Jeremy Guthrie excited that he'll make his broadcasting debut at Royals game

Former Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie had long considered trying his hand at broadcasting when his playing days came to an end.

Guthrie, who retired last year, will get his chance Wednesday when he is part of the Facebook broadcast of the Royals’ game in Toronto. He’ll be in the booth as an analyst with MLB Network play-by-play announcer Scott Braun. Former Expos star Cliff Floyd also will be an analyst, and Alexa Datt will work as an in-game reporter.

To make his debut at a Royals game is a plus for Guthrie.

“It obviously,” he quipped, “gives me the best chance to not be terrible.”

Guthrie, who was with the Royals from 2012-15, relished the opportunity to make his debut covering Kansas City.

“It’ll be fun to talk about the Royals for obvious reasons, and actually, if I could pick a place to go, Toronto was my favorite place to pitch,” Guthrie said. “So even the nuance of doing a game for the Royals in Toronto I think is fun as well.”

Wednesday’s contest, which begins at 3:07 p.m., will be the third game to be shown exclusively on Facebook. Last month, Major League Baseball announced a 25-game deal on the digital platform.

At this time, Guthrie, who said he still keeps in touch with Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez, is dipping his toe in the broadcast world.

“I have interest in this for sure,” Guthrie said. “The foreseeable future, for me, probably won’t allow for much of it, but I’ve had discussions in the past with (Royals vice president of communications and broadcasting) Mike Swanson and expressed an interest in this.

“It’s a great way to stay close to the game and stay involved in something you really love while at the same time having a little bit more flexibility than maybe some of the other positions that former players might take in order to stay close to the game. I think it’s an excellent opportunity for me, and even though it’s just one game right now, I very much look forward to it.”

This story was originally published April 15, 2018 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Jeremy Guthrie excited that he'll make his broadcasting debut at Royals game."