Via @MLB

Julie Alexandria, the Nationals’ sideline reporter for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network , will not be returning to the network next season. She will remain in New York and continue her other work as a host on OK! TV, a nationally syndicated talk show for which she began working as soon as the baseball season ended.

With Alexandria’s departure, MASN will search for its fourth sideline reporter in as many years to join Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo, who are returning in 2014.

Alexandria spent one season as the MASN sideline reporter. She came to MASN after working in both sports and entertainment broadcasting, hosting programs for MTV and TLC, for example, while also hosting Mets Weekly for SportsNet New York and working as a college football sideline reporter for Fox. She said a career goal was to host a talk show and blend sports and entertainment, which she is doing now with OK! TV.

“I had the most amazing time as a sideline reporter for the Nats,” Alexandria said in a telephone interview on Friday afternoon. “It was by far the best decision I’ve made in my career. I just have been given the opportunity to host my own show out of New York, which is where I’m from. … I was given this opportunity and I couldn’t turn it down. Unfortunately, I tried every scenario to see if I could do both. But with the baseball schedule being what it is and with my intent as far as interviewing celebrities and doing red carpet and all that stuff, me and my management team could not figure out a way to do both without letting down one party or the other. It just wasn’t feasible. It was the hardest decision I’ve had to make career-wise.”

MASN wanted Alexandria to return, picking up her option soon after the season ended. And Alexandria felt the same way, wanting to return to Washington. But she couldn’t find a way to juggle both her talk show and baseball work. After the Nationals’ 2013 season ended in Phoenix, for example, she was in New York the next morning working at OK! TV. She works at OK! TV, which started this past season, six days a week and year-round, and she said the show was recently picked up for another year.

“[The Nats sideline job] was the most amazing job I’ve ever had,” she said, citing fond memories of the Gatorade baths she received from players following games including one on her first day on the job. “Hands down. I truly mean that. It was so fulfilling. It was challenging and so fulfilling and so fun. I had an amazing rapport with the fan base. Having a healthy relationship with the fans was key. And getting their feedback and working with them throughout the season was one of the best highlights for me.”