This Week in Baseball

By Wikipedia

This Week in Baseball is a weekly television program showing highlights of the previous week's Major League Baseball action.

TWIB (the acronym is often familiarly used by viewers, and came to be used by the host also) debuted in 1977. Veteran sportscaster Mel Allen hosted and narrated the show from its inception until his death in 1996 (although Warner Fusselle filled-in for Allen when needed); he was succeeded for a time by former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith.

While TWIB was originally syndicated to various stations around the country, the Fox network relaunched the series in 2000 as a pregame show for its Saturday afternoon MLB telecasts. Buzz Brainard became the host of TWIB while a current Major League player was profiled each week. The show is also often played as part of the pre-game entertainment on the TV screens of major league stadiums.

The snappy opening theme music to TWIB is called "Jet Set" composed by Mike Vickers, a former member of Manfred Mann's Earth Band. "Jet Set" was also the theme for the game show Jackpot. It has also been used as introductory music for such mundane productions as company training films.

The dramatic, spine-tingling, horns-violins-drums closing theme is called "Gathering Crowds", composed by Patrick J. O'Hara Scott, a pseudonym for the same Mike Vickers. It is typically played over a montage of baseball's greatest moments, building to a crescendo with a punctuated 3-note chord as the MLB logo slides into view. This tune has also been known to be used to similar effect for montages and credits at the end of local TV newscasts and the like.

Currently, segments of the show are hosted by U.S. fast-pitch sensation Jennie Finch.