The results are in after The Athletic asked subscribers to help determine the most popular radio broadcast teams in Major League Baseball.
As one of the first sports to be broadcast on the radio, baseball is often viewed as the game that best fits the medium. While baseball during a pandemic is different on TV with virtual fans, cardboard cutouts and fake crowd noise, listening to the radio broadcast can provide a rare feeling of normalcy in 2020.
According to The Athletic, nearly 7,500 subscribers voted on their favorite radio crew by responding to the following questions:
Which MLB radio broadcast do you listen to most frequently?
How would you rate your most-listened-to broadcast’s play-by-play announcing? (Scale of 1 -5)
How would you rate your most-listened-to broadcast’s color commentary? (Scale of 1 -5)
How informative do you find your most-listened-to radio broadcast? (Scale of 1 -5)
How entertaining do you find your most-listened-to radio broadcast? (Scale of 1 -5)
What do you like about your most-listened-to radio broadcast?
What do you dislike about your most-listened-to radio broadcast?
Do you prefer your team’s radio or television broadcast?
Finishing first on the list was the San Francisco Giants radio team of Jon Miller, Dave Flemming and Duane Kuiper. The Giants’ TV crew finished second overall in The Athletic’s television broadcast rankings last month. Second on the radio ranking was the Tampa Bay Rays broadcast of Andy Freed and Dave Wills who are in their 15th season on the call.
After having the top ranked TV crew, the New York Mets placed third on the radio list with Howie Rose and Wayne Randazzo. While Rose is a Mets’ encyclopedia, a lifelong fan and a longtime broadcaster, his radio partner is in just his second season as a full-timer in the booth.
The Texas Rangers radio team of Eric Nadel and Matt Hicks finished fourth, while the Washington Nationals booth featuring Charlie Slowed and Dave Jageler rounded out the top-five. Baseball icon, 86-year old Bob Uecker finished sixth alongside Jeff Levering and Lane Grindle for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The bottom five radio teams according to The Athletics survey were the Pirates at number 26, followed by the Blue Jays, Rockies, Yankees and White Sox. This season, the Rockies replaced longtime radio broadcaster Jerry Schemmel with Mike Rice, while Andy Masur is tasked with stepping in for the late great Ed Farmer in the White Sox booth.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
