen Kurkjian, was an investigative reporter for the Boston Globe Spotlight team for nearly 40 years, winning Pulitzer prizes for his reporting, and was a part of the group which uncovered the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal.

“Steve is the greatest investigative reporter in the history of the Boston Globe, which is really saying something. He was the ringleader of the Spotlight team, which exposed corruption in Boston. There used to be a joke that for corrupt people in Boston, the five worst words of the English language were ‘Stephen Kurkjian is on the phone.’ He was absolutely relentless when it came to finding a story. And I’m just so proud to call a Pulitzer Prize winner my cousin,” Kurkjian said.

Kurkjian has achieved great success in his career, but he remains the same humble baseball fan that he was as a young man.

“I just want people to look at my career and say that guy cared, that guy tried, and that guy loved the game. To me, that’s the most important thing,” he said.

To see more of Kurkjian’s work, tune in to “Baseball Tonight” and “Sportscenter.”