| Mike Vander Wood- Dayton Dragons TSB: When did you know you wanted to broadcast baseball? MVW:I was probably about nine or ten years old. I was watching a Tigers TV broadcast (Hall of Famers George Kell and Al Kaline) with my Dad. For whatever reason, I began asking him about the broadcasters and how they got their jobs. Once he told me not only do they get to go to all the games but they actually get paid to go, I was sold and knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. TSB: What is the most challenging thing about broadcasting in the minor leagues? How do you deal with those challenges? MVW:There are quite a few things that can challenge you as a baseball broadcaster. There are different challenges that a minor league guy faces that maybe a big league guy doesn’t. A major league broadcaster has what most of the minor league guys want, a big league play by play job. The challenge for the minor leaguer is to get in position to get taken seriously by a big league club when there is an opening and you send something out. Most times that means getting to AAA. That doesn’t mean that someone from A or AA won’t get a big league job, there have been a couple of A guys the past few seasons that have made the big jump. So, it certainly does happen. Moving up in the ranks certainly is not an exact science, for every different person you ask on how to get there, you may get an answer on how to do it that is different each time. The best way to deal with that whole issue is to do the best job you can where ever it is your calling games. All you can do is the best job that you can do. Worry about what’s out of your hands and you’ll drive yourself nuts. There are a few things that all broadcasters have to deal with regardless of level. The most difficult thing can be trying to avoid “hitting the wall.” 140 games in 152 days is a lot of games without a whole lot of days off. You miss out on a lot of things during the summer that people with “normal jobs” are able to do. You make a lot of phone calls and send out a ton of email to try and stay as “normal” as you can and try not to miss out on a whole lot. Being the eyes and ears for the team’s fans and the parents of the players, it’s important to sound upbeat and professional at all times, even if the result of the at bat or the game is not positive. I’ve always found as the broadcaster, I need the field staff and the players a lot more than they need me. It can sometimes be a tight rope to walk, to try and sound professional and objective without being overly critical. The team I broadcast for the past three years has not qualified for the playoffs and is a combined 80 games under .500. That’s been difficult, because all of us in the business would love to broadcast for a winning team. I’ve always tried to go by mantra that you talk about what takes place on the field and you keep (or try to as best you can) your personal feelings out of it. You’re not always going to like every player on your team or all of the coaches assigned to the club either. But from a career longevity standpoint, you had better figure out a way to be professional. I keep a 3x5 note card in front of me during the season that says “Be Professional.” As cheesy and as simple as that sounds, it has kept me (more than once) from saying something that could have potentially gotten me in hot water. It always helps me to have that reminder in front of me. I don’t think there is a perfect formula to try and deal with all of the obstacles that you run into. I just try to take it one day at a time and have been very fortunate to have supportive and great people behind me. TSB: Who did you listen to growing up? Favorite announcers etc..? MVW:I was pretty fortunate growing up in the Midwest, where there were hall of fame announcers for virtually every team. Ernie Harwell with the Tigers, Jack Buck with the Cardinals on KMOX, Jack Brickhouse and Harry Caray on WGN with the Cubs and Bob Uecker with the Brewers. On the TV side, I got to watch and listen to George Kell and Al Kaline on Tigers Broadcasts. Both had hall of fame careers as players but were also outstanding as announcers. The NBC Game of the Week featured Vin Scully. You’re obviously not going to do any better than that. Each one of those announcers is/was so skilled in telling the story and painting the picture. The quality of the broadcasting and the entertainment value with all of them is second to none. It gave me a great idea of what a play by play announcer should try and sound like. TSB: Who has had the most influence on you professionally? MVW:I have gotten a lot of help and a lot of great advice from numerous people, both in the industry and outside of it. I’ve learned more about the game of baseball from a strategy standpoint and what the game is really all about from former Michigan State Baseball Coach Tom Smith. I had the privilege of working with Coach when I was the broadcaster for the Lansing Lugnuts in ’96 and ’97. He is one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet and taught me more about the game than anyone I have ever known. Over the past few years I have gotten invaluable advice from (in no particular order) Mario Impemba of the Tigers, Steve Stewart of the Reds, Mike Capps of the Round Rock Express and Bruce Gilbert of ESPN Radio. It means a great deal to me that four true pros have offered up their time and advice to try and help me improve and progress in my career. My parents, Ken and Sharon, have also had a big influence on my career. My dad is always there to tell it like it is. Even though he is not a broadcaster by trade, he’s a pretty knowledge sports fan and knows what he likes to hear from a game broadcast. If I’m not getting the job done, he let’s me know. My mom is the same way, although I think your mom is required to tell you you’re doing a great job, even if you aren’t. She’s always been there to pick me up when I need it. TSB: What is the off season like for you? MVW:The off season can sometimes drag. I always stay really busy during the season with 140 games in 152 days. Once the off season rolls around, it takes some time to adjust to the fact that there won’t be a game to broadcast at the end of the day. I keep busy with the “Dragons Speaker’ s Bureau,” a part of the team’s community relations program offering free speakers to area organizations. Since I took over the program at the end of the 2000 season, we’ve made close to 600 appearances on behalf of the organization. I also keep busy with the Dragons Media Guide and helping out with our Play Ball! game program. I get to keep my feet wet from a broadcasting stand point, hosting a portion of the University of Dayton Basketball Pre game Show. I have a lot of fun talking college hoops and trying to show that I know more than just baseball. TSB: In what ways are you a better broadcaster now than when you first started? MVW:The fact that I have called more and more games over time I think has improved me. During the first week of the 2005 season, I broadcasted my 1000th minor league game since my first back in 1995. In going back and listening to the audio, there is certainly a huge difference between game number one and game number 1,000. In the ten years since I started working in baseball, I’d like to think I have gotten a lot smarter, both from a broadcasting standpoint and in general terms. You don’t have to be the most cerebral guy on your block to be a broadcaster but I think it helps and goes a long way to making your broadcast more interesting and entertaining. I think I have also become a better listener. One of the best pieces of advice (and earliest in my career) I have ever gotten came from Lee Shirvanian, the long time broadcast voice of the University of South Alabama Baseball and Basketball teams. He told me that the better a listener you become, the easier it will be to improve yourself. He’s absolutely right. At the end of each season I send out a few CD’s to selected broadcasters to get their opinions on where I am at with my ability to call a game. While I enjoy getting back positive comments, what helps me out the most is the “constructive criticism.” Those comments on what I could and should do to make my work better. When I first started, I was very defensive about anyone trying to point out ways I could improve taking those comments as a negative. Once I realized those comments were/are being said to help me call a better game and to improve me as a broadcaster, I look forward to getting them. TSB: Describe some of the positives about working at Dayton. MVW:Dayton is the closest thing to working for a AAA team without working for a AAA team. In each of our six seasons, we’ve been in the top 10 in attendance in all of Minor League Baseball averaging over 8,300 people per game. The Cincinnati Reds have been outstanding to work with. I don’t think we as an affiliate could ask for a better parent club. Fifth Third Field looks better heading into year seven than it ever has. As great as all of that is, I think the best thing about being in Dayton is the people. Out of all the places I have been fortunate to work, Dayton has the most knowledgeable fan base. They support the team win or lose and pack the stands every night. One of the neatest things I have ever seen in six seasons with the Dragons was the standing ovation given to a Quad City pitcher by 8,500 people after he no-hit Dayton at Fifth Third Field. The fans here are 100% pro Dragons but also know when to applaud an outstanding effort or performance even if it comes from some one wearing a visitor’s uniform. TSB: What is your favorite road stop in the Midwest League? MVW:Without a doubt West Michigan. I grew up about forty minutes from Grand Rapids in a small town on Lake Michigan called Port Sheldon. For me going back there is going back home. My parents now live in GR so it’s great to be able to get them out for games when we travel there. The Whitecaps front office staff is first class and always makes it a real special trip for me. Fifth Third Ball Park is a great place to broadcast a game from and the food at the ballpark is the best you’ll have. The best…any stadium, any sport. Trust me on this one, as a broadcaster if nothing else, I know food! TSB: How would you describe your style? MVW:I try and broadcast a game like someone that I would enjoy listening to if I were in the audience. Be descriptive, paint the picture. If you close your eyes, you should have a clear image of what’s going on based on my words. The broadcaster’s I listened to growing up were all story tellers, they told you about the action and gave you background on the players and the game without jamming worthless stats down your throat. Stats have their place and a lot of times are necessary. But what a player hits against a left hander with two outs and a runner at first base in his third at bat of the second game of a double header doesn’t mean much to me. As a fan I don’t care. I like to think of myself as a fan lucky enough to have the best seat in the stadium (which in Dayton, I do). I try to make it as fun as I possibly can. I’ll try and be poignant in my commentary but will always be the first person to laugh at myself. As a broadcaster I never want to try and become bigger than the game by making it about me. It hasn’t been, it isn’t and won’t ever be about the person telling you what’s going on. It’s about the players on the field and the man at the plate. Neil Solondz-Durham Bulls TSB: When did you first get interested in pursuing broadcasting as a profession? NS: I got interested in broadcasting around the age of 10. It was probably then that I realized I wasn’t going to be a professional athlete, but loved sports and being around the game, especially baseball. I remember listening to games on radio, and then turning down the sound on TV broadcasts and doing my best imitation. I don’t think my younger brother really enjoyed it, but it’s how I got started. TSB: Talk about your first baseball job. What was the most important thing you learned from that experience? NS:My first baseball experience was with the Somerset Patriots in the first- ever year of the Atlantic League, and my first full-time opportunity came with the Quad City River Bandits (now the Swing of the Quad Cities) in the Midwest League. With Somerset, I think the most important thing I learned was how to build a relationship with a manager, and to relate to older players (since the league had no limits on the age of players and many had big league experience). Sparky Lyle was the first manager I worked with, and he’s forgotten more about the game than I’ll ever know. With QuadCity, I got a good feel for how long the journey is to get to the majors. It helped in my first couple of years to see someone who’s been to the