Taryn Hatcher has a surprising new gig as Phillies season begins
Hatcher said she's received lots of opportunities after it was revealed she wouldn't be returning to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Phillies coverage this season.
As the Phillies kick off their 2026 season, a familiar face will be missing from NBC Sports Philadelphia’s broadcast.
Taryn Hatcher, who joined the network in 2018 and spent the past few seasons covering as an in-stadium reporter, won’t be backafter the network declined to renew her contract and eliminated the position.
“While the news was pretty heartbreaking, I have to acknowledge that it was a really fun run,” Hatcher wrote on social media last month. “I loved every second of it.”
Since then, Hatcher has kept a low profile, but that’s partly by design. On Instagram this month, she revealed she’s dealing with “a little bit of a health situation” that isn’t dire but is taking priority, causing her to turn down some TV roles. That includes passing on a full-time role as an MLB sideline reporter for an “incredible” franchise did not to name.
But she has returned to TV as part of the broadcast team for an unlikely league — the Professional Bowlers Association.
Hatcher joined The CW earlier this month as part of its broadcast team covering the PBA, which also features former NASCAR lead announcer Rick Allen and former professional bowler Kyle Sherman.
As she did with the Phillies, Hatcher serves as a reporter, where among other things she interviews excited bowlers celebrating a victory. Two weeks ago, that meant speaking to a fired-up Anthony Simonsen after he won the Illinois Classic in Decatur, Ill.
Hatcher told The Inquirer working with The CW was “a perfect fit opportunity” and praised the broadcast team, along with the schedule.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been so much more fun that I could’ve anticipated,” Hatcher said.
The bowling league’s season runs through April 26 and the PBA Tournament of Champions is in Fairlawn, Ohio, on April 26. The CW broadcasts pro bowling events on Sundays at 4 p.m.
As for NBC Sports Philadelphia, it plans to fill the void left by Hatcher’s departure by leaning on digital video producer Spencer McKercher to provide more vibes from the stadium. Longtime analyst Ben Davis will also spent more time in the dugout.
Quick hits
Seinfeld fans will certainly remember the “magic loogie,” where then-Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez purportedly spit on Kramer and Newman after a loss to the Phillies on June 14, 1987. That game never took place (the Phillies did defeat the Mets in a five-run comeback on June 28 that season), but 34 years after the episode aired, Hernandez is still getting sizable checks for his guest appearance, telling Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina he earned $5,000 in residuals last year alone. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” Hernandez said.
Speaking of baseball, PHLY relaunched its Phillies podcast Wednesday with Jamie Lynch and a familiar face — former NBC Sports Philadelphia reporter Corey Seidman, a Comcast SportsNet veteran who left the network in June. The show’s first guest? Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who seemed to defend all Phillies fans by saying it’s fair to hold athletes like Bryce Harper to “high standards” after three straight seasons of playoff fizzles.
The 2026 NFL season will kick off Wednesday, Sept. 9, with the Seattle Seahawks defending their Super Bowl title at home against a yet-to-be-announced opponent. It will be just the fourth NFL game since 1950 to be played on a Wednesday, and the second to ever open the season. The first was in 2012, when the NFL moved off Thursday to avoid going head-to-head with former President Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Why the Wednesday start? Because the NFL scheduled its first Australia game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams to take place Thursday, Sept. 10, kicking off at 8:35 p.m. Philly time. Melbourne is 15 hours ahead of Philadelphia, so the game will actually kick off in the future at 11:35 a.m. local time Friday.
The WNBA will be back on CBS this season, thanks to a new “long-term” deal. As part of the agreement, up to 20 WNBA games will broadcast on CBS beginning in 2026, up from eight games on CBS and 12 on CBS Sports Network. And if you’re keeping track at home, it’s four more years until Philly’s new WNBA franchise will take the court.