Losing Minor League Teams Is Bad For Broadcasting

Strange to think that the number 42, retired throughout Major League Baseball in honor of the great Jackie Robinson, is the same number of minor league baseball teams that may be on the brink of elimination. If MLB has its way, the number of teams in the minors will decrease and the pay will increase for players. It’s an economic dispute between the two entities, MLB wants less players with better facilities. MiLB wants the targeted franchises to stay in business. 

Forgotten in all of the rhetoric is the economic well-being of communities, players and employees. More specifically for this column the jobs of the many minor league broadcasters will be lost. Young professionals looking to hone their craft in small cities in hopes of reaching bigger minor league cities and eventually the big leagues, what about them? What will happen to the men and women that call the games. The people that ride the busses with the teams, put out game notes and work in conditions that may be less than ideal. What will become of them? 

Pay scales in the minors vary from level to level. If you talk to most of the broadcasters, it’s not about the money they’re making today. It is more about the potential earning possibilities based on doing a great job and moving up in the industry. How is it fair for these folks to be left as collateral damage in a fight between a multi-billion-dollar industry and its minor leagues?

It’s not.

Young broadcasters are trying to prove themselves, just like the players are. They are trying to improve, like the players, in leagues where making mistakes are inevitable. How else do you learn? The dreams of the broadcasters and the players at all levels of the minors is to get the call to the show. If this move goes through, 42 or more broadcasters will have that dream derailed temporarily or in some cases permanently. 

The elimination of these positions will have an effect on MLB teams as well. Many big-league teams hire minor league broadcasters from within the organization to call Spring Training games. Just like a non-roster invitee player to MLB camp, not only are these broadcasters auditioning for the parent club, there’s always a chance he or she can be heard by other organizations and given a shot. Some of these announcers get a chance to call a major league game from time to time during a season. A few teams have experimented with a rotation of announcers that can include some that call games within the organization. It’s a great opportunity to show their wares at the Major League level. If this proposal is allowed to go through, the pool of available talent gets a bit shallower.

There are some minor league teams that have gained a reputation for grooming the “next” major league announcer. Pawtucket for one has generated more than its share of play-by-play announcers hired by big league clubs. I realize that Pawtucket isn’t on the chopping block, but what’s to say that a team that is can’t be the next to operate a pipeline to the majors? Elimination of opportunity will also make it a much more ‘cut throat’ situation for young, up and coming play-by-play announcers. With many talented people out there looking for jobs and only few opportunities available, some will get left out of the equation all together. That is really a shame.  

Hard working, enthusiastic, talented young broadcasters don’t deserve this fate. To be honest there are some hard working, enthusiastic, talented veteran broadcasters working for some of the teams that potentially will go out of business. They don’t deserve it either. 

As a play-by-play announcer myself, this is a disturbing thing to see, even as it’s just a possibility right now. When you present this as an option, it opens us up to other ideas in cost saving. One idea leading to the next, further eliminating, rather than investing and figuring out a way to make it work.  There is likely enough money being made to not have to consider something this drastic. I know, it’s easy for me to spend someone else’s money but does it really have to come to this? 

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.