show, and someone who’s just getting started that has tremendous raw talent. TSB: You work for a high profile team in Durham, describe that experience. NS: Working in Durham is a great deal of fun. There is a tremendous amount of baseball history, and history in general being on Tobacco Road. I’ve been fortunate that Tampa Bay also has sent its top prospects to Durham over the past two seasons (BJ Upton, Delmon Young), and I’ve been fortunate to work with a coaching staff that has nearly a full century in the game (Bill Evers, Richie Hebner and Joe Coleman). In addition, I work for a supportive company (Capitol Broadcasting Company). TSB: Does the club still get any attention from the 1988 movie Bull Durham? NS:The movie obviously created a lot of attention initially, but I don’t know that it has a tremendous impact on attendance today. I’ve seen the movie a couple of hundred times, but I may be in the minority. Since it has been 18 years since the movie aired, you’d be surprised how many younger fans that come to the park have never seen the movie. I do think it helps with the many transplants and tourists who come to the area though who saw the movie growing up, and now want to come to the park when they visit the Triangle. I also think it helps to create name recognition, just as Toledo received a great deal of attention from Klinger on MASH. TSB: A lot of minor league announcers have made the jump to the big leagues this off season. In your opinion, what is the key to getting a major league job today? NS:I wish I new the answer to that. I think it’s a combination of things, and it also depends upon the major league team. I think a few things are common in most cases for minor league broadcasters who get there. I believe they all have tremendous talent, desire, and they’ve created a good network around them. I think it’s great that so many minor league broadcasters are getting opportunities in the majors. I root not only for minor leaguers to get there, but to do a great job, because I think it helps current minor leaguers too. TSB: How would you describe your style? Which announcers influenced you? NS: I think my style, as is the case for most broadcasters, is constantly developing. Like most at this level, I’m my own worst critic. I’m becoming a good story teller, who has a solid understanding of the story line of a game as it develops. I also think I’m an easy listen, and generally solid fundamentally. I grew up with the Mets, and listened to a current Hall of Famer (Bob Murphy), and a future Hall of Famer (Gary Cohen). I think they influenced me in that they were themselves, and still great announcers. One was a great storyteller with a special Southern charm about him, and the other is as clean and as descriptive and accurate as any broadcaster out there. I also listened a great deal to Vin Scully and Jon Miller. Each is great in their own way, and I think it’s important to learn why they’re so good, but at the same time continue to develop your broadcast to your strengths. TSB: What are some of the biggest challenges you face broadcasting an entire minor league season? NS:I think I have a few challenges, but the greatest is to balance numerous other tasks (see below), while also preparing for each game during a 144- game season. TSB: What other duties do you have with the Bulls? NS: I have several. During the season I produce our game notes every day, update the team website for road games, and also help produce our media guide. Probably most challenging are my sales responsibilities. I handle more than $550,000 in sponsorship accounts, which is probably more than most broadcasters handle, and in some cases more than some general managers. I think it has improved my ability to multi-task, and it has made me much better at selling myself. Phil Elson-Arkansas Travelers TSB: When did you first set the goal to become a big league announcer? PE:I grew up in Pittsburgh and radio was a big part of my youth because I listened to most Pirates and Penguins games that I couldn't watch or attend. The radio in my room was usually tuned to KDKA AM, which you know is America's first professional radio station and also carried the first baseball game on the radio. My father Howard, who has run his own dentistry practice for 28 years, got a part-time job as a sports commentator and weekend sports show host on KDKA. The radio bug hit me when I was 12 years old as I went to KDKA with my father every weekend as a kind of pseudo producer and I was instantly mesmerized by my up-close intro to radio. I answered phones, ripped news off the wire, brought on-air guests up from the lobby and wandered the halls and studios of one of America's great radio stations. Pirates' broadcaster Lanny Frattare was a frequent guest on the show and I thought that he had the coolest job in town, which he still does. As a kid I enjoyed performing on stage, but baseball was always my main interest. Therefore I reasoned that since I loved performing and baseball, I could mold those interests into a career. I came up with two jobs: broadcaster and mascot. I added my newfound interest in radio and decided that I would be a radio broadcaster in the Major Leagues. In my 11 years spent in professional baseball, I've been both broadcaster and mascot and I'm happy to report that I made the right choice. TSB: Describe your style. What makes people want to listen to your broadcast? PE:I think it's important that a broadcaster doesn't attempt to adhere to a specific style. Style should be natural and unforced. Before my first season as a play-by-play broadcaster, a newspaper columnist asked me to describe my style. I told him that I didn't know since I hadn't broadcast a game solo yet and I wanted my style to dictate itself. After seven years as a solo play-by-play broadcaster I think I've developed a style that suits my personality. I don't think that the term "announcer" suits me since I broadcast the game like it's an ongoing conversation. Sure it's a one- sided conversation which makes it more like a monologue, but I like to address the audience during the game like we all drove to the ballpark together, walked through the gates together, each grabbed a beer (but I'll drink water during the game ) and took our seats next to each other. I also like to set the scene at the ballpark; what the air feels like that night, if the stars are out or blocked by clouds, are there shadows on the field, what does the ballpark smell like? Those are little things that are noticed when attending a game and they deserve mention on the broadcasts. I try to never lose sight of that night's game as the most important story. More than anything, the score is the most important story of the night. While I do not openly pull for the Travs on the radio, I think that a fan can tell who I work for by the tone of my voice. I think Travs fans enjoy listening to the broadcasts because I have fun on the air and I'm honest. Travs fans also have said that they like my voice. TSB: Who were/are your biggest professional influences? PE: As a Pittsburgh sports fan I was weaned on radio play-by-play by Lanny Frattere, Bill Hillgrove and Mike Lange. Those voices are immediately identified with their teams and I think that at the very least they've had some influence on me. Any sports fan that has spent time in Pittsburgh has also been influenced by the legendary Myron Cope. Not that I would ever want to sound like Myron, but the point is that a broadcaster shouldn't be afraid to let his hair down and have some fun on the air. Travs GM Bill Valentine has been by boss for five years now. I know he's been influencial to me, but more than that, he is the most entertaining person that I've ever been around. My father has a good ear for sports radio and we'll talk about my progress quite a bit. I also respect the opinions of all the broadcasters in the Texas League and therefore I enjoy discussing our craft with them. And while I do not imitate other broadcasters, I always feel that I learn something when listening to Jon Miller on the Giants' broadcasts. TSB: Describe your average game day with the Travs. PE: Many broadcasters in the minor leagues hold duties that deal with stat work, website maintenance, media relations or sales. The Travs have a very small front office and I handle all baseball information, statistical work and interview requests for the team. My day always begins with a look at the current Texas League standings and the boxscores and recaps of last night's games. Then, I'll begin making the stat packs and game notes for the coaching staffs, scouts and media which usually takes a while. After distributing the stats and notes, I'll do some online research on some of the Texas League players or coaches to help develop stories for use during the season. Once the coaches and teams arrive at the ballpark, I'll make many trips into the clubhouses to get the lineups, get interviews and talk with the guys. Then it's all a countdown to my pre-game show, which begins 20 minutes before first pitch. Many times I'll make sure that local TV reporters get the interviews they need. I have to make sure that lineups are distributed around the ballpark. I'll set up my equipment and laptop computer in the press box, get my lineups and stats situated and maybe get 20 minutes to collect my thoughts before going on the air. After the game, I'll write a recap for the Travs' website and make sure that the post- game reports made it safely to the stats company. TSB: Are the bus rides in the Texas league as legendary as I've heard? PE: The Texas League is known as a bus league, but there are a few teams that fly regularly now. Of course, the Travelers aren't one of them. If our team nickname was the "Arkansas Flyers" maybe we'd have a different situation. However, the Travs do travel in style with one of the nicest buses in the minors. Each year we lease a bus that has been converted into a sleeper that fits the entire team with room to sleep in foldaway beds. Not only do we have real beds, but there are two satellite dishes that make all the channels available at all times. There are plenty of power outlets so personal DVD players, laptops and even video game systems are used on every trip. A 12-hour bus ride is still a 12-hour bus ride no matter how many bells and whistles a bus has. There are off days built into the Texas League schedule for some of the really long rides such as Springfield, MO to Corpus Christi, TX (871 miles). Back when El Paso and Jackson, MS were in the Texas League guys were taking about a 1000-mile ride that took over 16 hours! TSB: In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing minor league broadcasters? PE: Minor league broadcasters generally do not have a large support staff for the broadcasts. Therefore, besides calling all the games and researching stories, we also handle the stats, write most of the ad copy and write the on-air logs for the ads. While I do not have children yet, I just got married in November. All the hours and time spent away from home can be difficult on the home life. A different kind of challenge is the patience we all must display as we attempt to progress throughout our careers. As much as we enjoy calling minor league games, most of us want to make the Major Leagues. That doesn't happen overnight and it doesn't happen just because you want it to. There are only a handful of jobs open at AAA and not too many open at the Major League level each year. You have to learn how to deal with rejection and not to take it personally. You also have to learn to bide your time, be patient and eventually you might get that break for which you've waited. TSB: What keeps you going in the middle of August when you are dog tired and you've called over 100 games at that point? PE: It helps if the Travs are involved in a pennant race, but if they're out of contention I just try to enjoy the last games of the year. I visualize myself in January when it's been months since I last called a game. And I think about how much I'll miss sitting in the press box calling a baseball game. And I really enjoy seeing the people around the Texas League. I've been traveling in this league for five years now and I've become friends with a lot of other front office folks. It's the relationships with those people plus the players and coaches that make the Dog Days a little lighter on the psyche. TSB: How have you improved from your early days as an announcer? PE: As I've gotten older and my voice has matured, I've grown more comfortable on the air. In my first few seasons, my voice hadn't fully matured and I think I tried to make up for that by being a little "announcery." Now I sound much more natural and unforced. I no longer force a story onto a broadcast at the wrong time and I'm able