Skip Caray making the case for an announcer's independence in commentary

Описание: Here's the link to the full game,    • 1988 MLB Atlanta vs New York NL May 2  

Earlier this offseason baseball's most popular oddball, Trevor Bauer, made a comment about how the current game is sabotaged by commentators who are critical about it. If you follow the long season on Twitter, you've probably already seen a similar train of thought shared when some play-by-play booths would, oh, I don't know, do their job, by pointing out when a ballplayer would error in a particular game situation. Legends like John Smoltz or Mark Teixeira often get the 'Ok Boomer' dis when they dare make a point that doesn't play to a particular team's fanbase. Similarly, sensitive Millenials and Zs, like Bauer, get their feelings hurt when those 'old guys' on TV or the radio call a spade a spade when the current game reveals itself for the bore it sometimes resembles as a result of the shift or risk averse organizational philosophies about game-play on the bases. This evolution of butt-hurtness made me think about an ancient convo from a TBS game, way back in 1988.

Asked by the late great Skip Caray: "Are announcers to be shills for the game?" The circumstance he questioned, to whom a booth should owe their allegiance, stemmed from the NL league commissioner trying to sanction the Reds' booth for their commentary provided during a heated exchange between Pete 'Always in Shit' Rose and first-base ump, Dave Pallone, circa April 30th, 1988. If you have the time, check it out (search "Pete Rose 30 game suspension"). There are some excellent Mets and Reds pregames on YouTube that highlight the intensity of the dust-up. But for the purposes of this blog, I'm more interested about the topic that the long time Braves radio and TV voice considered in the featured clip.

I'll be the first to defend a booth's right to pander to their audience. Memories of Skip's dad, Harry, on the North Side, and the Hawk-a-roo on the South Side, are essential parts of the summer pastime in Chicago. Don Orcillo and Jerry Remy stumping for the Sox in Beantown were an act that was just as important as what Big Papi and Manny contributed during their days. And today, Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling luv their Yanks as much as anyone could, and we luv them for that folksy partisan zeal. So when Caray considered his profession's duty, I was impressed with his want to call it as it is. Let's be honest, that's the type of perspective that is sure to leave some griping.

Just like politics, sport is about cheering for the relative good guys. That partisan game is easy to define: just note whose wearing what colours. So if fifty percent of a viewing audience is cheering for one set of jerseys, just based on geography or team nickname, commentary that deviates from 'the customer always knows best' is sure to elicit howls of hurt feelings when the hometeam booth tries to call it right down the middle. But that is exactly Skip's professional choice. In an even more sensitive time, today, that professionalism would be derided by those like Trevor Bauer, those that think that anything that doesn't pump the sport's tires is an effort in sabotage.

Obviously, Bauer is coming at this from a self-interested perspective. Dude sees the sports that have surpassed baseball in popularity and thinks that supportive media is the reason why. He's wrong. Just because someone can quant spin-rate for the masses doesn't mean their critical thinking skills are up to par in all situations. When 'the media' takes shots at baseball for entirely too many three outcome situations, it's because they're considering play with a historical perspective that is longer and more diverse than from what Bauer is dealing. Baseball is less dynamic and exciting than it used to be. You only have to have been a fan from the 80s to appreciate that.

The 80s was where it was at when it came to excitement on the bases. More shit was happening than what you see at a ballpark near you these days. Most importantly, though, I want the booths that speak to us through a long summer to explain that lost element of the game. I don't want the experience and perspective of a booth hamstrung because it's not a good marketing look for today's baseball. I want shit laid out like it is. Kids like Bauer will just have to toughen up.

In the end, baseball is better for honest appraisals of itself. Maybe then the powers that be can be pushed into making the changes needed to drive the sport forward. That only happens if our radio and television commentary, like that idealized by Caray on a Queen's evening in 1988, can lay shit out as it is.

#SkipCaray #TrevorBauer #AtlantaBraves #media #TBS #ChipCaray #HarryCaray