Happy anniversary to TWIB Damon, Lowe to host TWIB's 25th season debut

Happy anniversary to TWIB

Damon, Lowe to host TWIB's 25th season debut

By Jonathan Mayo / MLB.com

Sure Opening Day is nice, with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. But to many, the baseball season doesn't truly begin until "This Week in Baseball" hits the airwaves.

Consider the wait over, as TWIB begins its 25th season this Saturday. And for the third straight year, the show will be hosted by superstar players and celebrities every week.

"The show is very much a player's show," MLB Productions Senior Managing Producer Steve Fortunato said. "It's an all-access look at players on and off the field. It's a hip show that gets you closer to the players than ever before."

To debut the best -- TWIB is the longest running sports anthology series in American broadcast history -- MLB Productions went to the best, the Boston Red Sox. Derek Lowe and Johnny Damon co-host the opening show, which can be seen on FOX at 12:30 p.m. ET and PT on Saturday, June 1, before the FOX Game of the Week -- the Yankees vs. the Red Sox.

"We figured we wanted to go with the hot hand to start the first show," Fortunato said.

Derek Lowe   /   P
	Height: 6'6" Weight: 205 Bats/Throws: R/R More info: Player page Stats Splits Red Sox site

Lowe will discuss how the Red Sox are a new organization with new ownership and a new attitude. He'll also talk about his remarkable journey, from top closer one year, to deposed closer and struggling reliever the next, to top starter this season.

Damon, who got a taste of winning baseball in his year with Oakland, will tell fans about what a thrill it is to join a team with such a great tradition and what it's like to play the outfield in Fenway Park.

Johnny Damon   /   CF
	Height: 6'2" Weight: 190 Bats/Throws: L/L More info: Player page Stats Splits Hit chart Red Sox site

TWIB has some great names lined up to host future episodes as well. Astros slugger Lance Berkman will host next week. Derek Jeter and Carlos Delgado will become the first players to have return engagements on TWIB.

Torii Hunter, Sean Casey and the Oakland pitching trio of Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson have also signed on to host the show.

There are more than just baseball players itching to be a part of TWIB. Dennis Quaid will host an episode to correspond with the release of "The Rookie" on DVD, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will take the reins one week.

In addition to the celebrity hosts, TWIB will be paced by segments people have come to know and love over the last quarter-century, as well as some new wrinkles here and there.

TWIB notes, one of the show's signature elements, will look at the remarkable feat of hitting four homers in a game in the first episode. You'll hear from Mike Cameron and Shawn Green, who became the first duo ever to accomplish the four-pack in one season.

TWIB introduces the Pepsi Pitch, Hit and Run Skill of the Week on Saturday. Sammy Sosa will dissect his approach to hitting and how he manages to generate his power so consistently. He'll even breakdown video from his early White Sox days and compare who he is today as a hitter to when he first came up.

Because this is the 25th year of TWIB, which debuted in 1977 with Mel Allen as host, there will be tributes to the show throughout the year, looking back at great moments. With the Boston theme in mind, this week's TWIB will recapture the 1999 All-Star Game, including the All-Century team announcements and the spontaneous gathering around Ted Williams on the Fenway Park mound.

The show is capped off by the How About That? segment, named for Allen's most famous catch phrase, which he used liberally while introducing bloopers and great plays. For the first time, the highlights will feature a commercial artist each week. In episode one, female rapper SK's Holla Back will accompany the segment.

There will also be guest hosts for the segment each week. First up, the Marlins' Preston Wilson and Cliff Floyd will provide their commentary of the best plays and bloopers of the 2002 season.

So there's a little bit of everything for everyone -- some new, some old -- this season on TWIB. Now the season is truly under way.

Jonathan Mayo is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.