to develop a rhythm much easier than my first few years. I'm also more comfortable with momentary pauses that give fans a real sound of the ambience at the ballpark...and I give the score much more often than before. When I began calling games, I didn't really have an idea that each broadcast is a running story on that night's game. But listeners don't usually listen to every pitch of every inning and will need occasional recaps of the game. It took me a couple of years to figure that out too. TSB: What other sports do you call and how do they help your baseball calling skills? PE: Just this offseason I began broadcasting college basketball on the radio. Baseball is a more natural game for me, but hoops have been great fun. I really don't know if basketball is going to help me with baseball. I guess I'll find out during the upcoming season. Ben Wagner-Lakewood BlueClaws TSB: As a native Hoosier, how did you escape the clutches of basketball and make your way into professional baseball? BW: From the beginning I had the desire to work in professional sports and I sought a lot of advice throughout college before making a career decision. Minor League Baseball is a great way to gain incredible experience in a multitude of areas. Most people are familiar with the sales portion, but it extends beyond that aspect and each is equally important to any individual and their organization. Learning how to interact with fans, serving as a representative for your team in the community, getting involved with many organizations are all skills required of Big League and other sports broadcasters. These skills can be honed in the Minors daily. When you think about it, MiLB broadcasters are not much different than the players we tell stories about each day. We are all working to get better everyday and reach higher levels in the profession. TSB: Describe some of your earliest broadcast experiences? BW: Awful. How’s that for honesty? I was still in high school and had a tremendous opportunity to start working in radio before many have the chance. The people that took a chance on me also took the time to help me grow. They were supportive, made suggestions and let me keep going without throwing too much on my plate. Those days gave me a lot of confidence. A lot of my early experience on the air was spent learning how to be comfortable on the air and developing the proper mechanics that are not only important in baseball but apply to every sport. These are things that I continue to work on each time I put on the headset. TSB: You are a Sycamore. How did your time at Indiana State University prepare you for your broadcasting career? BW: The greatest thing about ISU and the R/TV/F Department was the opportunity to get involved from day one. I was incredibly ambitious and being under the umbrella of ‘student radio’ first allowed me to try new things, push myself and expand my talents. I had other doors open due in part to the market size of Terre Haute and simply the fact I was around nearly every sport each season. I was also around the other writers and reporters constantly which helped build a reputation while always wanting to do more. I was looking to do as much on air work as possible and would do it really cheap. I could write on and on about the instrumental people and opportunities that allowed me to be prepared for my time after college. TSB: You landed your job with the BlueClaws at the Winter Meetings in 2003. Describe what the Winter Meetings are like for someone looking to find a job in baseball. BW: Being a broadcaster in this setting is different versus other positions. There are many more people that walk away from the Winter Meetings frustrated than happy. You have to know that going in if you plan on seeking a broadcasting position. For broadcasters (and everyone) it is an incredible networking opportunity that I think is important to revisit every year. Some disagree but I have made it a point to save and plan to make the trip each year. Not only do you have a lot of broadcasters from every level - you also have the opportunity to meet an invaluable amount of decision makers from clubs across America. I feel the most important part is meeting the people that will offer you the job. Owners, GM/AGM’s are people you have the opportunity to impress and are in the same spot for at least a couple days. This could lead to a good word on your behalf for that job you really want. TSB: Broadcasting at the minor league level involves so much more than calling games. What are your other responsibilities with the club? BW: My job with the BlueClaws is full-time and includes intense sales, media/PR, web, newsletter, publications, tickets and radio duties. Our organization is heavily involved in the community so I also do a number of appearances in and out of season. The job spans about everything from making the coffee in the morning to pulling the tarp. The good thing about balancing all these duties is the more you do, the better organized you have to be to succeed. TSB: You have plenty of basketball broadcasting experience, would you ever rule out pursuing a job in the NBA? BW: Never. My goal is to be a play-by-play broadcaster at the highest levels possible. Calling games in NBA would be quite an honor and I can imagine the many incredible opportunities working in the NBA would create. I would say anyone that has left a position at the collegiate level or doing college games misses the atmosphere. There are a handful of college network jobs that are very high profile positions. It is an entertaining argument if you have to make that decision. Overall, I would love to jump from sport to sport with the seasons. TSB: Name some of your broadcasting idols. BW: I’m not sure if I would categorize the following people as idols but there’s no doubt they have had a direct influence on how I prepare, conduct and carry the broadcast. Many people sound like the broadcasters they listened to as kids growing up. That’s not a bad thing but anyone breaking into the business and anyone that idolizes a person has to be extremely careful who they listen to or mimic. Some of the broadcasters that I respect for the way they broadcast games or I have seen conduct themselves are: Dan Shulman - ESPN Gary Cohen - NY Mets Jon Miller – SF Giants Mark Boyle – Indiana Pacers Mitch Holthus – KC Chiefs Don Fisher – IU Football/Basketball. TSB: At this point in your career, what would you consider to be your biggest strengths? BW: I think a lot of energy each night out is important to have. It’s good to hear that from those generous enough to listen to my work and fans alike. I pride myself on focusing on being mechanically sound with each play and then building a solid broadcast. I also have a lot to learn about broadcasting and combining it with the game itself so the thirst for knowledge when talking to rovers, coaches and managers is something to do daily. Good stories from “back in the day” are great but when you show a desire to learn about the current team and what’s going on, it earns yourself credibility with the club and carries across to your audience. Oh, and I say the score a lot, but never enough. Jon Schaeffer-Lynchburg Hillcats . TSB: What do you remember most about your first professional baseball broadcast? JS: It was about a 35-degree evening in Frederick, Maryland and all I can remember is how cold it was in the booth. During my four seasons in professional baseball I don’t remember any game that was played on that chilly of a day. I was also very nervous at the onset, but once the game started I relaxed considerably and it ended up being quite a memorable night. TSB: You received your B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Penn State University. How did your college experience help prepare you for your career? JS: Choosing to attend Penn State was, without question, one of the best decisions I have ever made. Having the opportunity to major in Broadcast Journalism was truly unique; and I felt more than ready to pursue a career in broadcasting after graduation. Penn State prepared me for the real world and I wouldn’t trade my experiences in Happy Valley for anything. TSB: Your resume includes work with the LPGA and assisting in production of news stories for nationally syndicated Inside Edition. How did those experiences help your development? JS: I spent 10 weeks in New York City between my junior and senior years of college working at Inside Edition and learned a great deal about the broadcasting business. I believe that the best way to become skilled at something is through experience and that was the first real experience that I gained in the field. After spending time the following summer with the LPGA, I was certain that I wanted to make a career of broadcasting. TSB: Which current announcer's style most resembles yours, if any? JS: I grew up spending hundreds of hours tuned to the radio listening to the likes of Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn call Phillies game. I listened to Kalas and Ashburn religiously for the better part of 15 years. My love for the game and the profession I solely attribute to Kalas. He is as good of a sportscaster as I have ever heard in any sport. His love for both the game and the Phillies is evident after listening to him for just half of an inning. There is no doubt in my mind that my on-air presence has been greatly influenced by Kalas. TSB: You have also called college basketball play-by-play, how important is versatility even if your focus is on one sport? JS: I have spent the past two seasons as the radio voice of Longwood University Men’s basketball, an Independent Division I member. The experience has been immeasurable and the opportunity to improve as a broadcaster while the team improves on the court has been tremendous. As far as versatility is concerned, I think that you make yourself more attractive to a potential employer when you have had significant experience calling multiple sports. TSB: Who has had the biggest influence on you professionally? JS: Without question, I have been greatly influenced by my former broadcast partner Matt Provence. Provence spent seven years as the lead voice of the Hillcats and in my opinion is as good of a broadcaster as there is in minor league baseball. I spent two years as his assistant and learned more over those two seasons than I ever could have possibly imagined. He knows more about the intricacies of the game then anyone I have ever been around. He recently had his first child and left the broadcasting side of the business to serve as the Assistant General Manager of the Daytona Cubs. TSB: You were a finalist for the Hearst Award while at Penn State, explain the award and how much of an honor it was for you. JS: The Hearst award honors excellence in college broadcasting and I was nominated for some television work that I did while I was at Penn State. I take a lot of pride in my work, and it really was special to be recognized for my effort. While I did not win the award, I learned that through hard work and preparation I could succeed in broadcasting. TSB:In your opinion, what makes a strong baseball play-by-play announcer? JS: Preparation. I can tell within minutes of listening to a play-by-play announcer whether or not he/she is prepared. If they are not prepared, they immediately lose credibility, which is awfully crucial for a broadcaster. The listener knows when they are listening to someone that is not prepared. I like to think that when someone is listening to me they think that I have done my homework. TSB: Prediction for Penn State Football next year? JS: Penn State football has become my passion over the last eight or nine years. Whether or not I am having a good week in the fall is based solely on whether the Nittany Lions won or lost the previous week. This year is as tough a schedule as I can remember, with the team traveling to both Ohio State and Notre Dame. I think if they can win 8 games this year they will be in line to challenge for a Big Ten Title in 2007. Tim Hagerty-Mobile BayBears TSB: Tell us about your background. You earned a broadcasting degree from Lyndon State University in Vermont. Why Lyndon and what was your school experience like? TH: I certainly didn't go there for the snowfall in May. The college was in a rural area, so while in school I had jobs at a local radio station and a local television station. As early as 19 years old, I'd be up at five in the morning reading the news on the radio station, reporting a story for the television station during the day, announce a local sports game at night, and occasionally go to the campus for class. I think in bigger cities, it would have been difficult to get as much regular air time. But that was best for me. Everyone has their own plans and strategies. TSB: