The six-month trek that is the MLB season is under way, and for most RSN broadcasters, that means the start of well over 100 game telecasts for their respective teams. THE DAILY took the pulse of a handful of those in RSN broadcast booths to get their thoughts on issues ranging from social-media use to TV production innovations to how they keep things fresh during the dog days of summer. The panelists include:
Mark Grant: FS San Diego analyst (Padres)
Drew Goodman: Root Sports Rocky Mountain play-by-play announcer (Rockies)
Joe Simpson: SportSouth/FS South analyst (Braves)
Tom McCarthy: CSN Philadelphia play-by-play announcer (Phillies)
Jim Palmer: MASN analyst (Orioles)
 |
| McCarthy said he finds Twitter to be a valuable resource in finding storylines |
Q: How interactive are you with social media while working games on TV?
Grant: Very rarely. I don't want to get distracted. However, if I hear of pertinent info during our game on a certain important matter, I may do some searching.
Goodman: I will occasionally tweet or check Twitter to get updates on breaking MLB stories. Other members of our on-air team are also engaged in social media during the game and interact with fans throughout the broadcast.
McCarthy: I’m not interactive during games, with the exception of getting information about other things going on around baseball. But I don’t tweet out during games. Sometimes, it’s more distracting than anything else during a game.
Palmer: I just got on Twitter recently. And I will have the internet up during games. I’m not on Instagram yet. But Twitter is a great resource. And I’ll get text messages with info during games from someone like (former ESPN broadcaster) Roy Firestone. I just need to be aware of what is going on out there.
Q: Is a national gig the end-all-be-all for an MLB broadcaster?
Simpson: Nope. A national gig is a good job, but I've always enjoyed following the ups and downs of one team for 162 games. It's like a soap opera.
Palmer: I did some World Series calls when I was still playing, and then went full-time with ABC immediately after playing and called games. But I got those early gigs because of who I was, not because of my broadcasting skills. Usually now, when you see many postseason analysts, they’re novices. Working off and on for ABC for many years, I felt there were a lot of other guys that could have done a terrific job, but for some reason, they picked me. But being a ballplayer, you’re taught to get better every day you go to the ballpark, and the same thing applies to broadcasting.
Goodman: The enticement of working games with a national audience holds appeal, but to be a part of the daily unfolding of a team’s season allows for great ongoing interaction with your selective fan base. I sometimes refer to the season as a novel (hopefully a compelling one) with many chapters. It’s a unique and special privilege to be a team’s narrator of sorts.
Grant: It’s not an end-all. If there is a personality who is wanted in both, national and regional, I feel it can be worked out between parties involved.
McCarthy: There are a lot of positives to both national and team jobs. The schedule for a national broadcaster is obviously a little lighter. On Fox, you might do one game a week, or for ESPN, two games a week. I’m doing essentially 162 regular-season and 18 Spring Training games.
Q: How difficult is it during the dog days of summer to keep things fresh?
McCarthy: It’s a good question right now, because the Phillies are potentially going to be a team that struggles. The way I look at it, every game is a totally different storyline, so I got into it with points A, B and C that I want to touch on. If you go in thinking every game is a canvas you can paint on, then it keeps you going a bit. But after doing this for so long between the minors and majors and on TV and radio, it doesn’t really faze me that much.
Grant: This is an area I am too familiar with. Hopefully this year in San Diego, it bucks the trend. Keeping fresh, and energetic, is something I pride myself in, because I feel I owe it to the viewer. It just means you have to dig a little harder -- emotionally and from a story standpoint.
Goodman: Part of the fun throughout the season is finding the new stories to tell and new ways to tell them. The Rockies have passionate, loyal fans whose interest remains intense all season long, and we want to make sure our energy matches theirs.
Palmer: I did a stretch of around 14 years of losing Orioles teams while working for MASN. In a perfect world, you get to call winning baseball. But you try to call the same game regardless. At the end of the day, even if your team loses, there still can be positive things.
Simpson: If your team is contending, it is easy. If not, you've got to remember why you're there. We owe the fans a good show, and most importantly, to stay positive.
 |
| Palmer said it seems viewers today are more easily offended than they used to be |
Q: What production innovation over the past five years has been the most exciting?
Palmer: Slo-mo cameras. Would have made a difference in the ’96 playoffs with that Derek Jeter home run and Jeffrey Maier reaching over.
Goodman: Pitch trax feature and super slo-mo cameras have given fans and broadcasters an even better view of the game. Some of the new, cutting edge data tools that provide pitch speed out of the pitcher’s hand, spin velocities, etc., have also been terrific enhancements.
McCarthy: Twitter, as a resource for storylines, as long as you know where the information is coming from. The quickness of getting the information has made our broadcasting lives so much easier.
Grant: Pitch Trax and Phantom Cam. It helps me analyze in greater detail, and it's a great teaching aid.
Q: How different is calling a game today compared to when you started?
Goodman: Broadcasting the games has not changed tremendously, but some of the new toys Root Sports has invested in have aided us in our coverage of the game. For instance, our Coors Field broadcasts now have in the neighborhood of 10 more cameras than when I began 14 years ago.
Grant: It is easier now because of technology. What we have at our fingertips, at the press of a button, helps us tremendously. There is still a lot of preparation, but we can just get info in a heartbeat these days.
McCarthy: Definitely the internet. Social media is right up there. Whether you want it or not, you’re getting instantaneous feedback.
Palmer: You’ve always had to watch what you say, but it seems it’s easier now to offend someone. You may say something without ill intention that is taken a certain way. So the filter has to always be on. Also, you have the game call now, but you also have pre- and post-game responsibilities. But today, it’s also easier to see more games and see more film.
Q: Do you cheer for the home team?
Simpson: Sometimes. Covering one team makes it easy to get attached.
Grant: I am a homer, I will admit. I wouldn't say "cheer," but I pull for the Padres. I have no problem doing so. With that said, I have to be critical at times. I just don't dwell on it. It has to be pointed out, then I move on.
Goodman: I wouldn't call it openly cheering, but I have a strong rooting interest! When the Rockies do well, like virtually all team broadcasters, their successes are celebrated enthusiastically. Unlike a national broadcast, the vast majority of our audience is cheering for one team. Our inflection certainly reflects that.
McCarthy: I think that we are all homers, whether we want to be or not, because we’re doing games for teams over and over and over again. But there’s no cheering. I try to remain as objective as possible. But you can’t fight the whole “homer” thing. It’s part of the osmosis of doing games for one team for as long as we do.
Palmer: I know that people watching MASN are for the most part cheering for the Orioles. I want the Orioles to win, but I’m going to be honest.
