This week marks an anniversary of sorts for Matt Vasgersian.
And with it comes a return to the city he thought he would have made a permanent return to several years ago.
“I thought it would be three years and out,” he recalled. “I’d go to New York, be part of the launch (of MLB Network), and it would be cool. I’d always wanted to live in New York but in three years I’d come back to San Diego and do … something.”
That was July 15, 2009. The TV voice of the Padres for seven seasons starting in 2002, he accepted an offer after the 2008 season to become MLB Network’s first studio host. The network launched in January 2009, and Vasgersian left La Jolla for good that summer.
But three years “turned into far more than that, for many different reasons,” Vasgersian said. There’s the job he loves, but there’s also the matter of the woman with two kids he met and married a few years ago. They now have a 2-year-old son of their own and Vasgersian is living the suburban life in northern New Jersey.
He’s been back to Petco a few times since 2008, and it’s not like he’ll need a guide to show him around when he arrives Sunday to call the All-Star Futures Game for MLB Network (4 p.m.). He’ll also the be the on-field emcee for Monday’s All-Star Home Run Derby and call Tuesday’s All-Star Game for MLB International.
He’s still associated with the Padres by some. Vasgersian spoke of attending a Fox production meeting Friday in Los Angeles for Saturday’s Padres-Dodgers game, and someone said to him, “You know these guys.”
Except … he really doesn’t.
He called Padres games for seven seasons; we’re halfway through the eighth season since he left. Sure, there are some behind-the-scenes people still at Petco he knows, and he remains good friends with his former broadcast partner Mark Grant, but that’s about it, especially since Bud Black was fired 13 months ago.
“When Buddy (Black) was dismissed,” Vasgersian said of the move last June, “he was the last guy attached to the team that I really related to.”
In whatever spare time he might have on this trip, Vasgersian said he’ll visit some of his favorite haunts: Pacifica Del Mar, which he called “one of his favorite restaurants in the world;” El Pescador in La Jolla for a salmon burger; and “a coffee place in the middle of Little Italy I hope is still there. I’ll probably meet Mud (Grant) so we can recreate dumb baseball stories from the Padres, circa 2002.”
Vasgersian will be ed in the booth Sunday and Tuesday by Mark DeRosa, the former Braves (among many others) infielder. He said he’s really looking forward to Sunday’s Futures Game, which takes a lot of preparation but “some signature moment usually comes out of it, which is pretty cool.”
SDSU alums to ump
San Diego State alums Mike Winters and Kerwin Danley were named as part of the umpiring crew for Tuesday’s game. Winters, an Oceanside native who has worked three previous All-Star Games, will be the crew chief and work behind the plate. Danley, whose only previous All-Star Game was in 2007, will be at first base.
The other umpires named: Marty Foster (second base), Bill Welke (third base), Adrian Johnson (left field) and Dan Bellino (right field). Sam Holbrook will be in New York to rule on replays.
OF changes for NL
Pittsburgh’s Starling Marte and Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce were named to the NL All-Star team to replace a pair of injured outfielders, Yoenis Cespedes of the Mets and Dexter Fowler of the Cubs.
Cespedes and Fowler were voted by fans to start the game. The new starters will be Marcell Ozuna of Miami and Carlos Gonzalez of Colorado. They were the highest-ranked NL outfielders on the ballots picked by players, MLB said.
AL replaces Kimbrel
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez (9-1, 2.97 ERA) has been picked to replace injured Boston closer Craig Kimbrel on the AL All-Star team.
Kimbrel, who pitched last season for the Padres, injured his left knee while shagging balls before Friday night’s game. He is expected to have surgery for a medial meniscus tear Monday and likely will be sidelined for three to six weeks.
