1 of 1- laffin
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Who Cares?
I really don't understand the need to know how fast a baseball was hit or the angle it left the park. Wilner's obsession to constantly tell us how far Grichuk had to run to catch a baseball or the speed of a baseball hit off the bat is over the top. Too many unnecessary stats. Leave the game alone.
- RadioActive
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Re: Who Cares?
Unfortunately, baseball - more than any other sport - is a game about stats. It always has been. But now, instead of just ERA and batting averages, you can add in Wins Against Replacement (WAR), Defensive Runs Above Average and something called O-Swing %. And no, as a someone who is useless in math, I couldn't even begin to explain what any of those mean.
I'm not a big fan of the endless numbers either, especially when I have no idea what the hell they're talking about. But for better or worse, they're now a fact of life in the game and announcers will use them to fill in info about players - and fill time between pitches. I don't think most other teams' play-by-play personnel are any different.
While I think Wagner & Wilner do an OK job, every time I listen to a game, I still miss Jerry Howarth. He was beyond OK - he was fantastic and he made even the dullest contest come alive. Stats or no stats.
- mace
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Re: Who Cares?
The late Detroit Tigers announcer, Ernie Harwell was a master at describing onfield action. If there was none, you only heard crowd noise which sometimes made it difficult to tune in WJR during the daytime. The crowd noise and signal fuzz mixed. Only when Ernie began to speak, you knew you had the station.
- Media Observer
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Re: Who Cares?
mace wrote:
The late Detroit Tigers announcer, Ernie Harwell was a master at describing onfield action. If there was none, you only heard crowd noise which sometimes made it difficult to tune in WJR during the daytime. The crowd noise and signal fuzz mixed. Only when Ernie began to speak, you knew you had the station.
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There are indeed times when "less is more".
- Media Observer
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Re: Who Cares?
The late Detroit Tigers announcer, Ernie Harwell was a master at describing onfield action. If there was none, you only heard crowd noise which sometimes made it difficult to tune in WJR during the daytime. The crowd noise and signal fuzz mixed. Only when Ernie began to speak, you knew you had the station.
👍👍
There are indeed times when "less is more".
In the Twitter world, it seems not a second can go by without some kind of information, usually unimportant, being spouted. It's what we've been groomed for. It's what we've become. In the 1980's, I used to watch the Blue Jays on TV, but couldn't stand that jerk-off Tony Kubek, so I muted the sound and put the radio play-by-play on for commentary. It worked just fine.
I remember muting the TV more than once and listening to the radio guys.
Back in the day, CFTO carried a portion of the schedule. Their "unique" approach was to have Fergie Olver interview fans in the Skydome concourse during the game. One of his favourite questions was "how is the hot dog?"; (I am not making this up).
Increasingly, by the time they switched back to the play by play team, one or more pitches had occurred. You would at times hear the fans' cheering picked up on Fergie's microphone; only to find out that you had missed a major defensive play or a home run while he was on the air.
The good baseball broadcasters know that we don't tune in for superfluous commentary or gimmicks.
Last edited by Media Observer (August 31, 2020 1:12 pm)
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Re: Who Cares?
I also remember things being better in the good old days.
Actually, I find this year a refreshing change on the TV side. Buck's new role aside Dan is a great improvement over the earlier pairings of Martinez and Tabler (with and without Shulman in the third chair). I realize that this was driven by Pandemic restrictions; but can only hope that SN sticks with what works.
- Tq345
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Re: Who Cares?
I also remember things being better in the good old days.
Actually, I find this year a refreshing change on the TV side. Buck's new role aside Dan is a great improvement over the earlier pairings of Martinez and Tabler (with and without Shulman in the third chair). I realize that this was driven by Pandemic restrictions; but can only hope that SN sticks with what works.
I tend to agree. Dan is a first rate play by play guy, while Buck is well suited as an analyst. But I must admit I miss Buck's calls of "swing and a drive!" And "get up, get up ball, get outta here ... and gone!"
- Prod Guy
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Re: Who Cares?
I really don't understand the need to know how fast a baseball was hit or the angle it left the park. Wilner's obsession to constantly tell us how far Grichuk had to run to catch a baseball or the speed of a baseball hit off the bat is over the top. Too many unnecessary stats. Leave the game alone.
I picture the game in my head while listening. Not telling me that would be like the camera not following a home run ball until it lands. Telling me how far he had to run to catch it tells me where the ball was hit. Telling me the angle gives me a good idea of where the hitter contacted the ball. It's all important if you are a serious fan.
I once heard a caller complain about radio announcers saying which nets the goalies were in to start a period of hockey. The host was flabbergasted. "Don't you want to picture what's happening?"
Last edited by Prod Guy (September 3, 2020 12:47 am)
- Radio111
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Re: Who Cares?
I expect radio announcers to describe these details so I can paint a picture in my head. One thing I hate is when they just say, “that’s a strike”, or “pitch is low for a ball“. The best will tell you what kind of a pitch was thrown. It helps to know if a pitcher’s curve or splitter or whatever is doing what it should.
Last edited by Radio111 (September 3, 2020 5:30 pm)
- betaylored
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Re: Who Cares?
Having the radio on with the baseball game in progress when I'm reading or doing something around the house is one of the best things about summer, and I don't even like baseball but I love the slow pace and bursts of action.
Hockey on the radio can be pure poetry meets stand up comedy, depending on who is playing and who's in the booth. "aaannndd Elvis, has left the building!"
It's annoying when the play by play is vague, a low shot (yawn) vs. a wrist shot (descriptive) the simple phrase " and X takes him into the boards..." and then the satisfying loud boom.
Some years it's been easier (less painful) to listen to the Leafs play.
Last edited by betaylored (September 3, 2020 10:24 pm)