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 Smith (baseball) Bobby Smith (baseball) Bobby Gene Smith (May 28, 1934 - November 24, 2015) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in 376 games in the Major Leagues between – for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Angels. He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Smith was an original member of the Mets, drafted with the 32nd selection in the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft. However, he only spent the first two weeks of the season with the team, playing in eight games, including five as