Your resume is quite full. You worked for the Arizona Fall League in 2004. What did you learn from that opportunity? TH: For my job in the Arizona Fall League, I was going to two games a day. It gave me the opportunity to talk to that many more baseball executives and learn new aspects of the game. The Fall League gave me extra months of games and extended my first season in professional baseball. TSB: The Cape Cod League is a well respected league. You worked games there in 2002. How did you get that opportunity and how did it make you better? TH: The summer of 2002 is when I first decided broadcasting baseball games is what I wanted to do. I know most announcers say it's all they've desired since they were seven years old, but that isn't the case for me. I was always passionate about baseball, but when I went to college my plan was to go into news. I was working as a reporter in Massachusetts that summer, and I arranged a plan to broadcast some Cape Cod League games for fun. I remember the first dreadful inning of my first broadcast, saying to myself 'this is the last baseball game I will ever do.' By the third inning, I figured out the pace of the broadcast and started enjoying the challenge. By the end of that first game, I was looking at the websites for Minor League teams, figuring out how to become a Minor League baseball broadcaster. I still remember the date, June 21st, 2002. Life changing. TSB: Your resume also includes a one game opportunity with the Kansas City Royals. How did that come about? TH: In 2004, I broadcasted games for Kansas City's minor league team in Idaho Falls, ID. Muzzy Jackson was in town evaluating the players there, and he mentioned in the past the Royals sometimes invited the broadcaster from a Minor League affiliate to join their radio broadcast and do a few innings of play by play. So I sent the Royals a CD, and they were kind enough to invite me out to Kansas City. They are a first class organization. They treated me like I belonged, and not just the Minor League radio guy. TSB: Was doing a big league game what you expected? TH: One characteristic of the Royals broadcast touches my work every night. You'd like to say broadcasting a Minor League game and a Major League game is similar, because they're both baseball. But I don't think that is true. Every thought I had during the Royals broadcast, I found myself reviewing the next comment in my head before speaking. I'd ask 'is this observation really all that interesting?' Or, 'would saying this be funny, or would I come off like the Minor League goof from Idaho?' What I'm saying is, there are just so many more ears hearing you in big league cities, so you have to be conscious of that. So now in Mobile, my mindset is- if I wouldn't make this comment on a Major League broadcast, then I'm not going to say it here in AA. Even though it was just one Major League game, it has given me a clearer frame of mind. TSB: You are in your second year in the Southern League with Mobile, has that job been a good experience? TH: Yes. At both here and in my first Minor League radio job in Idaho Falls, I have been fortunate to have bosses who put a high level of importance in the radio broadcast. It has been an environment encouraging the growth of my broadcasting skills. TSB: You have a wide variety of experience, including anchoring, writing and reporting. How have these experiences made you a better baseball broadcaster? TH: The traits of broadcast news are more transferable to broadcasting baseball than I would have thought. When a reporter is writing a package for a television broadcast, they have a limited time frame, so the wording has to be attention-grabbing. Similarly, when broadcasting a ballgame, the announcer should be creative in their phrasing. I think making a school board meeting interesting is a comparable test to making an 11-1, early inning game interesting. TSB: It used to be that most announcers hired by big league teams were hired out of Triple A. That seems to be changing a bit. Do you think it's imperative to get to Triple A? TH: Good question. Since I'm still fairly new to this, I am usually asking questions like that, and not trying to answer them. Internally, I envision a job at the AAA level before a Major League job. That being said, the handful of Major League announcers I've spoken to have always pointed out the differences in every broadcaster's journey to a Major League broadcast team. It seems there is no direct way of getting to that peak. So I don't know. Good question. TSB: We ask this question to all of those featured here, so your turn. Who is your favorite baseball announcer and why? TH: Growing up near Boston, we often had the Red Sox games on the television at home. He isn't broadcasting games in Boston anymore, but I always thought Sean McDonough was funny, yet grasped the seriousness of a key situation in a close game. He had a witty personality, but didn't step on the game. McDonough gets my vote for this one. Jon Laaser-Yakima Bears TSB: Your early work experience includes internships with the Minnesota Vikings and The Fan Radio Network. How critical were these experiences, even though not all of them included on air work? JL: The internship with the Fan Radio Network was invaluable, because it was really where I started to learn the industry. I am a big believer that there isn’t much you can learn about play-by-play or sports radio in general in a classroom. There is no better way obviously to acclimate yourself to the business, than being a part of it, and the Fan was great about giving opportunities as you earned them to branch out into a little bit of everything. The one detriment is that when you start out getting a taste of a big market like that, it can be a shock to discover some of the situations you encounter in smaller ones. Although, ultimately, you wind up loving those just as much. Interning with the Vikings was beneficial because it shows you the other side. How things look from the angle of the team, rather than from the angle of someone trying to garner information about that team. As a member of the media, you sometimes think you’re getting the inside story, when actually it may be something entirely different. For me, it was more an opportunity to meet more people, make more contacts, and just experience more stuff, which is ultimately the goal. And, the seats in the press box at the 50 yard line weren’t too shabby either. TSB: Lets talk education. Everyone takes a different path. In your case, you received an Associates Degree from Brown College in Minnesota and in two years you hit the streets landing your internships. Was that your plan all along? JL: Yeah, that’s what I like to tell myself. But no, not at all. Out of high school, I went to Arizona State, and without much of a sense of urgency to find a path in life, I definitely found the wrong one. I kind of bumped around for awhile, like I think a lot of people do, not really knowing how to get started on what they want to do. Going to Brown was basically starting over, but after the re-start, things have gone quite well. In hindsight though I don’t think I would change the experience, even though sometimes it seems like I may have wasted a couple of years. It certainly has had an effect on my personality, and in turn my broadcasting. Not that I would recommend this route. You hear that kids, stay in school! TSB: With the various experiences you had during your internships, when did you start focusing on baseball? JL: It was an inevitable thing really. Like most kids, my first passion was baseball growing up. But also like most kids, I was an all-star at 11, and a has-been at 13. I couldn’t hit a curveball. Substitute other sports and their related skills, and I realized fairly early my dreams of being in sports as a player wasn’t going to be a reality. But I could always talk, and having a father who is a public speaker, and a grandfather who would put me to bed with stories of Jack Buck, and Harry Carey back in the good old days in St. Louis, I certainly got a lot of encouragement to do what I’m doing now. I guess the long and short of it is that being a baseball broadcaster is a dream that goes a couple of generations back in my family, and I’m the one fortunate enough to get to try to live it out. Also, and I’m sure a lot of the readers of this site can relate to, when you’re getting paid by the game, there are certainly a lot more baseball games than football games in a season. TSB: Like most announcers, your resume includes High School basketball and football play-by-play. How important is versatility when you are in the process of building a resume? JL: To survive in this business, I think it is the most important thing. And I don’t just mean different sports, I mean being able to do PA work, cut your own spots, run your own board…etc. Anything that makes you a better choice than someone else, is anything that can untangle you from an ever growing group of aspiring broadcasters. It is cliché I know, but it is the truest cliché I’ve heard. As far as doing other sports, I just simply like doing them. There is something unique about every sport, as far as the broadcast goes, and it seems that every year when I’m just about to get tired of doing one sport, the season wraps up, and you get to change completely. I have also been extremely fortunate to do high school games in a close knit community, with a great sports tradition, and excellent backing from the radio station. There are times, when those games are even more fun than doing a professional baseball game at a packed stadium. And of course there are other times, when you’re doing a game from a cell phone because the high school gym doesn’t have a phone line, when remember how hard you need to work to move up. TSB: In 2005, you served as the number two announcer for the St. Paul Saints of the Independent Northern League (now the American Association). It is a very well know franchise. What was the experience like? JL: To be quite honest, it was fairly intimidating at first. Being from the area, it was no secret to me how much of a following the Saints have, and add to that the fact that they had television coverage, and two extremely talented and professional broadcasters already, I was a little timid my first couple of weeks. But no, the experience as a whole will be the one I think I will look back on, should I get where I want to go, knowing that was where I learned the most about baseball broadcasting. As it seems like I have been virtually everywhere I have gone, I got extremely lucky with the people I got to work with. Kris Atteberry, who is the #1 radio announcer there, has become not only a great friend, but someone I look to as a mentor as well. And I think that is something that is vitally important to have. Someone who has been to the next step you are trying to get to, and can help you get there. It’s also great to have found broadcasters who are confident enough in their own abilities, that they will share what they have learned in the past, without being threatened by the new kid on the block. Kris is definitely the best at that, and Anthony LaPanta, who did the television work for many years, and was in St. Paul last season, was great at it too. From a baseball perspective, it was weird going from the collegiate wooden bat leagues, where the kids were kind of wide eyed, and everything was new and fresh, to the independent league, where a lot of the guys have been through the systems already, know life on the road, and are a little more hardened. But again, different experiences, that hopefully will pay off down the road. And I loved that pig. Ham Solo was his name, and I wanted to buy him and keep him as a pet, but I didn’t make enough money. TSB: This year you jumped to the Yakima Bears in the Northwest League. Quite a distance from the Twin Cities. Any culture shock and how are you enjoying the gig? JL: I just got here a few weeks ago, and thus far, it has been great. I work with a tremendous staff, which is by far the youngest in the league. So we have a lot of eager people, who are intent on making their mark here, and establishing themselves in the game. I can’t really comment on the league from a travel standpoint at this point, because our season has yet to begin, but if it is half as good as I have been told, it should be an outstanding summer. Geographically, Yakima, WA, and Minneapolis, MN couldn’t be more night and day, but that is one of the reasons I wanted to come out here. Having lived in Minnesota for most of my life, I am grateful my first couple of gigs wound up being there, but I have been itching to get back out, and experience more of the country, and I’ll definitely get to do that with the Pacific Northwest this summer. But now to the