When the Major League Baseball season ends and the sport switches to the postseason, national television takes complete control of the television product. No more regional sports networks. That’s not the case with radio calls, however, and it’s because of that the St. Louis Cardinals have the potential for a really special broadcasting moment.
The Cardinals are in a good position to make the playoffs and if they do, the team’s radio play-by-play voice John Rooney will step aside for the Cardinals’ television play-by-play voice to participate.
“This is all John Rooney and the radio side,” Dan McLaughlin said. “He never had to do that. Ever. I was floored. I had no idea. I was emotional. All I ever wanted to do is call Cardinals postseason baseball.”
Rooney said he was considering the idea after Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III brought it up to Dan Farrell, the man in charge of the team’s broadcast operations. Rooney then discussed it with the other on-air members of the radio crew.
“It was (unanimous) in thinking it was a great idea,” Rooney said. “Now is the time to do it.”
McLaughlin said that he was floored when the idea came up. “In a business that is so territorial, he had the ultimate class to ask me to join them,” McLaughlin said. “I will be forever indebted to John and the rest of the radio crew. They have been so good to me.”
Rooney said he will be glad to step aside a bit in the playoffs if the Cards get there.
“I’ve worked so much postseason over the years,” he said. “He needs to experience that.”
The idea came from the city’s hockey run to the Stanley Cup championship in 2019. Then, Chris Kerber (the St. Louis Blues’ radio voice) allowed John Kelly (the Blues’ the team’s television voice) to take over the play-by-play duties for the second period of the contests in the Finals.
