I have always loved baseball on the radio. Grew up listening to the Cubs broadcast on WGN with Vince Lloyd and Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau—Vince and Lou. Since I was a kid I heard “Vincent Lou”, this magical man who had two different voices but brought the Cubs games into our family car and my transistor radio.
I was lucky enough to be part of the team that put Major League Baseball on XM Satellite Radio. Needless to say I have heard A LOT of MLB Radio play by play. Here are a few of my favorites.
My Favorites
Indians, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals
Cleveland Indians-Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus
If you haven’t heard Tom Hamilton call a big play in a Cleveland Indians game, all I can tell you is that it gives you chills. He has the right tone and paints the picture but his real standout is making the big calls sound natural and electric.
LA Dodgers-Charley Steiner and Rick Monday
Yes, that Charley Steiner. The former ESPN Anchor with the golden pipes describes the game as well as anyone. Charley and Rick command the microphone and are a big time team of experienced broadcasters in MLB’s #2 Market. A great listen!
Chicago Cubs-Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer
Pat Hughes is such a welcoming voice. Listening to Cubs games you could imagine sitting in the living room in the 1940s listening on that huge radio. The Cubs broadcast doesn’t take itself too seriously either. “Coom Dawg” gets more comfortable every year and that laugh you hear in the background is typically that of pre/postgame host Zach Zaidman. They had a hilarious discussion about the Dew Point during one game this year.
St. Louis Cardinals-John Rooney and Mike Shannon (Home games only)
John Rooney left the White Sox after their World Series win in 2005 and headed down to St. Louis to join the Cardinals broadcast. A versatile announcer whose voice always lets you know it’s a big game.
Mike Shannon adds the passion and (sometimes) disappointment of Cardinal fans. Earlier this year after Dexter Fowler was thrown out on a bad base running mistake Rooney said: “The fans are booing Fowler.” Mike Shannon said: “They should.” Even though I came out of my mother’s womb hating the Cardinals, I do like their radio broadcasts.
Matt Fishman is a former columnist for BSM. The current PD of ESPN Cleveland has a lengthy resume in sports radio programming. His career stops include SiriusXM, 670 The Score in Chicago, and 610 Sports in Kansas City. You can follow him on Twitter @FatMishman20 or you can email him at FishmanSolutions@gmail.com.
