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When Ricky Bottalico was a relief pitcher on the Philadelphia Phillies, he would sit one seat in front of team broadcasters Harry Kalas and Larry Andersen on flights, placing him in close proximity to the narratives being discussed beyond the clubhouse. Although Bottalico did not have a bad relationship with media members, he knew that they usually desired to speak with him during postgame availability when he had subpar performances on the mound.
While these outings were relatively scant, he safeguarded against becoming the subject of misconstrued storylines by taking accountability and a forthright approach. By being true to himself, Bottalico was able to avoid becoming ensnared in falsehoods and controversy while building trust with the fourth estate.
During flights between cities on road trips, Bottalico conversed with Kalas and Andersen and heard their perspective on current events surrounding the team. In fact, Bottalico remembers laughing when Kalas predicted that he would be part of the media business upon retiring. Although it was a prognostication at the time, this foresight turned out to be correct and has led him to afternoon drive on 97.5 The Fanatic.
As one-half of the hosting tandem on The Best Show Ever?, Bottalico diligently works to hit the airwaves with candid, compelling sports talk. The afternoon drive nucleus is working to build an indelible legacy for the show amid consumers in and around the “City of Brotherly Love.”
“I don’t think beating around the bush in Philadelphia is the best thing in the world,” Bottalico explained. “I think getting to your point and having points to back it up is always a positive, and whether it’s a negative thought or a positive thought, you beat that until you are either proven wrong or you don’t feel like it’s the right thought anymore.”
Before earning a permanent spot in the weekday prime programming lineup, Bottalico made weekly hour-long appearances with John Kincade in morning drive. After gaining tangible on-air experience, the station added him to its new afternoon drive show that would occupy the spot previously held by Mike Missanelli. Alongside co-hosts Tyrone Johnson and Hunter Brody with producer Jennifer Scordo, The Best Show Ever? made its debut in August 2022. Yet over the last two years, 97.5 The Fanatic has endured a variety of seminal changes altering the environment around them as area teams realized sustained periods of success.
Brody was let go from the station as a part of cuts last July that also included assistant program director Eric “Coach” Camille. Even though it was short-lived, the four-person configuration proffered a unique on-air sound while presenting difficulties for those in the studio. Throughout the four-hour show, Bottalico surmised to discover pockets and interludes where he could interject while advancing discourse traipsing through local professional and collegiate sports. Scordo was part of additional cuts this past May that also included Tom Calococci and Pat Egan, requiring the program to make an adjustment with two original hosts and new producer Sylvana Kelleher.
“You don’t ignore it because you can’t ignore it because it’s people that you’ve been working with and it’s their livelihoods, but the one thing that you have to do is you have to keep moving forward because if you stop, then everything’s going to stop,” Bottalico said. “The one thing that we’ve learned is you keep pushing forward until they take that mic away from you someday.”
Earlier in the year, Beasley Media Group announced that Scott Masteller was joining the company to serve as program director of 97.5 The Fanatic. As a former employee of ESPN Radio and Hearst Corporation, he entered the role with vocational knowledge and background in the field, along with the ability to work with talent and remain at the forefront of innovation. When Masteller arrived, he spoke to the afternoon drive team and informed them that he believed in their show and that he would be there to help them gain ratings and move in the right direction.
“With Scott, it’s just he always says one thing: ‘If you ever need to talk to me, pick up the phone. I don’t care what time it is,’” Bottalico emphasized, “and if you need something; if you think something you did on a show wasn’t good or something like that, he’ll literally go listen to it and then he’ll get right back to you on what he thought of it because sometimes, in your own mind, you might not be doing something that you like, but it comes off differently over the airwaves.”
Six months into Masteller’s tenure at the station, Beasley Media Group divulged that it had promoted Paul Blake to serve as cluster manager of its Philadelphia stations. This occurred after the sudden departure of Joe Bell, which Bottalico said caught he and his colleagues by surprise and left them both shocked and disappointed. Although the staff does not deal with Blake as closely, Bottalico regards him as accessible to his employees and observes how he speaks to everyone in the office.
“Here’s the whole thing with radio,” Bottalico articulated. “The show doesn’t stop. We’re on every day; the show doesn’t stop. You have to go on and give your best performance. It’s no different than if you’re an actor or you’re a baseball player, you have to go back on that stage and do what you need to do to make that show better and better every day, so it’s been a pretty smooth transition for us.”
Bottalico recently signed a multiyear contract extension that enables him to continue co-hosting afternoon drive on 97.5 The Fanatic. The comfort level cultivated throughout his employment factored into his interest in agreeing to the new deal, which was expediently drafted and signed. Prior to the deal, Bottalico met with Blake and spoke about the show and direction of the station as a whole. Shortly thereafter, the outlet revealed that Missanelli was returning to host in middays with Bill Colarulo and debuted a new lineup in mid-August.