most important facet of Yakima. They have three Jack in the Box locations for your convenience. I have been craving “monster tacos” since my time in Phoenix, and now that I took care of that fix yesterday, I couldn’t be feeling better. TSB: Favorite broadcasters growing up, baseball or otherwise. JL: Harry Caray, hands down. Being from Chicago originally, he was it. He was unconventional at a time when you could be, and in the process, set the standard as far as winning over a crowd. No, he wasn’t technically the best broadcaster, but his flaws somehow made him even better. Kevin Harlan is also another personal favorite. I tend to like broadcasters who genuinely seem excited to be at the game, and no one does that better than Kevin. And of course Harry Kalas, and Ernie Harwell, for the obvious reasons. TSB: What advice do you give announcers looking to break into the business? JL: Look at everything you do as an opportunity to learn. Whether it is an aspect of the broadcast, or learning how to blanket the town with pocket schedules. The more a part of the team you can be with the team you’re involved with, the better the experience will be for you, and in turn them. There is something to be taken from every experience, whether all you learn is that you don’t like something, at least you know what you don’t want to have to do. Always realize that you are your product. It is equally important to have the ability to relate to a number of different groups of people, as it is to have the ability to describe the game. There are a lot of people with one of the two abilities, who won’t last because they neglect the other. And, be around as much as you can when you’re first starting out. If you have the ability, go to the winter meetings, and don’t get bitter when you don’t get a job the first time, most won’t. TSB: When you listen to other announcers, what makes a solid baseball play-by-play broadcaster in your opinion? JL: Accurate information and intricate description are good starting points. After that, the ability to know your audience, and what they are looking to take from a broadcast. I know I’ve read on this site and others, the debate that baseball play-by-play is the same on every level, and I just don’t believe that is true. The descriptions of high school players, to college players, to professionals, are entirely different animals. The ability to be smooth with your call, while realizing what is appropriate on a given level and what isn’t to me makes an announcer solid. And not coincidentally, makes him well liked as well. And HUMOR…We’re not curing cancer! Doug Greenwald-Fresno Grizzlies TSB: Your dad Hank was an an outstanding big league broadcaster from the late 70's to the mid 90's, so the first question is the obvious one: Did you feel any pressure to follow in your dad's footsteps? DG: There was no pressure at all. In fact my dad always "discouraged" it. But he was always for whatever I wanted to do, whether I became a rocket scientist or a baseball broadcaster. TSB: If you could zero in one one thing you learned from your dad professionally that you carry with you, what would it be? DG: Be prepared for the worst game you're ever going to see. It's easy to call the exciting games, it's easy to call the games where your team is winning 8-1, but you need to be prepared for the games when your team is down 10-0 in the third. It's just like a ballplayer, he prepares everyday. As a broadcaster, I comb the internet, read the papers, talk to players, field staffs, scouts, all that is part of preparing. My dad has a good saying, "the ball is only in play about ten minutes, the remaining two-and-a-half hours is up to you." TSB: Did you hang out in the booth much with him growing up? Any special memories? DG: Always. It was my second home. I hated missing games. If the Giants were home, I was at Candlestick in the booth. My most special memory was being in the booth with him the day the Giants won the National League pennant in 1989. My father as a broadcaster, and I as a fan experienced lots of losing/mediocre seasons from the Giants, but it was all worth it to celebrate that day seeing the sea of orange, and black celebrate on the field. TSB: Let's talk about your experience. You have worked basically at every level of the minor leagues, including an early stop in Hawaii in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League. Describe that experience. DG: It was really "tough" duty, show up, and broadcast. The rest of the time, have fun in Hawaii. But in regard to baseball, it was a great step in the sense because as a broadcaster I was in the same boat as many of those players, very early in their pro careers as they were starting to develop. And as I'm sure all of us had fun being there, it was still a job whether for me it was reading the papers or following the Major League playoffs (the league was played in October), I had to know what was going on in baseball. Conversely, the players were out early working on fundamentals, and took their jobs just as seriously. TSB: You climbed to the Double A level with Shreveport in 2000 and '01 before an ownership change had you looking for another position. You decided to go back to A ball in Modesto. Was that a case of one step back to go two steps forward? DG: I'm very appreciative of the opportunity Modesto gave me. I was out of a job, and here I was into late January still looking before I got the call. But no, I was not looking to go backward. I was looking to stay at the AA level or go higher. There were a couple of other AA jobs which popped open, and one AAA job. I certainly went after those aggressively. However, I never drew any interest from those clubs, not even an interview. Since I had been in the California League a few years earlier, I knew the ownership in Modesto, the preceding broadcaster Adam Fox, and the General Manager Greg Coleman, all who I thank, for thinking of me when it came time to considering, and selecting a new broadcaster. TSB: You were selected the Minor League Broadcaster of the Year in 2005. What an honor. How did that feel? DG: It was a tremendous honor. I was thrilled, and not only do I thank Minor League News for selecting me, I thank a lot of my peers who called to congratulate me. They have worked equally as hard, and are as deserving. There are a lot of outstanding broadcasters working in professional sports. Although the honor was for 2005, I owe thanks to all the teams who have hired me, and given me the chance to broadcast. TSB: How difficult is it to forge your own identity when you have a dad who is so well respected in the business? DG: I knew going in that people would associate me with my father. It's an understandable knee-jerk reaction to which I have no problem. But I think by now (this is my 11th) year people know me for me. TSB: Ever have a chance to broadcast a game with your father? DG: Many times (too bad not at the Major League level) but he, my mom, and sister will normally visit me every season. And at that time my dad has always joined me on the radio. After all, people get tired of listening to one Greenwald, I'll make them listen to both. He adds so much to the broadcast, not just recall but his ability to recognize situations. TSB: Since Hank is number 1, who is/was your second favorite broadcaster? DG: Who says I would choose Hank number one (Doug says with a laugh)? My second favorite broadcaster was the Mets Bob Murphy. It's sad he's no longer with us but when the two years my father was broadcasting for the Yankees, I'd often listen to the Mets, and I loved Bob's easy-going style. He grew up in small town Oklahoma, and just had a very smooth, easy-to-listen to style. Whether the game was out-of-hand early or a one- run game in the ninth, Bob could play to both situations. He wasn't a homer, he was a broadcaster. I always loved his line when it was a close game going to the ninth, "fans fasten your seat belts, we're going to the ninth." Listening to him literally felt like you were in the booth with him. In addition, Bob was always very kind to me when the Mets came to San Francisco. He'd allow me to sit in the booth, and he, like many of the other broadcasters was always very supportive of my career. Robert Portnoy-Albuquerque Isotopes TSB: You may have one of the most interesting backgrounds in the business. Let's start with your education. You have a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and English from Stanford and have completed some course work on a Masters from San Jose State. How has your extensive schooling helped your career? RP: The opportunity to study journalism and communication at Stanford and San Jose State was invaluable, both personally and professionally. I had a chance to work at a high-quality student newspaper and radio station at Stanford, and San Jose State allowed me to return to broadcasting, calling Spartan sports and San Jose Giants baseball on the university station. TSB: Early in your broadcasting career you gained plenty of newspaper experience as well. With your Journalism background, when did you make the decision that broadcasting professional baseball was for you? RP: Ultimately, I was drawn to the excitement of broadcasting. Writing is a lifelong love, but it cannot match the adrenaline associated with a live broadcast. In a lot of ways it's like playing golf, where you only have one chance to hit each shot. You're on the microphone for 2-3 hours with no backspace key or delete key handy for a rewrite. TSB: In Huntsville, you also landed a part-time weekend television gig with the local ABC affiliate. Sounds like you did it all there. What was that experience like? RP: Fantastic. It's a totally different medium, and I loved it. Everything is scripted, yet your goal is to make it all seem spontaneous. I also learned that I prefer being at the event rather than in a studio, even though an anchor's payoff for working nights year-round is much less travel. TSB: Like most anouncers in the minor leagues, you have also handled media relations and sales duties. How important is it to develop those skills? RP: If your interest is baseball broadcasting, they’re not optional, they’re essential. The media relations duties go hand-in-hand with broadcasting. Working in sales is something I embraced right away, and it has helped further my career and improved my communication skills immensely. TSB: Along with baseball, you have experience broadcasting basketball and football as well as a stint with the NBDL. Are you locked into baseball or would you pursue opportunities in other sports if they became available? RP: I’ve really enjoyed broadcasting all three sports. Baseball probably would win the race by a whisker over basketball, with football finishing a close third. Advancing in broadcasting is just so difficult. The pie-in-the-sky scenario would be calling baseball in spring and summer, and then shifting to college football and basketball in fall and winter. TSB: You were voted Broadcaster of the Year in 2004 in the Southern League. How important was that award to you? RP: It meant a lot. Everyone in Minor League Baseball works so hard, for such long hours, wearing so many different hats. Having those who work with you around the league recognize you in that way, it’s the highest compliment you can receive. It’s satisfying because respect is earned, and I learned so much from my friends in the Southern League. TSB: You've called professional baseball at every level, who do you credit along the way for giving you your oportunities? RP: North Johnson gave me my start, with my first full-season job in Kinston. He’s as good as it gets in the game of baseball. Bryan Dingo and Cliff Pate hired me in Huntsville, and I’ll never be able to thank them enough, and they are two of the best friends I’ve made in the game. Cal Burleson believed in me and brought me to Indy, my first Triple-A opportunity. Ken Young and John Traub run a first-class organization in Albuquerque, and it’s truly a privilege to be working for such quality people. TSB: From 1990-1997, you toured as professional golfer. Talk about that experience and why you eventually gave up golf and turned to broadcasting. RP: I love competition, and golf was the outlet. The game is so pure and so simple, yet so subtle and so difficult to master. It combines a complex internal battle with competing against the field, whose results you can’t control. I finally moved on because I had taken it far as I could. Injuries to my hands and back had become difficult to manage, and I knew they would prevent me from improving my game any further. TSB: Favorite baseball announcers, past and present? RP: I enjoyed listening to Vin Scully, Dick Enberg, Don Drysdale and Jerry Coleman growing up. Current favorites include Jon Miller, Ken