MLB Network show a trivial pursuit for Angels equipment manager

Published Jan. 11, 2012 5:06 p.m. ET

foxsports

MLB Network couldn’t have invented a competition more suited to the talents of Angels assistant equipment manager Shane Demmitt than “Baseball IQ,” a recall-based trivia game show that will premier Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. PST.

For 10 years, Demmitt has regaled members of the media with his knowledge of trivia and statistics, often challenging — and usually stumping — writers with daily trivia questions at the team’s spring training complex in Tempe, Ariz.

Now Demmitt, a former clubhouse attendant, will represent the Angels on the MLB Network show, which according to a release, will “cover all things baseball, from current players and managers to World Series champions, MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, Hall of Famers, milestones and more.”

The format will feature a bracket-style tournament over 31 half-hour episodes, which will air Tuesday through Thursday from Jan. 24 to Feb. 23, with Matt Vasgersian hosting and the overall winner earning $45,000 for a team-chosen charity.

Each major league team will have a representative, and the brackets will be arranged by on-field rivalries. Demmitt will face Texas Rangers senior vice president for ballpark entertainment Chuck Morgan in the first round.

The winning player of each episode will win $5,000 for his charity. The championship episode will award $25,000 for the winner’s charity and $15,000 to the runner-up’s charity.

-- Mike DiGiovanna