Derek Jeter’s Jersey Retirement Highlights the Best MLB Games in May

Derek Jeter John Munson-Pool/Getty Images

April rain (or snow) delays have given way to warmer and sunnier days, and it’s time to get serious about baseball. There’s still hope for most MLB clubs, though if your favorite is already 10 games back, it’s not too early to start thinking about next year.

Baseball abounds on TV this month, with ESPN showcasing games on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday nights. On May 20, FOX begins eight straight Saturdays of primetime regional games.

The World Series champion Chicago Cubs have earned top billing on MLB’s national TV schedule. “I think we’re definitely taking advantage of the popularity and the lead story in Major League Baseball and the Cubs doing what they were finally able to do last year,” says ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst Aaron Boone. “This is a team that, at least on paper, looks like they have a chance to have that sustained success.”

The Yankees have the spotlight again on May 14, as Yankees great Derek Jeter will have his No. 2 retired and his plaque unveiled in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park during ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball Derek Jeter Night beginning at 6:30pm ET. Before retiring in 2014, Jeter’s 20-year career with the Yankees included five World Series titles, 14 All-Star appearances and 3,465 hits. “Derek’s the face of the organization for this last generation where there was great success, obviously — five championships,” Boone says. “I’m hopefully looking forward to getting Derek to sit in with us for an inning or two and just see what’s going on with him now.”

May MLB Highlights

May 13 — Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, 4pm ET, FS1
May 14 — Houston Astros at N.Y. Yankees, 6:30pm ET, ESPN
May 18 — N.Y. Yankees at Kansas City Royals, 8pm ET, FS1
May 21 — Texas Rangers at Detroit Tigers, 8pm ET, ESPN
May 23 — San Francisco Giants at Chicago Cubs, 7pm ET, ESPN; St. Louis Cardinals at L.A. Dodgers, 10pm ET, ESPN
May 28 — N.Y. Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates, 8pm ET, ESPN2 or ESPN (Will air on ESPN if NBA Western Conference Finals Game 7 not needed)
May 29Memorial Day: N.Y. Yankees at Baltimore Orioles, 1pm ET, ESPN; Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants, 4pm ET, ESPN; Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals, 7pm ET, ESPN
May 30 — L.A. Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals, 7pm ET, ESPN; Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants, 10pm ET, ESPN

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Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.