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July 28, 2021 11:19 am  #1


Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun is reporting on Twitter that dedicated radio broadcasts of Blue Jays games will be returning as of Friday, when the Jays return to the Rogers Centre.

https://twitter.com/longleysunsport/status/1420402307557203975
 

Last edited by eladb (July 28, 2021 11:28 am)

 

July 28, 2021 1:01 pm  #2


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

Well, I certainly hope this is true. But if it is, it brings up a few questions, some of which Rogers will likely never answer. 

Their original excuse for cancelling the radio broadcasts in the first place was supposedly because of the dangers of travelling during COVID. OK, except that the TV announcers didn't travel during COVID, with Dan Shulman calling the games off a monitor in Toronto and Buck Martinez mostly doing the same for away games in the U.S. So that reasoning never made any sense - if they could sit in a studio and call a game, so could Ben Wagner. 

If the reason for the radio return is that the team is coming home to Toronto, then what happens to the road games? Do we still have to listen to the TV crew when the Jays are out of town? And if not, how can they explain why they weren't just providing radio coverage all along? There are gaps in this story the size of the Niagara Gorge. 

Next, who will be calling the play-by-play along with Wagner? He and Mike Wilner alternated the innings last year (a time when COVID was arguably even worse, but set that aside for a moment.) Rogers turfed Wilner, who landed a gig with the Toronto Star. So will Wagner now have a second or is he expected to call all nine innings by himself?

I, for one, welcome the return of the radio games, as I'm sure do others who noted how poorly TV calls work on the medium with no screen to watch the action. 

But my guess is now that the Jays are coming back to T.O., there's no reason for the subterfuge any longer. The away games are another matter and I'll be curious to see how those are handled. 

 

July 28, 2021 1:02 pm  #3


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

Mute the TV, on with the radio!

Prayers answered:  "The Lord works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform."
 

 

July 28, 2021 1:41 pm  #4


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

Ben Wagner has confirmed the news himself on Twitter. No word yet on who will be alongside him, but I imagine there will be someone since no one pulls a Vin Scully anymore and calls the entire thing alone.

https://twitter.com/benwag247/status/1420420847836221440

     Thread Starter
 

July 28, 2021 6:24 pm  #5


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

My guess is Kevin Barker. He's already in house.

 

July 29, 2021 2:14 pm  #6


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

More on this from an article from The Athletic:

"Wagner will be working alone, without a colour analyst at his side, and he will be on-site to call all of the team’s remaining home games this season. He will call road games from a studio inside Sportsnet’s downtown Toronto studios, along with its television crew."

     Thread Starter
 

July 29, 2021 3:51 pm  #7


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

eladb wrote:

More on this from an article from The Athletic:

"Wagner will be working alone, without a colour analyst at his side, and he will be on-site to call all of the team’s remaining home games this season. He will call road games from a studio inside Sportsnet’s downtown Toronto studios, along with its television crew."

Which just proves their previous explanation about cancelling the radio broadcasts due to not travelling during COVID was absolute horse pucky. There's simply no reason they couldn't have done that at the beginning of the season, if they can do it now. Calling a game off a monitor is calling a game off a monitor, whether it's April or late July. I wonder what the real motive for reinstating the radio team is. 

And for him to have to go it alone is, to me, just further proof about cost cutting. 

 

July 29, 2021 5:32 pm  #8


Re: Blue Jays radio broadcasts returning

RadioActive wrote:

Which just proves their previous explanation about cancelling the radio broadcasts due to not travelling during COVID was absolute horse pucky. There's simply no reason they couldn't have done that at the beginning of the season, if they can do it now.

Yeah, this is exactly what Wagner and Mike Wilner did last year. They called the games on the radio from a monitor in Toronto. My only guess is that the decision not to continue that this year was a cost-cutting measure and they decided to reverse it now because the TV/radio simulcast was simply unlistenable.

     Thread Starter