1990–2021
The program debuted in 1990, when ESPN first acquired MLB rights. This gave ESPN to have Sunday Night Baseball and Wednesday Night Baseball. From 2000 to 2005, broadcasts consisted of a doubleheader, usually airing the first game at 7:00 pm ET on ESPN and the second at 10:00 pm ET on ESPN2. The second part of the doubleheader was discontinued after the 2005 season in favor of regular broadcasts of Monday Night Baseball.
ESPN planned to show Blue Jays-Rangers on May 1, 1991. The ESPN president, at the time, Steve Bornstein was friends with the Texas Rangers manager Bobby Valentine. If Valentine told Bornstein that Nolan Ryan was pitching (or if he had left a voice mail), the network would have aired the game. Valentine called Bornstein and claimed that he's expecting Nolan Ryan to pitch on Friday, instead of Wednesday. However, to no one's surprise, Nolan Ryan ended up pitching and broke the MLB record of career no-hitters with seven, which hasn't been beaten or tied ever since.[1]
The issues with the program were forecasted almost immediately: a reviewer in 1990 stated that in order to survive Wednesday Night Baseball has to become a staple like Major League Baseball Game of the Week which will "strain the cable marketers to their limits", as there is only so much sports programming viewers can watch and pay for.[2]
Wednesdays also formerly included an afternoon game, called ESPN DayGame which aired typically at 12:30 pm or 1:00 pm ET on ESPN, making Wednesdays ESPN's primary day of baseball, as games aired both in the afternoon and in primetime. However, ESPN DayGame was also discontinued following the 2006 season.
2026–present
On February 20, 2025, ESPN informed MLB that it had agreed to mutually opt out of its current contract after the conclusion of the 2025 season.[7][8]
On November 19, 2025, ESPN announced a restructured three-year deal with MLB. Under this new deal, ESPN would televise a 30-game schedule primarily on summer weeknights, ending Sunday Night Baseball.[9] For the 2026 season, ESPN announced that 10 games would air on Wednesday nights.[10]
