Edit by Liam McGuire, Comeback Media.

Turns out there is room at The Battery after all.

After joking with Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh about showing up late and possibly being shut out of the festivities, Pat McAfee confirmed Thursday that his eponymous show will indeed be broadcasting live from Atlanta on the day of the Home Run Derby.

“Breaking news: We will be live from, I believe it’s called the Roxy Theater, which is connected to Truist Park down there in Atlanta, Monday, the day of the Home Run Derby,” McAfee said on his July 3 show. “Shout-out to the MLB for inviting us. Obviously, the All-Star Game is on Tuesday; Monday is the Home Run Derby. It’s a spectacle of baseball and, obviously, the Home Run Derby is the most electrifying sporting event, year in, year out…”

ESPN confirmed its full All-Star coverage plans, including McAfee’s involvement, following the holiday weekend.

The Pat McAfee Show will also hit the road for a Derby-day show in Atlanta, Ga. The show will be available live from 12-2 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, YouTube, and TikTok Live and from 2-3 p.m. on ESPN+, Disney+, YouTube and TikTok Live. The Pat McAfee Show will emanate from the Coca-Cola Roxy, adjacent to Truist Park – home of the Atlanta Braves.MLB Draft Presented By Nike

So far, confirmed Derby participants include Raleigh, James Wood, Byron Buxton, and Ronald Acuña Jr., who announced his return to the event during a SportsCenter appearance with Elle Duncan. Two-time champ Pete Alonso won’t participate this year, nor will Aaron Judge.

The rest of the Home Run Derby field is still to be determined, with a handful of stars yet to make their intentions known. What’s also unclear is whether MLB will make Derby participants and All-Star selections available to The Pat McAfee Show during its Tuesday afternoon broadcast from The Battery.

McAfee won’t be the only draw in Atlanta during All-Star Week. His show is part of a broader slate of ESPN programming built around the Home Run Derby. That includes a Georgia stop in SportsCenter’s “50 States in 50 Days” series, a special pre-Derby edition of Baseball Tonight, and the return of the Statcast-powered alternate broadcast.

The main event will once again be called by Karl Ravech and Eduardo Pérez, joined this year by Todd Frazier. The former All-Star — and 2015 Derby champ with the Reds — returns to the booth a decade after winning the first Derby to use the now-standard timed format.

McAfee’s Derby-day broadcast is just one piece of ESPN’s expanded presence in Atlanta, as the network teams with MLB for a full slate of All-Star Week programming. ESPN and MLB are back at the negotiating table, with commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly setting the All-Star Break as an informal deadline to make progress on a new media rights deal.

Whether that deadline leads to a breakthrough remains to be seen, but ESPN’s on-site commitment — from McAfee’s show to alternate broadcasts and studio coverage — is at least a sign that the network still sees long-term value in being one of MLB’s primary media partners.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.