When the game is great, the broadcaster simply has to call it. The game carries itself. But when the game isn’t great and it’s hot and the fans have no energy, the broadcaster must step forward and carry the game.
So give the out-of-town scoreboard, tell stories of “Today in Baseball History,” and try…
- The Fishbowl: During the 2024 season, I purchased a plastic fishbowl and brought it around the Midwest League, encouraging everyone I met to write a question on a slip of paper, fold it up, and put it into the bowl. Fellow broadcasters, opposing general managers, visitors to the booth, everyone was welcome to add their question to the fishbowl. Then when a rout broke out, we took out the fishbowl, fished out a slip, read it aloud, and cruised through an inning discussing our answer(s).
The Fishbowl proved so popular as the season went on that we began loaning out the fishbowl to opposing broadcasters when they needed support to get through an inning.
Note: Fishbowls are terrible for fish. - The Second Batter Cheat: I first noticed this with the Blue Jays’ Dan Shulman. Before the inning begins, look at who will be the second batter. That batter is going to carry your whole inning.
Begin the inning and call the first batter in the ordinary fashion. “__ leads off, here’s the pitch,” etc. No new ground broken. But when the second batter steps up, use their arrival as a launching pad. Who’s their high school mascot? What city do they hail from and how did it get its name? Where did they go to college and who are that college’s most famous alumni? Journey onward, even after their at-bat concludes. The inning is one big digression, all inspired by the randomness and identity of the second batter. - Find Your People: If you’re calling the action for one team and not just delivering an unbiased network call of the game, focus your full attention on your guys. Tell the story about the pitcher on the mound – what was the path to this point, what were the obstacles and what were the successes? How long has the catcher been catching? What does the communication look like between the middle infielders. At the plate? Turn the spotlight on the first base coach. Discuss the importance of the at-bat for the hitter. Who’s chatting with whom in the dugout?
The purpose is this: Your audience comprises people who care about each of these individuals, and they’re hanging with you and listening to every pitch even though the game is a laugher. Care about the people involved to connect with the people caring to listen. - Paint the Picture: Relatedly, go fully visual. Computer down, eyes up. Find a fan in the stands and describe the uni they’re wearing. Detail the pitcher’s and batters’ mannerisms and mechanics.
Walk the concourse pregame to prepare yourself to take the audience on a descriptive tour of the ballpark, from home up the first base side, around the right field pole, beyond the power alleys and batter’s eye, hooking back around the left field pole, and back home again.
Bring the game to life. - Fact-Finding: My partner, Adam Jaksa, stumbled into this during a series with the Great Lakes Loons, sharing his Loons Fact of the Night each game of a series. (Did you know that a loon, like an airplane, needs a runway to take off?)
Whomever you are facing, do a brief bit of research on their name, find an odd fact or three, and cruise through an inning of weird trivial knowledge. My Lansing Lugnuts, for instance, have a name that is more properly spelled “lug nuts” and have a logo that isn’t a lug nut at all, it’s a bolt. And lug… derives from the Scottish for “ear flap of a cap”? How about that. - Eat Something: Is it recommended to broadcast while eating, let alone talk with your mouth full? That depends on the context.
It is recommended to share what cuisine you find around town, in the finest Adam Marco fashion, as well as around the concourse, and then share your evaluations on the air. - Open a Pack of Baseball Cards On the Air: A Don Wardlow staple.
Visit a hobby shop, pick up a pack or two, open it live, discuss who you get.
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