It’s Spring Training For Broadcasters Too

It’s that time of year again. Yes, it’s baseball season. Time for you to get back to work calling games.

Let’s face it though, its’ been a while since you cracked a mic to do a baseball broadcast. All winter you’ve been calling basketball, football, hockey or something else to keep you sharp. The problem, none of those sports replicate the pace and cadence of a game on the diamond. It’s good that you’re keeping yourself in a game calling frame of mind. That’s important. Don’t sweat it, you might be rusty, but there are ways to get ready well before that first call of the year. 

One of the best ways to stay prepared and ready to go before the season even starts is to pay attention to what is going on with your team. Stay on top of the moves, trades, signings and storylines. This is essential to your “storytelling” and makes you sound like the expert on your club. Make some calls in the off-season, get to understand the why’s and how’s that went into the transactions. Some of the information won’t be used on air, but it’s great to have that background knowledge. Get to know some of the new players or staff so you have a head start going to Arizona or Florida. You’ll be ahead of the game for sure. Keeping on top of this information will make it easier to get back in the booth. 

I mentioned this a few columns ago, but podcasting is also a great way to stay on top of things. You get to talk the game and build a following and brand as an added bonus. It’s also a great way to keep your interviewing skills fresh and a podcast will keep you in a flow of being “on air” and producing content during your off-season. A podcast can be done on your time and continues to keep you top of mind and will attract new listeners to your actual broadcasts as well. 

Baseball is so unique in its delivery style, there really isn’t a sport that mimics it exactly. Again, calling hoops, football and other sports will serve you well by staying in the frame of mind. Prep, routine and command are all things that can stay sharp by just being on the air. After some time off you need to get back in the swing of putting your scorebook together. Meaning the notes you like to use, stats, format and color coding of the book. 

With that in mind, I suggest to watch a game or two to remind you of the descriptions and pacing of a broadcast. I would encourage this even if you are a radio broadcaster just so you can get immersed in the game again. Just seeing the field and hearing the sounds get you right back into that mindset and gets those creative juices flowing. You probably won’t need more than a couple of innings before you are calling it right alongside the broadcasters of the game, but it’s a good refresher course for the brain and your ears. 

I would even think about listening back to a game you broadcast last season. Just like watching a game, listening to one you’ve done will serve as a great refresher of your own pacing and cadence. I like to do this after the season, maybe a few months after the last game just to hear what I did on a certain night. Enough time has elapsed to critique myself, make some notes and to find other ways of describing plays. I want to hear how I handled certain things and calls. This helps me to try and evolve as a broadcaster, to take mental notes about how I’d like to handle certain plays and calls going forward.

We can all learn and get better, but this is a good reminder, not only of what the game sounds like, but what you sound like. You’ll be amazed at what you pick up just listening to a tiny segment of previous work you’ve done. Keeping on top of your work can help you improve and polish your style heading into a new baseball season. 

Spring Training isn’t just for players, use it to your advantage as well.  Whether you’re a minor league broadcaster or major leaguer, the Cactus League or Grapefruit League can be a great time to get back in rhythm. Usually these broadcasts are less stressful than a regular season game. You can be loose and re-establish the working relationship and chemistry with your partner. Most stations aren’t broadcasting a ton of games in the exhibition season, so relish the ones you get to do! 

In Spring games, the regulars very rarely play the full game. Why is this relevant? Well remember what I said about staying on top of and mastering the storylines for your team? Prospects will likely see a lot of time. Your listeners are, depending on the team, probably pretty familiar with the top guys in the farm system. Give them something other than the obvious. It’s good practice for the regular season too when may have to refer to one of these guys if they are having a good game or year. 

Rust is inevitable in the first few games back from a long break. Don’t let it get to you. Don’t get frustrated. Just like anything, the more times you do it, the less time it takes you to reacclimate yourself to the booth.

Andy Masur

Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.