Former star pitchers John Smoltz and Al Leiter will not appear in the studios of the MLB Network after refusing to receive a coronavirus vaccine, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed.
The network instituted a vaccine mandate for all employees at its Secaucus, N.J., campus that went into effect Wednesday. Smoltz and Leiter will continue to appear on the network’s studio programming remotely.
Smoltz, a Hall of Famer, is still expected to travel during the postseason and call the division series for the network, which does not mandate vaccines for broadcasters calling games on-site.
An MLB Network spokesman declined to comment on the record. A representative for Smoltz did not return a message seeking a request for comment. A spokesman for the New York Mets, for whom Leiter is an adviser, did not reply to an email seeking comment from Leiter.
Smoltz is also the lead analyst on Fox Sports’s baseball coverage, calling games alongside play-by-play announcer Joe Buck. A network spokesperson said Smoltz’s role calling games for that network, including the remainder of the regular season, championship series and World Series, will remain the same. Buck, through a representative, declined to comment.
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