In Baseball Weekly s list of things that most affected baseball in the twentieth century television ranked second--behind only the signing of Jackie Robinson. The new medium of television exposed baseball to a genuinely national audience; altered the financial picture for teams owners and players; and changed the way Americans followed the game. Center Field Shot explores these changes--all even more prominent in the first few years of the twenty-first century--and makes sense of their meaning for America s pastime. Center Field Shot traces a sometimes contentious but mutually beneficial relationship from the first televised game in 1939 to the new era of Internet broadcasts satellite radio and high-definition TV considered from the perspective of businessmen collecting merchandising fees and advertising rights franchise owners with ever more money to spend on talent and broadcasters trying to present a game long considered unfriendly to television. Ultimately the association of baseball with television emerges as a reflection of--perhaps even a central feature of--American culture at large.