Veteran play-by-play announcer Mike "Doc" Emrick will join MLB Network's Bob Costas to call the MLB Network Showcase telecast of the Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, July 8 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will mark the first regular season MLB game call for Emrick, the preeminent hockey announcer in the United States and a lifelong baseball fan, following his guest stint with the Pirates' broadcast team at Spring Training this past March.

Emrick's call with Costas on July 8th follows previous guest appearances in the MLB Network Showcase booth by National Baseball Hall of Fame award winners Tim McCarver and Bob Uecker and multiple Emmy Award winner Al Michaels.

"This is a baseball fan's ultimate gift from Bob and MLB Network. A lifetime memory," said Emrick. "I have been in Chicago to marvel at the Cubs and, thanks to the Pirates and their broadcast crew, I have gotten to see the Bucs several times. It will be fun, yet you don't want to sit at the piano with Billy Joel and just play 'Chopsticks.' I have joyful homework for July 8."

"When I heard Mike say that it was a lifelong dream of his to call a baseball game, I immediately thought, 'Well, we can make that happen at MLB Network,'" said Costas. "He's naturally anecdotal, and that lends itself well to baseball, plus he has a passion for baseball and a lifelong connection to it. The Pirates have been his team since he was a kid and the Cubs are a fascinating team this year, so it's a perfect matchup and perfect setting for him, and we're all looking forward to it."

One of the most recognizable voices in sports broadcasting, Emrick is a four-time Emmy Award-winner and the lead play-by-play voice for NBC Sports Group's NHL coverage. Having completed his 39th year covering professional hockey, including 32 in the National Hockey League, Emrick has called more than 3,000 hockey games in his career. In 2011, Emrick became the first-ever broadcaster to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, and in 2008, he received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions as a hockey broadcaster. A fan of the Pirates for 53 years, Emrick participated as a second baseman in the 2012 Pirates Fantasy Camp in Bradenton, Fla., playing for Team Clemente.

Over the next four weeks, MLB Network Showcase presented by Chevrolet will feature back-to-back matchups between the MLB-leading Cubs and the New York Mets on Thursday, June 30 and Friday, July 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET, plus the Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees on Friday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET, and the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants at Yankees on Friday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. ET. MLB Network's complete game schedule is available here. Games will be blacked out in each team's home television territory unless otherwise announced. Viewers in areas subject to blackouts will be provided with an alternate game telecast or other programming. MLB Network's complete programming lineup is available here.