Collin McHugh, a product of Providence Christian Academy, watched the Braves growing up. He spent his final two seasons pitching for the franchise.
Now, you’ll see him analyzing his old teammates on “Braves Live.”
McHugh will make his Bally Sports debut Friday on the pregame and postgame shows. He’ll work alongside analysts Nick Green and Peter Moylan, also former Braves, to discuss the team’s weekend series against the American League-best Guardians.
This is a thrilling time for McHugh, who always had been interested in doing TV when he finished his playing career. His first taste came when he joined the booth for one spring game last season, his final as a pitcher.
He’s now slated to work around 20 games in 2024.
“I’m super excited for a number of reasons,” McHugh told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But my No. 1 thing, this is my childhood. Like, I remember listening to Skip Caray, Joe Simpson, Pete Van Wieren and all these guys on the radio and TV growing up. So to have the opportunity to come back and be able to do that, at least in some capacity, with the team that I love, that I got to play for, it’s really, really special to me and my family.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to do this because there are a lot of good talents that the Braves have had to choose from. So to be given any amount of games, I’m just thankful for it.”
McHugh, 36, pitched 11 seasons for the Mets, Rockies, Astros, Rays and Braves. He had a 3.38 ERA across 99 appearances for the Braves in 2022-23, both 100-win seasons for the club. McHugh had 122 strikeouts against 36 walks in 128 innings.
Fans should expect unique insight from McHugh, given he’s been in the room with most of the 2024 Braves. He feels that’ll be among the more valuable aspects of his analysis.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“I think that No. 1, having just played with all these guys,” he said. “I know them so well. I know a lot of these guys well. I’ve been texting, chatting with them this spring and early in the season, see how things are going as a friend; but also, I think to have that perspective as an analyst will hopefully bring the game home a little bit better and give fans a look into maybe a different level of the game than they’ve seen before.
“I think Pete does a really good job of that. Nick does a good job of that. Just guys who have played for a long time. But then, you know, on top of that, me knowing these guys personally, I think it makes it a little bit more fun for me and hopefully for everybody else as well.”
The former reliever also knows what a winning formula looks like. He was with the Astros during their rise to prominence, pitching for five consecutive winning teams, including three consecutive 100-win clubs, plus the 2017 champions. McHugh ended his career with another three consecutive 100-win teams in the Rays (2021) and Braves.
“I like to think that I played a little part in that, but the fact is, they were run from the top down in really, really, really effective and efficient ways,” McHugh said. “You know, different ways for sure. I think I’ve seen a lot of different questions that can be asked by front offices, but ultimately, all of them put really, really competitive teams on the field every year. And so to be a part of that, and to be trusted with that, to an extent, by them, it’s hard to look back and be anything but grateful.”
“Braves Live” will begin 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, while Sunday’s coverage will begin at 1 p.m. The Braves are wrapping up a nine-game homestand as they try to build on their hot start.
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@
Here are McHugh’s thoughts on the Braves thus far:
“This team is so deep from top to bottom,” he said. “I think that the one thing (president of baseball operations) Alex (Anthopoulos) has always done, has preached depth. And depth for this team is not just in the starting rotation, which we’re already seeing the need for. Depth in the bullpen, which happens every year. But we’re seeing guys like (Luis) Guillorme and (David) Fletcher have to come in and fill big roles when Ozzie (Albies) goes down.
“Obviously, there’s the core there, the core players that the Braves have that hopefully will be there for a long time. But the position players, the role players, if you will, that come around every year and help the ballclubs, that really ends up being, in a lot of cases, the difference between a good team and a great team. We’ve seen that this year, and in the last couple of years, how additions made, production you’re getting from people you might not have thought, can end up paying huge dividends in the long run.”
