When it comes to baseball’s TV analysts, former players often make some of the best announcers out there. They not only know the game well, but they are familiar with situations players are going through, can explain the game better and have connections to players and management that can give them a little extra insight.
While not all of the best TV analysts are former ball players and not all former ball players are always good analysts, there is a real connection between the two.
Please note that I am only going with players that had a big league career. That means I am leaving off guys like Rod Allen, who had just 50 career at-bats. I am also leaving off play-by-play guys to go with true analysts, I have included analysts from ESPN and MLB Network who aren’t in-game analysts, but still do an excellent job.