The YES Network is not bringing back longtime New York Yankees analyst and play-by-play announcer John Flaherty as part of a series of moves to streamline its broadcasts to feature its leading commentators, David Cone, Paul O’Neill and Joe Girardi, sources briefed on the decision told The Athletic.
Flaherty, 58, had been on Yankees broadcasts for two decades after playing three seasons with the team during a 14-year catching career. Cone, O’Neill and Girardi all won championships with the Yankees and are part of the Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera championship dynasty run in the late 1990s and into the 2000s. The plan is for one or two of the analyst trio to be on every broadcast next year.
Cone has been a commentator on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.” Next season, under a new, yet-to-be-announced agreement, ESPN will no longer have “Sunday Night Baseball” but will have 30 exclusive weekday games at various points during the season.
As part of the YES roster renovation, part-time analysts Jeff Nelson and Dave Valle will also not return for Yankee broadcasts in 2026. A YES spokesperson confirmed the Flaherty, Nelson and Valle decisions.
Flaherty told The Athletic he was not surprised by the move when YES executive producer Jared Boshnack officially informed him Monday. Flaherty had an option in his contract that YES declined in August, but could have attempted to re-sign him to a new deal.
“I was kind of prepared for it so I think that helped,” Flaherty said. “It quickly went from, the reality that you are not going to be back to what a great run for 20 years to go right from retiring as a player to right into the booth in 2006 and stay with the same network for 20 years. I just became very grateful for what a long and great run it has been at YES and being connected with the Yankees all those years.”
Flaherty said it is kind of exciting to think there could be other opportunities in broadcasting or maybe doing something professional outside of baseball for the first time in nearly four decades as he signed his first minor league contract at 20 years old.
While Flaherty was well prepared and well received as an analyst and pinch hit when lead play-by-player Michael Kay and No. 2 Ryan Ruocco were unavailable, YES has been derided in some circles for its lack of consistency in the analyst booth. Across town for the New York Mets, the SNY trio of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez were in the booth together and have generally been considered the best local booth in the game.
Kay will call around 135 games next season; Ruocco will call around 15 games between his ESPN schedule.
With Girardi, who won championships as both a player and a manager, returning to the YES booth in 2024, the cutbacks were made possible because YES felt it had three marquee analysts to feature.
After the season, all networks re-evaluate where they stand, so YES is doing a complete inventory of both its game and studio productions. Bob Lorenz and Jack Curry are the longtime YES pregame and postgame stalwarts.
YES has tried to reposition its game broadcasts in recent years. In 2022, YES brought in Carlos Beltran and Cameron Maybin to be part of its game and studio analysts, but quickly moved on from the duo. Beltran left on his own to join the Mets front office a year later.
Now, it is focusing on its most recent dynasty run, featuring what it considers its three top analysts, Cone, O’Neill and Girardi.
About the Author
