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Why would you do something as undeniably unfair as broadbrush every sabermetrician on the face of the planet as only caring about the correctness and precision of the game? You know, we're not all identical, Doc.
POTD Dave Niehaus: Passion (3)
Bill James was once asked, do you ever not think about baseball? Bill's reply, hmmmmm... once in a while in a movie I forget about baseball for a few minutes, but it has to be a good movie.
Think about where James, and saber, was in 1975, and think about where his passion has taken him...
Bill's passion was never for being published. It wasn't for his own reputation. He didn't burn with longing to be highly esteemed by his peers; hey, from 1975-1988, he literally didn't have any peers.
Baseball people would sneer at James, and we mean huge baseball celebrities. Sparky Anderson, early on, referred to Bill as "that little *(**& (*&( who thinks he knows baseball."
How would, say, myself or SABRMatt or Silentpadna react if Lou Piniella called us out by name?
James laughed. "Sparky's nine inches shorter than me," he mused. James isn't about recognition. He is about bases gained and bases lost. The rest is conversation.
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=== Zig Instead of Zag, Dept. ===
There's no replacing Dave Niehaus.
We don't say it as a cliche; it's just that you can't go find the other announcer who has gusto, and Americana, and the smoky voice, and who was there when Segui threw the first pitch.
You need to go a different direction entirely. The next orange won't be as juicy; you've got to go find us a strawberry.
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But one of the non-negotiables is genuine passion for Mariners hardball.
Yes, we know that everybody who rides the busses and planes is passionate for the game, in a broad sense.
We're not talking about passionate for one's career, or glad to be around the game, or that kind of stuff; we're talking Niehaus passionate, where the pitcher bends over to pick up the resin bag and Niehaus is absorbed in the details of it.
Passion is necessary but not sufficient. It certainly is not the only absolute requirement for a #1 baseball announcer. But it's one of the requirements. Don't give us a guy who doesn't hurt when the Mariners lose.
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Presuming that the M's aren't going work around Dr. D's schedule ;- ) and assuming for the sake of argument that we aren't talking out-of-market radio announcers: there are two local choices that SSI knows of.
Kevin Calabro and Mike Curto.
I'm not opining that either guy would be the right choice. Merely that either would bring the possibility of success in following, um, Dave Niehaus.
Curto (we suspect) and Calabro (we know for a fact) have the hearts of #1 baseball announcers.
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Cheerio,
Jeff
Comments
2
He said "well-known" Matt - you and most every sabermetrician on the face of the planet are excluded from the comment.
~G
3
I can think of at least a few "well known" saber-types who care about baseball a heck of a lot more than limiting themselves to the precision and correctness of the moment. I frankly think that statement is baseless.
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But your two posts in this thread exactly prove Doc's point ;)
You can't let even a small generalization used for effect in an op-ed piece about how great and how hard to replace a recently deceased icon is go by uncorrected.
Edit: Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is one of the things that makes you who you are and is one of the things that I love about you. I think it is one of the things that drives a lot of your passion.
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Ya Matty, the crack about sabers was a little tongue in cheek. I'm well aware that *somebody* could do a good job... like you, for instance... but like G and OBF say ;- )
Heh!
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Since we're now into caveats and quid pro quo's ... a lot of talented guys can be coached past their foibles.
You could take, say, a Fangraphs guy, and work with him to develop a more likeable self-image and view of his audience. If it could be done with Steve Rudman and Art Thiel, it could be done with anybody :- )
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...I would certainly not advocate myself as a full time announcer, even though that's my little secret pipe dream (LOL...I always wished I could do that some day...I "call" games from home sometimes with the volume muted just to see how it would be...it's blinkin' hard to say something interesting every quiet moment in a game...I'll tell you that)...I am way too excitable. Folks around these parts think Rick Rizzs is annoying flipping out over routine nice plays on defense and the like...they would HATE me and my excited calls for medium-speed line drives at infielders...LOL "The 2-1 on the way to Ichiro and THAT ball is CRUSHED...but right to the shortstop...I guess not hit quite as hard as I thought..." Yeah...I would need a LOT of work. LOL
But I don't think my questioning a broadbrush comment has anything to do with the sabermetrician's supposed large-scale tendency to be obsessed with minutia at all times during a game. I have an exaggerated sense of justice sometimes...but during the GAMES...I tend to get far less concerned with that and far more concerned with the emotional experience. As viewers here will will attest if they've seen my comments during gameday threads (well...at least the comments not directed at Pirata Morado's obsessive irrational hatred of Adrian Beltre), I tend to be more about emotional reactions to the events than critical analysis.
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I'd have to come armed with an arm full of cheat-sheet talking points to even begin to fill all the lulls...
Excitement would be cool from you Matty... would honestly love to hear you podcast a game... 'tis the current put-on intensity over an infield popup that can annoy... at least in my book...
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...I have no idea how to set up a podcast...LOL
My bad eyesight makes a career as an announcer most unlikely (unless the visual equipment in the booth is sufficiently impressive as to provide a clear view of all events on the monitors...I'd never see them on the field from the press box), but I am quite capable of calling the game from the MLB.TV feed (though it would depend heavily on getting helpful camera angles on the more interesting calls).
I don't know how interested the average listener would be in the kinds of details I tend to bring up in quiet moments...but it entertains me. LOL I prefer a minimalist approach, BTW. I like to get swept up in the sound of the crowd when the situation is intense...during boring moments, I tend to talk about what is going on in the rest of baseball or the ramifications of this particular game on future games or what's happening in the minor league affiliate games if I have the gamedays up for those events...I don't have Dave Niehaus' story bank to go to...I wasn't alive in 1960 to see those games...I started watching baseball in 1991. I have some historical knowledge...but it's not anecdotal...it's like the stories you can read about in your history textbooks...that's not good for TV. I don't think my particular talents lie toward paint a picture with words...I grew up with the pictures provided.
*shrug*...I doubt I'd put on all that much of a show...it would be more like ameteur hour at the improv. :)