Korach and Duane Kuiper. There is definitely a West Coast bias to my broadcasting tastes. That’s where I’ve spent most of my life. Stu Paul-San Antonio Missions TSB: Syracuse University has a reputation for producing a lot of broadcasting talent. Tell us about your time at your alma mater, and what makes Syracuse so special? SP: What made Syracuse so special was the Communications Curriculum that it offered. There were a lot of fine courses to take including TV Production, Speech, and Writing which helped me become a better communicator. Also, being at the radio station, was a great education. WAER had a lot of fine talented would-be broadcasters (and still do) and having hands-on experience at a college radio station made me aware of what goes on behind the scenes. Being behind the microphone, learning how to prepare a sportscast and being more aware of the audio equipment and production equipment, prepared me for my first radio job. It was also a great place to network with others and to pick each other's brain in terms of trying to get a "foot in the door" in the business. LOL!! Of course, dealing with calling events in the snow was a challenge, especially football. If you can handle that, you can handle anything. TSB: You have experience working professional basketball and hockey in the CBA and CHL. How did those experiences shape your career? SP: It helped me become a versatile announcer in various sports. I think it is rather important to cover as many sports as possible. Not only will broadcasting different sports keep you busy, but I honestly believe that you become a very marketable broadcaster as a result. You want to develop a reputation for handling any sport that comes your way. Hockey and basketball challenged me into staying on my toes when it comes to calling a game at a faster pace than baseball. For instance, if you are ever in- between jobs, and let's say, you cannot get a baseball job, at least you know you have the experience in handling basketball or football or hockey. This all helps you stay employable. It also shapes you into dealing with different situations on the job, such as the travel (oftentimes waking up early to catch a plane) or filing reports for the newspaper and catering to the needs of other announcers, PR Directors and newspapermen. Of course, doing the other sports is a lot of fun. TSB: Your experience also includes working in corporate sales, media relations and group ticket sales. Many broadcasters perform these duties because they are a part of their overall responsibilities. Do you enjoy them? SP: I do enjoy these tasks because it gives you the opportunity to interact with people who are willing to buy your product, whether it is the sports team and/or the broadcast itself. Of course, I enjoy broadcasting better, but just like doing other sports, you become more aware of how a sports organization operates a business. You learn to deal with the media and these tasks also challenge you to deal with problems and come up with solutions. If you can show people that you can multi-task as well as broadcast, your chances of landing a job in the sports/broadcasting business increase. I take pleasure in helping people achieve their goals whether it is to help market their own product through the sports team or speaking with group leaders and catering to their needs in planning out an event at the ballpark and/or arena. Of course, it is fun when you get the commissions as well, but on a more serious note, these tasks make you feel involved and you feel like you are a part of the team as well as part of developing the success in not only bringing people out to the park and maintaining the media exposure, but more importantly, making sure things go right so you can see the smile on people's faces knowing they enjoyed the experience of being at the sporting event. It's always nice when I receive e-mails and letters from people, thanking me for their assistance in achieving their goals, whether it is enjoyment, exposure, etc. TSB: How would you describe your baseball broadcasting style? SP: I would describe my style as a person who is energetic and into the game. Of course, you cannot make every play sound like it is Game 7 of the World Series. You have to learn when to build up your energy or tone it down, depending on the game situation. You want to try to build up a drama if a rally is going on. I try to let the fans know that I am ENJOYING myself, so therefore, they can enjoy the game as well. On a great play or a home run, especially by the home team, I really get into it. I try not to scream or yell too loud, but try to control my excitement. I'm more low-key when not much is going on because it is important for the fans to understand what is going on and to figure out how the game is going. What I mean by that is when they tune in and the game is underway, you want to be sure that the fan knows how the game is going, what part of the game are we in and more importantly, give the score -- frequently!! Also, I hate using "we". I hear too many team's announcers that say "we". Yes, you are employed by the team in many cases and naturally, you want to do what you can to please the sponsors, the fans, the radio station and more importantly, your employers who sign your paycheck. Still, you NEVER know who would be listening and oftentimes, it may be fans from the other team. I have received e-mails from fans other than for the team I cover and like the fact that I am UNBIASED. As a professional broadcaster, I feel the need to separate myself from the team to a certain extent because I have a responsibility to a lot of people and that's something that I have learned when I started in the business years ago. I always try to keep in mind that the GAME is MORE important than the announcer himself. I stick to the game when it is tight, but when it is a blowout, especially when your team is trailing, you better be prepared with stories. Stories that relate to the particular players playing in the game or let's say, if you are in a particular city, it doesn't hurt to inject a little information about the city and the ballpark, especially since fans don't get to travel often to the various cities the broadcaster is in. To sum it up, I look at myself as being passionate about my work, about the game, and varying my delivery. When nothing much is happening, stick to more of a conversational style. You want to broadcast like you are talking to other people. If a rally occurs, follow the tempo. That's when you can increase the excitement timbre in your voice and when a team scores runs, that's when you get excited. If a great play is made, get into it. You almost want to broadcast as if you are playing the game itself. Make sure you control your excitement so people can UNDERSTAND YOU and that's what I have worked on. TSB: How have you improved from your early days as a broadcaster? SP: That's a great question. I think the way I improved is in my pacing. I guess like other broadcasters, I had a tendency of being TOO HYPED UP!! Oftentimes, I did get excited too much and I tried to squeeze too many words into one sentence. Sure, I would pause, but not long enough. It's like the analogy in which you try to eat a sandwich in one bite and of course, you can't do that. You won't enjoy the sandwich and you could choke as well, of course. Talking too much and squeezing many words will cause you to stumble more and not to mention, you would use too much energy. I have learned how to tone down the excitement and to pause more and more importantly, talk into smaller sentences. Remember, we are communicating to a mass audiences and there are different people tuning in. Some cannot keep up with a fast pace, but you also don't want to be too slow or dull as well. I try to put myself into the listener's body when I am calling a game. You want to be concise, to be understandable and try not to overuse stats. I try to focus more on situations and of course, the more you learn about the player and his interests, the better you can make a broadcast. That's why it's important to get to know players. I keep in mind that there are people who are listening to a ballgame for the first time, so you want to be educational as well as entertaining. Oftentimes, you have to broadcast like you are a manager of a team and how he will play out the situation but don't forget that you must report the progress as it goes. TSB: One of the toughest things for baseball announcers is grinding through the dog days of the season in August. How do you deal with the long baseball season? SP: Well, one of the advantages of being an announcer is the time you spend on the road. Oftentimes, you have a chance to relax during the day, even while you prepare for a ballgame. You can chill in your hotel room or if there are things to do nearby, such as museums, malls, movie theaters, etc. Even while you are a home, you can always relax during lunch breaks. Otherwise, I couldn't be any happier with the grind. Why? Because when I think of other people and unfortunately, not being happy in their occupations, I count my lucky stars in doing what I LOVE. I am sure other announcers like yourself (Mario) and others whom you have interviewed, we are doing something that we enjoy because to me, broadcasting is NOT work, it is fun. While I was growing up, I was so determined to do something that would excite me everyday. Being part of the drama and excitement of sports is just exciting as being the athlete itself. TSB: Name some of your favorite baseball announcers and the qualities make them your favorites. SP: Being from New York City, I have been fortunate to listen to talented people on the local and national level. With the Yankees, I enjoyed listening to Frank Messer, Jerry Coleman (now with the San Diego Padres), the Scooter, "Phil Rizzuto" and Hank Greenwald. With the Mets, it was the original trio of Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner. I also enjoy one of the very best in Gary Cohen. At the National Level, I have enjoyed listening to the likes of Curt Gowdy, Vin Scully and Merle Harmon (whom I enjoyed while he was the radio voice of the New York Jets). The one particular trait that these guys have is they are/were true professionals. They don't act like cheerleaders, they never use "we", they stick to the nuances of the game and that is rather important. They got excited when they need to but they were always focused on that one important part of the job -- the game meant more than they themselves. They knew when to weave a story, they always explained rules and history and were just a joy to listen to. All with great voices as well. TSB: What would you consider your dream job? SP: No doubt that I would love to broadcast for either the Yankees or the Mets on radio. New York City happens to be my hometown and I am familiar with the teams, the stadiums and the history of the clubs and of course, being familiar with the city. I know the two clubs are in good hands with the people they have now. I like radio because you do every game and I like the challenge of trying to describe all of the details of painting the picture in someone's mind. Plus, should your team get to the post- season, you get to do every game as well. Of course, in this business, you have to be flexible, so if I could not or never get a job in New York City, I would consider going to any other major league city and still do radio. TV is fine, but I like radio better. TSB: Any advice to young broadcasters looking to break into the business? SP: I would tell people to become broadcasters for the RIGHT reasons. Don't just do it for the money (even though at the minors it isn't always that great), or the fame. Do it because you WANT TO DO IT. Make sure that this is the type of work you will enjoy for at least 30 to 40 years. Take a tape recorder to the ballpark and practice play-by-play. Try to point things out that you can improve in. Just knock on doors. Apply to radio stations, to minor league teams, whether it is hockey or baseball and write to the athletic departments of Universities, and don't limit yourself to Division 1. Divisions 2 and 3 would be fine places to start as well. Don't let rejection stop you. It will happen, but if you have the desire and talent, stay with it. Even if you get turned down 100 times, the 101st job you applied for may be the one you land. Keep your play-by-play tapes short. If you are still in college, apply for internships and even volunteer to work as a statistician and/or spotter in football and basketball. Don't be afraid to sell and do media relations stuff (we did discuss this) and keep networking. Go to Winter Meetings and try to connect with established broadcasters and fellow job seekers. Get to know people and what has worked