“You start to feel pretty comfortable with who you’re with and what you’re doing,” Bottalico said. “I look at it this way – they came to me right when my contract was up and wanted to re-sign me, and I’m pretty loyal in the sense that when somebody’s there for you and they recognize what’s going on and that a new contract is a necessity at the time, they got the job done, and it was fairly quick.”
Whereas the original launch of the afternoon drive program followed the exit of Missanelli, the show now enjoys having him as a lead-in. Over the years, he has crafted a loyal following and thrived in the marketplace in a content ecosystem competing for engagement and penetration.
“People love Mike, people will tune into Mike and his show is different than ours in a sense that they play their games, they have their trivia and things like that, and people love him,” Bottalico said. “We don’t have an issue with that. We just go in there at 2:00 and flip a switch and do our show, so we know there’s people listening to Mike, so the carry-over is probably pretty good.”
Moving into its new iteration, The Best Show Ever? has sustained its growth trajectory through deft industry expertise, comprehensive sports knowledge and tangible rapport fueled by an indefatigable work ethic and genuine passion for the craft. Bottalico understands the level of preparation that Johnson lends to the show, and he seeks to shield against complacency or negligence by watching matchups, analyzing trends and parceling out opinions based on his experience and aptitude.
“[W]e don’t necessarily go by a firm script because things change,” Bottalico said. “Even during our show, things will change [where] we’ll get breaking news, and that’s one thing we’re very big on is breaking news.”
As it pertains to afternoon drive, there is a deluge of events occurring preceding action that often begins mere hours later. While the program sometimes serves as a prelude to pregame shows, Bottalico regards it as a dynamic setting wherein he gives opinions, speaks to guests and resonates with the listeners. In facing stiff competition from other multiplatform outlets, such as SportsRadio 94WIP in the sports talk radio format, he focuses on the key topics, implements relevant insider reporting and facilitates the audience being heard.
“We want to talk about the sports,” Bottalico said. “We’re not necessarily talking about everyday things that go on all the time. I mean, obviously you get side-tracked once in a while, but for the most part, we stick to the sports, and we take our callers and we’ll react to what they say, and that’s that.”
Bottalico grew accustomed to making clear and concise points through his early endeavors in sports media within the aegis of professional baseball. In providing analysis for Lehigh Valley IronPigs games, he stayed true to himself and became acclimated with enunciating his instant reactions and observations. NBC Sports Philadelphia included Bottalico on its pregame and postgame coverage for the Phillies, which led to him occasionally taking the air for various radio stations. In disseminating his insights and viewpoint of being a professional athlete in the city, he has been able to afford consumers with streamlined means of reasoning and synthesis.
“I think a player’s perspective, especially on sports radio, is important in the sole fact that people at home are watching the games and they’re having feelings and these players are not robots,” Bottalico said, “and I think a lot of times, especially a fan sitting at home [thinks] every single play should got your team’s way, and it’s just not the case.”
Reflecting on the first two years of The Best Show Ever?, Bottalico is proud to have persevered through external changes while maintaining the essence of the program. Taking daily steps to procure strong ratings and broad multiplatform appeal, he evaluates his performance within the scope of the episode. Bottalico feels he is a high-strung individual and fluctuates between good and bad days on the airwaves, but despite how he feels, he makes sure to rise above his hardships and demonstrate his sensibilities at all times. Akin to his time on the mound, he perceives the importance of the aggregate and is working to stack effective outings to contribute to the team effort.
“There’s certain days where you go in and you don’t feel that emotion,” Bottalico said. “You kind of got to get yourself more involved and get your head back in the game, and I think that’s one thing that I would say that Ty and I do extremely well is that we get [ourselves] back to center and then work from there, and that’s a thing I think we’re both very proud of.”
Even though Bottalico signed a contract extension with 97.5 The Fanatic, he is conscious of volatility in media relating to an absolute guarantee of job security. Whether someone has been employed by a company for three decades or three months, professionals can suddenly find themselves searching for new opportunities. Demonstrating alacrity, dedication and skill does not oftentimes supplant the bottom line, nor the necessity of innovation, and Bottalico is grateful to have a part in this new chapter at the station.
“The good thing is people are always going to love sports,” Bottalico said. “That’s the best thing about this is that there’s always going to be people out there that are thirsting to hear about sports each and every day.”
Showcasing a love of sports on a daily basis, Bottalico cherishes his spot in afternoon drive and has made a commitment to continue bringing his best. Regardless of if the consumers are listening on radio, watching on television or viewing clips on social media, he aspires to keep them informed, entertained and invested in the conversation. Sports are firmly cemented in the cultural landscape of Philadelphia, inextricably tied to the metropolis in a manner that Bottalico underscores is not a joke. In a city that revolves around its four major sports teams, he strives to be a voice of reason and keep emerging from the noise to bring listeners the unequivocal truth without any artificial sweeteners.
“Hopefully, [I am] here for a long period of time, and the one thing you want to do is just keep reaching for the top,” Bottalico said. “You want to be the best – the best that you possibly can be.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
