Braves TBS Baseball network's rights fee payments to Major League Baseball. In turn, national sponsors could fulfill their advertising commitments by purchasing ads on TBS, in addition to ESPN or Fox. The move was strongly criticized by Braves fans, Atlanta area media outlets and team manager Bobby Cox. Over 90% of Braves fans who voted in an online poll conducted by the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" newspaper preferred the team of Caray and Van Wieren to the more neutral broadcasts. The move backfired, and ratings for the TBS broadcasts declined sharply. After that year's All-Star break, TBS brought back Caray and Van Wieren to work
Bobby Pierce (baseball coach, born 1978) Bobby Pierce (baseball coach, born 1978) Bobby Fitzroy Pierce (born October 17, 1978) is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons baseball team. He has held that position since the 2009 season. He played at UNLV, Central Arizona, and New Mexico State. With Central Arizona, he played in the 1999 JUCO World Series. He began his coaching career as an assistant with Central Arizona for one season before becoming an assistant at Arkansas–Little Rock. Two seasons later, he became head coach at NCAA Division II Metro State before accepting the same