for them in terms of landing jobs. Broadcasters are always looking forward to help. Don't worry about the pay first. Get the experience and the rest will take care of itself. Jason Griffin-Toledo Mud Hens TSB: You received a B.S. in Mass Communication in 1995 from Miami University in Oxford, OH. Talk about your college experience at Miami. JG: My experience at Miami was fantastic. As a high school senior, I had narrowed my choices down to Ohio University and Miami. I ended up choosing Miami because I figured that as a broadcast major, I would have more of an opportunity to get real on-air experience quicker than at Ohio (Athens is known for their communication program). That, coupled with the academic reputation of Miami, were the deciding factors for me. It certainly paid off as I was able to start working for the student radio station as a freshman doing basketball, hockey, and baseball. I’ll never forget my first broadcast in November of 1991 at Millett Hall in Oxford – working as a color analyst for a women’s basketball game on a Saturday afternoon with Chris Rose as my partner providing the play-by-play. Yes, the same Chris Rose that is now the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period. I was very nervous going in but after a few minutes, the nerves went away and I realized that this is what I wanted to do for a career. I eventually worked my way up the ranks and became the Sports Director for WMSR (student radio) as a senior. I was doing play-by-play of Miami football, hockey, men’ s basketball, and baseball. This really allowed me to build up a demo library for when I graduated. I had over 200 games under my belt after four years. Sometimes though, you have to be at the right place at the right time. As a senior, I traveled to the Rubber Bowl in Akron to do a football game with a couple of buddies. Small problem – the press box at the Rubber Bowl is the size of a large closet and they did not have room for us and said that we could do our broadcast from the roof. Although that sounded quite appealing and adventurous considering it was 36 degrees outside and raining, we decided to pass on that suggestion. Instead, we sweet talked our way into the Miami radio booth and promised to sit and be quiet from the cozy, warm, and dry press box. I figured that I might as well try and help out the broadcast so I started scribbling down stats and notes for play-by-play man Steve Baker. He acknowledged after the game that I added quite a bit to the broadcast with my notes and asked if I would like to do this for the rest of the football season. So I had to make a quick decision – do I continue doing play-by-play for student radio or do I become a statistician for 97X WOXY radio (for no pay)? I chose the latter and I am certainly glad that I did. When the Miami hockey season approached, Steve Baker and WOXY asked if I would like to become the “Voice of RedHawks Hockey”. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity and as a senior at Miami, I was making $75 a game doing the hockey broadcasts, traveling with the team and I even got to choose my own color man (a buddy of mine from student radio). Even though I had to spend my Spring Break in lovely Sault St. Marie, MI in late March of 1995, it was still the experience of a lifetime for me. I do miss college! What a great time. I try to get back to Oxford every couple of years and still follow the football, basketball, and hockey teams when they come to Toledo, Bowling Green, or Michigan. TSB: You also have a minor in Political Science. Any plans to use that part of your education in the future? JG: Not really. To be honest, I was trying to decide as a freshman to have a minor in Political Science or French and I though Political Science sounded a little more grown up. Parlez vouz Francais? I took six years of French and that is almost all I remember. Pretty sad, huh? TSB: Your resume is filled with extensive hockey play-by-play experience, including a stint with the Toledo Storm of the ECHL. How would you compare the two sports in terms of play-by-play? JG: Night and day between hockey and baseball. I really enjoy both for different reasons. In hockey, you need to memorize jersey numbers and be able to follow the puck and sometimes you don’t have the best vantage point to see that puck. I remember doing my first game in Dayton and we were up at the end behind one of the goals about 100 feet away from the ice. I couldn’t see a thing and had to do the entire game looking through binoculars. You also need to be able to talk quickly, describe what is going on concisely and accurately. You also need to use your voice to build excitement at the appropriate times – when you can tell that a player is about to shoot as opposed to pass. You need to know the rules of hockey but not as much about the history of the game or stats. There isn’t enough time to talk about that stuff as much as there is in baseball. I think that calling a hockey game is a unique skill that is tougher to find than any other sport. Calling a baseball game is truly an art. So many nuances and intricacies in every game make it a challenge for a broadcaster. Baseball is a game that is so rich in history and tradition that it lends itself more to story telling and statistics. Think about how much time there is between every pitch and between at-bats. The broadcaster’s job is tell the story while weaving in statistics (not too many but enough to enhance the listener’s enjoyment of the game), describing the action, and saying the score and number of outs every three minutes. That is the one common rule of thumb for me in both sports. Say the score every three minutes in both sports and add the period, inning, time left, how many outs, and how many are on base every few minutes as well. That drives me nuts when I am listening to a game for 10 minutes in the car and never hear the score. TSB: How important do you feel it is to be versatile in your play-by-play skills? Does calling other sports help your baseball PXP? JG: It is very important to be able to do other sports. It certainly increases your odds at becoming a major league announcer and it gives you a perspective about how athletes prepare for games and what makes them tick. There is certainly a difference between baseball players and hockey players. I do remember that when I first started with the Mud Hens, I was talking way too fast because I was used to calling hockey games. Baseball is more leisurely and if you talk to fast, you are going to wear yourself out by the fifth inning and I also think it is more enjoyable to listen to a baseball game as a fan if the announcer sounds like he is relaxed and not in a hurry. There is no clock in baseball so you have to be prepared for each broadcast as though it was going to go 15 innings. TSB: The Mud Hens have won back-to-back titles. Most announcers would love to be a part of one, what's it like to win two straight? JG: What a fantastic ride it has been for the Mud Hens over the past two seasons! Two straight championships after going 38 years without one. When you get into this business, you never know if you might get to call a final out of a championship season. You certainly can’t take it for granted that you will ever get to do it. The funny thing about the 2006 season is that I remember thinking on the afternoon of the deciding fifth game about what I wanted to say if Toledo beat Rochester that evening. I knew that it would be recorded and replayed many times in the future and didn’t want to say something stupid. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I decided that I wouldn’t plan on saying anything scripted and I would just say something spontaneous. I figured that if I said something that sounded too scripted, then I would really sound like a fool for years to come. By the way, I ended up saying, “Back to back titles in the Glass City – there is Joy in Mudville again!” The 2005 season was magical and will never be duplicated because it was such a drought between championships. That team was one of the best in Toledo history and we knew about in July that we were going to have great chance to win the whole thing. Marcus Thames, Jason Grilli, Curtis Granderson, and Joel Zumaya were all a part of that team and in fact, Thames basically carried that team for most of the year. The 2006 team was good (obviously) but man did they strike out a lot. In fact, we struck out 1,194 times but also cranked out 152 home runs. In the 10 post- season games, we struck out 110 times and hit 22 home runs. Solid pitching and solid defense took care of the rest. It doesn’t hurt to have Larry Parrish, Jeff Jones, and Leon Durham as your coaching staff. They were incredible and made every right decision all season long. TSB: Jamie Farr made the team famous by wearing Mud Hens gear on M*A*S*H* Does the team still get any mileage out of that? JG: You better believe it! Jamie is great and he is a huge Mud Hens fan. He watches all of the games on his computer from California and emails me throughout the year to wish us good luck. Jamie also was kind enough to do some stuff for us that we use on our video boards during the game and also for pre-game announcements. He does the ground rules, tells fans where to get souvenirs, and what great food there is at the ballpark. He also welcomes fans to the ballpark when they are celebrating a birthday on the giant video screen. Jamie threw out the first pitch at the Triple-A All-Star Game in July and ESPN did an interview with him during the broadcast. He and Katie Holmes are two of the most famous Toledoans. TSB: You handle updates for the Mud Hens website. How important are internet skills for your job? JG: Handling the website is very important because that is your major link with the fans that are not in the area. I try and get fresh stories up on the website every day during the season and weekly during the off-season. We also broadcast all of our games online (audio for all of the games and then video for all home games) so it is a great opportunity for fans and friends to watch the games from anywhere in the world. In fact, during the 2006 season, I put a world map up in the television booth and stuck a pin in the map for everyone that emailed us during the broadcasts. We had 28 states represented and then seven countries as well. We have the administrative area of the website set up so that it is pretty easy to execute. I am able to change stories, rosters, etc from any computer so it is pretty convenient. My interns also help out with the website throughout the season. Each game, one of the PR interns writes a game story from the press box and it is on the front page of the website within five minutes of the game’s completion. TSB: What makes a good baseball broadcaster in your opinion? JG: As I said before, I think that the best baseball announcers are the ones that are able to weave stories and statistics into the broadcast in a conversational style. It is one thing to start spouting off stats about a player that you are just reading – it is a completely different thing to explain why the statistics are important in that specific situation. You must know what the Manager’s options are at each moment in the game and explain to the listener why the Manager might do something without sounding condescending. You want to educate the listener without talking down to them. There is nothing worse than a broadcaster who thinks he knows everything and sounds cocky. Sound knowledgeable and confident, not cocky or arrogant. Baseball has plenty of chances for the broadcaster to use the natural crowd noise as a buffer between thoughts. Use that crowd to enhance the broadcast – you don’t need to fill every empty space with your own voice. Get to know the players and know what stories about them are appropriate to use on the air. The fans want to know more about the players that what his batting average is with runners on base, Where is he from, what size bat does he use, what is his favorite movie, does he have some hidden talents? A typical baseball game goes for close to three hours. That is a lot of space to fill but every game and every broadcast is different. Preparation is very important – it is better to leave the broadcast booth at the end of the night with leftover information than to run out of information in the fifth inning. Baseball is also a sport where people might have the radio on in the house and only listen for a few minutes at a time. Also, remember the people that are running out to the store on a summer evening because they forgot to buy hot dog buns for their cookout – they may only listen for the short car ride. For the love of God, say the score every three minutes! TSB: Name some of your favorite baseball announcers. JG: Growing up near