SECAUCUS, N.J. — One of the most difficult things to get baseball fans to do, it seems, is, well, watch baseball.

Keeping fans engaged in what happens on the field is as difficult as trying to put mascara on a cat's whiskers. In addition to game broadcasts being relatively formulaic, the pace of play, the length of games and the uber-controversial idea of in-game interviews are all speed bumps for fans' enjoyment of TV broadcasts.

Seldom satisfied with national broadcasts — just check baseball Twitter on Sunday nights or during the playoffs — it seems as though fans are only happy when they're unhappy.

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"It's like complaining in baseball has almost become sport," MLB Network coordinating producer Marty Montalto told Sporting News. "Maybe baseball fans seem to complain the most about their sport. Or maybe they're the most passionate about their sport, and they really care about it flourishing into the future."

Alongside MLB Network producer Micah Karg, that's where the forward-thinking Montalto comes in — by spearheading an experimental approach to televising a game. For the third year in a row, MLB Network has aired a national game and incorporated advanced analytics, blood-and-guts analysis and inside information into the broadcast. Dubbed "SABRcast," the production — which used the network's "MLB NOW" daily program as its base — aimed to show fans a different way they could consume and view a game.

Watching inside the studio, seeing how each panelist — MLB.com Statcast analyst Mike Petriello and MLB Network's Mark DeRosa and Joel Sherman — imparted his knowledge, with host (and stout analytics proponent) Brian Kenny leading the charge, it was clear the broadcast is a breed of its own.

All three panelists provided something unique. DeRosa explained the intricacies of things happening during the game from a player's perspective, and added in-studio demos; Petriello added context to Statcast numbers and analytics, defining and explaining certain stats and Statcast features; and Sherman explained things from a team perspective, adding his insider knowledge.

Putting on a show of this nature is not without its challenges, however.

"From a production and editorial standpoint, the biggest challenge is still giving the game its due," Montalto told SN. "We have four guys on the desk. Even a large booth usually has three. We have four guys and we want them all to get their opinions in.

"Ultimately, what people are tuning into, still, regardless of how you're giving them the broadcast, is the game. Cubs fans and Giants fans are going to be tuning in to see the Cubs and Giants (the matchup for this year's SABRcast). We don't want to do them a disservice by not giving them a proper game broadcast. That's the delicate balance we have to weigh on."

It is a difficult balance to maintain, especially with fans who dislike baseball broadcasts that have extra bells and whistles. Kenny believes the sabermetrics revolution can only help with the presentation.

"I think big picture, there's more than one way to call a ballgame," Kenny told SN. "I think this is one way of doing it. It's not that hard to throw more than just one ballplayer on a broadcast. 'I'm a play-by-play guy, here's my ballplayer.'

"If you brought in a guy who is actually an analyst, not a second player, not a former GM, or a pitcher and a second baseman. How about someone that actually studies this stuff, to kind of give some instant context to what's happening?"

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Kenny did mention potential pitfalls in doing these broadcasts regularly, with stepping on one another during the broadcast or the program getting a bit too "busy" being among the chief concerns.

Doing numerous "SABRcasts" over the course of a season would be a hefty load for the network, but Kenny believes the idea isn't too drastic and would only benefit the baseball-viewing audience. In fact, Kenny believes it would be a step toward reinventing what baseball fans perceive as a broadcast.

"I think there's room for a heavier broadcast. When you look at playoff games, when you're examining everything, I think things can escape two guys. I think a bigger panel is good," he said.

"To have someone who is well-versed in sabermetrics, to have someone who is actually doing the study, who is aware what the xWOBA (expected weighted on-base average) is for a pitcher, that even his ERA is lying to you, things like that? That would be interesting. Or, hey, going to your bullpen — what's the win probability? How are these guys? These are more complicated questions."

To really hammer home the idea of more advanced metrics being a larger focus of the show, the network produced several graphics that featured stats with which the common baseball fan might not be entirely familiar: wRC+ (weighted runs created plus), run expectancy, win expectancy and OPS, to name a few. While the stats might have seemed daunting, they were all presented with context and with light explanation — a happy medium between dictionary definition and "Sabermetrics for Dummies."

While watching the program from the studio and the control room, one omission from the broadcast became noticeable: There wasn't a single on-screen mention of batting average. Not for lack of trying, however, considering the research that goes into the production.

It takes a cast of thousands: MLB Network researcher Eric Nehs was joined by MLB Network research manager Nate Purinton and research supervisor Marc Adelberg in prepping for the "SABRcast." Their job is clear: find as much interesting stuff — news bites and story lines heading into the game — as possible.

In supplementing the network's daily research packet, which boasts 21 pages of analytics, data, news items and more, Nehs, Purinton and Adelberg assisted in putting together a second, separate phone book — sorry, packet — of tidbits that this year spanned 24 pages. The "SABRcast" packet is loaded with items such as catcher arm strength numbers, comparisons between active players, and much, much more.

Each packet is dense and takes time to sift through, and with good reason. MLBN associates spared no effort in trying to offer every possible angle and stat to work into the telecast, with the intent of leaving the viewer as informed as possible and really playing on baseball's "game of numbers" moniker.

The key to all of this season's telecasts on MLB Network — if you couldn't already tell while watching anything baseball-related — is Statcast, and that was no different for the "SABRcast" that aired Wednesday.

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MLB has been working Statcast into everything: highlight reels, social network posts, in-game content, smoke signals, carrier pigeons, hieroglyphics and so forth. The good thing is that the Statcast initiative hasn't felt forced or overbearing, because MLB is inching it along as opposed to jamming it down viewers' throats.

This year, sprint speed and catch probability have been the new stats on the block; MLBN has included them when necessary and naturally — always powered by AWS, mind you — without dominating telecasts. Purinton believes that strategy has helped create an effective approach to MLB Network broadcasts.

"When [fans] see a fantastic catch, they want to know what the catch probability was on that," he said. "As you push that information into a telecast, it slowly starts to become accepted, and that kind of goes for all the analytical data."

"The beauty of [the 'SABRcast'] to me is, it's a beautiful balance of the eye test vs. the analytics," Adelberg said. "You create good discussions on what's more relevant, but both sides are equally salient. You can use statistics and you can use anecdotes. Everything's relevant; that's the fun of the conversation."

It all flows together for the "SABRcast," which MLB Network will likely produce again next year. The merger gives fans another way to ingest a game. It's tough to say at this juncture whether MLB Network will start a trend of "enhanced" baseball programming, but one thing is certain: The effort shows Major League Baseball isn't the relic or dinosaur that some believe it to be.

As for the future of MLB telecasts? There's at least a chance for change, Kenny said.

"There's a lot to be said for a guy who's very spare in his call, gives you balls and strikes, lets you hear the murmur of the crowd," he said, "but there's also something to be said for, 'Hey, let's really scrutinize this, let's really talk strategy, let's talk team-building, let's talk roster utilization.'

"I think I would dig that."