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August 1, 2007

Around the horn on baseball - Part 2

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


The great thing about sports these days is the easy access. Through satellites, cable television and the Internet you can watch or listen to almost every game, every day. The TV baseball package is called "Extra Innings" and you can see games from all over the country. In one of the Internet packages you also get condensed games, a game with all of the down time edited out. Of course, the charm of baseball is its pace, so that option is for people who are really in a hurry.

All of these viewing and listening alternatives give the fan two new experiences - how teams from other cities cover their games and the chance to listen to announcers you would not otherwise hear.

The first thing that jumps out at you while listening to all these games is that baseball will sell just about anything. (Remember when they tried to sell ads on the actual bases?)

Don't believe me? Here are some examples, taken from actual major league broadcasts:
> The Emerald Snacks Gem of the Game
> The Minora Medical Center Injury Report
> Midwest Ford Dealers Bold Move of the Game
> The Sharp Image of the Game
> Toyota Drive of the Game
> Lojack Caught Stealing
> Geico Quote of the Day
> 7th Inning Stretch, Presented by Jack Daniels No. 7
> that Double Play Sponsored by 1-800-Victim2
> the Verizon call to the bullpen
> Heineken What's On Tap for Tomorrow
> Road Runner High-Speed Online tells us that pitch came in at 96 miles per hour
> we come to you from the Lowes Broadcast Booth, Lets Build Something Together
> The Pitch Count, from James B. Nutter, Mortgage Lender
> It's time for a change - from Speedy Oil Change
> And everybody's favorite - The Viagra Comeback Player of the Year

You could probably make something like that happen in local coverage of high school sports.

How about Tony Blum saying, "Eric Williams penetrates, pulls up for the jumper. Yes!". Then, "Remember the YES Network brings you the Rangers and the Knicks. Contact your local cable system."

Or Mike Gill offering, "The three-ball is good by Trey Severs. And be sure to try three toppings on your Mack & Manco's pizza."

It would actually be much tougher in basketball but all of these commercial tie-ins don't seem to hurt the baseball broadcasts. Plus, they've got to pay the salaries somehow.

That brings us to the announcers.

There are a number of what might be called "superstars" calling baseball games in the major leagues. Area fans get to hear one of them - Harry Kalas - every night. There is Vin Scully with the Dodgers, Jon Miller with the Giants (and ESPN), Gary Thorne with the Orioles, Pat Hughes with the Cubs, Marty Brennaman with the Reds, Bob Uecker of the Brewers, among others. They are the voices that sound like baseball, though they work in different ways. Scully, for example, works alone. And he has more facts and more stories to tell than any three announcers. You just marvel at the way the man uses the language.

Virtually every group of announcers is good. After all, these are the major leaguers, the pros. And many reflect the area where they're working. The Yankees announcers, for example, seem more critical and open, more like New Yorkers. And Jerry Remy, with that New England accent, would not sound at home anywhere but in Boston. The Yankees also have the most announcers (11) and the only woman in the play-by-play booth (Suzyn Waldman). The Diamondbacks and Blue Jays each have 10 announcers. Four teams (Tigers, Royals, Twins, Nationals) have just four announcers between radio and TV.

The Phillies are only one of eight teams that do not have a radio broadcast team completely seperate from TV. The others are the Orioles, Reds, Royals, Dodgers, Pirates, Giants and Mariners.

While you would probably enjoy listening to most of these broadcast teams, you'd better be a real White Sox fan if you catch their announcers. They are more like cheerleaders. On a ground ball to Chicago's shortstop you'll hear, "turn it baby, turn it". On a long fly ball by the Sox, "go - get outta here". On a line drive just foul, "Dang. He just missed it." And they will frequently give the score as, "White Sox 2, the bad guys 1". Sox fans must love them.

When we listen to broadcasts of games from other cities, we expect the announcers to reflect their relationship with the team that employs them. But we also need them to give a fair, honest description of the game.

Along those lines, the best broadcast team working today - maybe of all-time - is Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow of the Giants. Both former major league players (Krukow won 13 games for the Phillies back in 1982) these two will teach you about the game. And there are a lot of little things to learn about baseball. They know the players and their tendencies. And they give credit for a great play (or criticize a poor one) whether it's the Giants or their opponent.

In addition, Krukow and Kuiper always seem to remember that baseball is a game. They have a great deal of fun with the broadcast without missing the action on the field. Credit should also be given to their director and crew. They supply them with crowd shots and other material that they know just how to handle. I started out watching the Giants primarily to see Bonds. But I would watch Krukow and Kuiper do any game.

Throw in Miller on the radio side and it seems like fans in San Francisco might actually get the best coverage in all of baseball.

But check it out yourself. The games are all playing on your TV or your computer.


Read more of Tom Williams' columns