Cleveland as an Indians fan, I grew up listening to Herb Score and those are some of my fondest memories. I remember listening to Herb Score on a little radio with my Dad as we went fishing nearly every night on a lake behind our house on a little row boat. Herb wasn’t the best announcer but he was talking about my team and that’s all I needed. He had a very laid back approach to the broadcast and told some great stories and when the team was so bad from 1979-1990 (my prime listening days), he needed to talk about something other than what was going on at old Municipal Stadium on the banks of Lake Erie. Other than that, I certainly would have to put Ernie Harwell on the list with that great southern twang. Ernie’s voice was one of the ones that I could pick up in Northeast Ohio on WJR Radio as a boy and even though I was an Indians fan, I must have listened to 40 or 50 games during the 1984 season from my bedroom at night. I also remember covering the 1997 World Series in Miami, FL between the Indians and the Marlins. I parked right next to Vin Scully in the media parking lot and walked in to the ballpark with him. I was so nervous to meet such a legend and one of my idols but he was a classy guy and talked to me like we were best friends for the 100 yards or so from the parking lot to the media gate. Living in Chicago from 1995-1998, I truly enjoyed listening to Pat Hughes and Ron Santo. They are such a perfect combination. You have Santo the homer and he doesn’t hide his emotions, that’s for sure. Pat Hughes has such a dry sense of humor, I find myself cracking up when I listen to them go back and forth. They make guessing the attendance at a Cubs’ game a monumental event that you can’t miss. They seem like they are having the most fun of any duo I have ever heard calling a baseball game. .Josh Whetzel-Rochester Red Wings TSB: Let’s start with your education. You received your Journalism degree from Kansas . While in Lawrence , you had a chance to call Kansas baseball games and some local events as well. What was your experience like, and would you recommend Kansas to those that are looking at college? JW: My experience at KU was outstanding especially since I only visited the library twice my whole time there! I went to junior college for two years before going to Lawrence and got a lot of my basic courses out of the way. On the one hand, I wish I could have spent more than two years there. On the other hand, while in junior college, I had the opportunity to work at the small radio station in my home town which gave me a real leg up when I got to KU. Because of my prior experience, I was able to get airtime almost right away at both the student station and the commercial station in Lawrence . I had the chance to do play-by-play of KU basketball and football on the student station while doing some KU baseball and occasional high school sports and sports updates on the commercial station. One of the biggest benefits of KU at that time was a professor in the journalism school named Tom Hedrick. Tom has literally written a book on sports broadcasting and had spent time as a play-by-play man for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cincinnati Reds and the Jayhawks to go along with numerous other posts. He was very instrumental in my career in terms of giving instruction and advice. Once I graduated, he got me my first job at a radio station in Liberal, Kansas . If you wanted it badly enough and had any ability at all, Tom would make sure you got a job in the business once you graduated. Tom has since retired, but KU still offers students plenty of chances to get on the air with their student radio station. I think they even have their own student TV station now. If you are really serious about getting into broadcasting, I think you’ll have ample opportunity to get on the air at KU. There really seemed to be a lot of ways to get hands-on experience there. TSB: Your first job in professional baseball was in Albany , GA in 1995 with the Polecats. What was the key in landing that first job in the minor leagues? JW: As I mentioned before, my first job out of school was at a small radio station in Liberal, Kansas . Liberal is out in the middle of nowhere. I literally got passed by a tumbleweed while driving down the main drag there one time. However, to this day, they still have a terrific summer, collegiate team that plays there called the Liberal Bee Jays. Our station did almost all of their games. It was almost like working for a Minor League short season team. I was able to put a tape together from that season, and I started sending it out to places in the low minors that I heard had openings. The Polecats wound up having an opening and they eventually offered me the job after a couple of phone interviews. The guy who hired me, Mike Kardamis, jokes to this day about how he offered me the job, and I told him I would need a day to think about it. I knew all along I wanted the job. I just thought that was what you were supposed to do. I did obviously take the job and the next thing I knew I was driving east of the Mississippi for the first time to start this crazy baseball career. TSB: You have worked every rung of the minor league level, Class A in Albany , AA in Binghamton and your current job with Rochester in AAA. Can you tell us something you have learned with each promotion? JW: As far as the broadcasts go, it seems like it actually gets easier the higher you move up the ladder. A lot of that is my own development as a broadcaster. However, the higher you go, the more info you have at your disposal to talk about just because the players have a lot more history. Plus, the facilities are typically better, the support staff is greater, the crowds are normally larger, etc. Here in Rochester , we have a great PR guy in Chuck Hinkel who helps make my job easier. I also work home games with an analyst in Joe Altobelli who won a World Series as a manager with the Orioles. Those things all make for a better broadcast. With each new place you go there are new opportunities to learn and get better through people you meet along the way. Broadcasting is a people business and there is a certain amount of politics---so to speak----that goes into it. That maybe becomes more and more apparent as you move up the ladder. From strictly a baseball broadcasting perspective, with every new job, you will meet new people. You’ ll be around different coaches, executives, scouts, etc. You’ll learn new things from each and every one that can add to your knowledge of baseball and thus make you a better baseball play-by-play guy. While making my way up the ladder, I think I have also learned just how hard it is to reach the Major Leagues as a broadcaster. When I was first starting out, I thought that if I took care of my own business and developed into the kind of announcer I thought I could be, that everything else would take care of itself. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. There is a lot of plain, old luck involved. TSB: You have plenty of basketball experience as well, including you current position as the play-by-play announcer for the University of Buffalo . How has that helped you become a more well-rounded announcer? JW: Every sport is different so getting experience in a variety of sports certainly can’t hurt when it comes to broadening your skill set as a play-by-play man. Calling basketball games is very fun for me, but it also reminds me of how much I enjoy broadcasting baseball games. After a basketball game, I typically have to wait a few days before getting my next play-by- play fix. With baseball, that fix is normally coming the very next day! Doing basketball games and the occasional football game has also demonstrated to me that I really enjoy the preparation side of the job. Finding interesting nuggets to talk about is fun. Plus, doing other sports in the winter, I think makes it a little bit easier to get back behind the microphone come springtime. I didn’t always have the chance to broadcast other sports in the fall and winter before so I am really enjoying it now. TSB: On a personal level, you have overcome quite a bit by beating cancer. Talk about that time in your life and how it helps to keep other things in perspective. JW: Looking back it certainly was not a fun time. I was diagnosed shortly before my senior year of high school and over the next year and a half wound up going through two surgeries, a number of rounds of radiation and a lots and lots of chemo. Fortunately, I had a lot of people praying for me, and I was blessed with some pretty incredible doctors. Two surgeons in Houston (J. B. Putnam and Richard Andrassy) eventually were able to remove a football sized tumor from my chest that was occupying most of my right lung, was wrapped around my esophagus and attached to the back wall of my heart. They had to take out my right lung in the process, but they were able to get the cancer. It was a pretty scary time, obviously, but I had a great family and group of friends that helped me get through it. Going through that is something I think about in some way literally everyday. It doesn’t always work, but I try to think of those times to keep things in perspective now whenever I think I am having a bad day. I also think that experience has made me more empathetic of people who are undergoing illnesses of their own. TSB: I read an article that talked about how your illness led to your career in broadcasting. How did that happen? JW: I grew up with a great bunch of people in my hometown of Parsons, Kansas and some of my classmates wanted to do something special for me because of what I was going through. They knew how much of a diehard Dodgers fan I was and they contacted a wonderful organization called The Dream Factory which tries to fulfill wishes for sick kids. The Dream Factory wound up organizing a trip for me to Los Angeles to see the Dodgers play a few games. One of their pitchers, Tim Belcher, served as our tour guide prior to one of the games, and he showed us around the clubhouse. I met Tommy Lasorda and bunch of the other Dodgers including Vin Scully. It was a great experience. When we got back to Parsons, the local radio station interviewed me on the air about the trip during a community affairs program. The station manager knew that I was interested in a career in broadcasting because I had been keeping stats for their announcer the last couple of years. He told me that I handled myself well on the air and wanted to know if I would be interested in auditioning for a part-time job at the station. I said “sure”. The next day I came out to the station and they taped me reading some news items off the wire. They offered me the job and the next thing I knew I was a part-time employee at KLKC…Your Radio Station. I deejayed, read the news at the top of the hour, ran the board for sporting events and made plenty of mistakes but it was a great way to get actual, on-air experience. I was actually still undergoing chemo treatments the first six months or so that I worked there. TSB: Growing up in Kansas , who were your broadcasting favorites? JW: The Royals were pretty predominant on the radio with Denny Matthews and Fred White, and the Royals were actually good in those days. My first ever job in radio was running the board for a Royals game so I heard a lot of those guys. Everyone in my family was somehow a big Dodgers fan, and we actually bought one of those big satellite dishes to watch Dodgers games. Consequently, I got to hear a lot of Vin Scully who I feel---like a lot of people---is simply the best. I was like a lot of kids interested in broadcasting, though, spinning the AM radio dial to find various games. I could pick up WBAP from Dallas , and I thought the late Mark Holtz was absolutely tremendous. To me, he was one of the great baseball announcers that few people nationally know about. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention a good friend of mine named Steve Lardy who worked at KLKC radio in my hometown. While in high school, I used to keep stats for him at football and basketball games. Then, once I started working part-time at the station in junior college, I would do color for him and every once in awhile he would let me do some play-by-play. Steve is a great guy who does a great job on play-by-play and probably could have moved on to bigger things he would have ever been so inclined. TSB: What would be your advice to someone hoping to break into baseball broadcasting? JW: The number one step would be to get some baseball play- by-play on tape even if it means going to a game, sitting in the back of the stadium and talking by yourself into a microphone. I remember one time sitting on the roof of Drillers Stadium in Tulsa doing a game into a tape machine. |