2016 Broadcaster Rankings: Final Results
Recently, within this site’s electronic pages, the author facilitated a crowdsourcing effort with a view towards reproducing the broadcaster rankings which appeared here roughly four years ago. More recently, that same author published the updated results for television broadcasts here and for radio here.
The service which the author has failed to render, however, is to present all the results from that endeavor in one easily digestible form. The purpose of this post is to right that vile wrong.
Below, the reader will find two tables. The first contains the complete rankings for the league’s 62 distinct television and radio broadcast teams. The second features only the highest-ranked broadcast for each major-league club.
As in every other case, it’s important to stress here that the results of this exercise aren’t intended to represent the objective quality or skill of the relevant announcers, but rather to provide a clue as to which broadcast teams are likely to appeal most (or least) to the readers of this site. Note, furthermore, that the overall ratings which appear below are not mere averages of the charisma and analysis scores which accompany them, but a distinct category for which respondents submitted scores independently.
Those dozen caveats having been stated explicitly — and many more implied — here are the results of the 2016 broadcaster rankings.
First, the complete results in one table:
| Team | Format | Charisma | Analysis | Overall | |
| 1 | Los Angeles NL (Home) | TV | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| 2 | San Francisco | TV | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| 3 | New York NL | TV | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| 4 | Texas | Radio | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| 5 | San Francisco | Radio | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.7 |
| 6 | New York NL | Radio | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
| 7 | Milwaukee | Radio | 4.9 | 3.4 | 4.6 |
| 8 | Washington | Radio | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| 9 | Philadelphia | Radio | 4.6 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
| 10 | Chicago NL | TV | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| 11 | Detroit | Radio | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| 12 | Los Angeles NL | Radio | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
| 13 | Chicago NL | Radio | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
| 14 | Oakland | Radio | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| 15 | Cleveland | Radio | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 16 | Tampa Bay | Radio | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 17 | Toronto | Radio | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 18 | Baltimore | TV | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 19 | Boston | Radio | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 20 | Milwaukee | TV | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| 21 | Arizona | Radio | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| 22 | Tampa Bay | TV | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
| 23 | Atlanta | Radio | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| 24 | St. Louis | Radio | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
| 25 | Seattle | Radio | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 26 | San Diego | Radio | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| 27 | Baltimore | Radio | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
| 28 | Houston | Radio | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 29 | Oakland | TV | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| 30 | Los Angeles AL | TV | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 31 | Kansas City | Radio | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| 32 | San Diego | TV | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| 33 | Boston | TV | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| 34 | Detroit | TV | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| 35 | Pittsburgh | Radio | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| 36 | Kansas City | TV | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 37 | Miami | Radio | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 38 | Los Angeles NL (Away) | TV | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| 39 | Minnesota | Radio | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
| 40 | Pittsburgh | TV | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| 41 | Houston | TV | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| 42 | Seattle | TV | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
| 43 | Colorado | Radio | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 44 | Arizona | TV | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| 45 | Chicago AL (Home) | TV | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| 46 | Texas | TV | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| 47 | Cincinnati | Radio | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| 48 | New York AL | TV | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| 49 | Miami | TV | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| 50 | Minnesota | TV | 3.1 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| 51 | Los Angeles AL | Radio | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| 52 | St. Louis | TV | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| 53 | Toronto* | TV | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| 54 | Cleveland | TV | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| 55 | Washington | TV | 2.6 | 2.3 | 2.5 |
| 56 | Colorado | TV | 2.5 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 57 | Chicago AL | Radio | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 58 | Cincinnati | TV | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| 59 | Atlanta | TV | 2.4 | 2.1 | 2.3 |
| 60 | Philadelphia | TV | 2.3 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| 61 | New York AL | Radio | 2.5 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| 62 | Chicago AL (Away) | TV | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 |
And second, a variation of that table, but including only the top-rated broadcast team for each organization. (Note that both the Dodgers and White Sox feature multiple teams to account for home and away permutations.)
| Team | Format | Charisma | Analysis | Overall | |
| 1 | Los Angeles NL (Home) | TV | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| 2 | San Francisco | TV | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.8 |
| 3 | New York NL | TV | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| 4 | Texas | Radio | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| 5 | Milwaukee | Radio | 4.9 | 3.4 | 4.6 |
| 6 | Washington | Radio | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| 7 | Philadelphia | Radio | 4.6 | 3.7 | 4.5 |
| 8 | Chicago NL | TV | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| 9 | Detroit | Radio | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| 10 | Los Angeles NL | Radio | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
| 11 | Oakland | Radio | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| 12 | Cleveland | Radio | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 13 | Tampa Bay | Radio | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 14 | Toronto | Radio | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 15 | Baltimore | TV | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
| 16 | Boston | Radio | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 17 | Arizona | Radio | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
| 18 | Atlanta | Radio | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| 19 | St. Louis | Radio | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
| 20 | Seattle | Radio | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
| 21 | San Diego | Radio | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| 22 | Houston | Radio | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| 23 | Los Angeles AL | TV | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.6 |
| 24 | Kansas City | Radio | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | Radio | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
| 26 | Miami | Radio | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 27 | Minnesota | Radio | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
| 28 | Colorado | Radio | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| 29 | Chicago AL (Home) | TV | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| 30 | Cincinnati | Radio | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| 31 | New York AL | TV | 2.8 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| 32 | Chicago AL | Radio | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
Hawk rightfully in last place – put it on the boaaaaard
YES!!
I know they weren’t included in this exercise, but I’d choose Hawk any day over Joe Buck or Kenny Albert.
Carson, it would be fun to rate the national broadcasters too.
Nobody is better than Vin Scully. Nobody.
Vin is a legend for a reason.
I hope none of you missed this: http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/18/legendary-baseball-announcer-vin-scully-absolutely-destroys-socialism-during-broadcast-video/
As a New Yorker, I’ve never really listened to Scully, but have long been aware of his reputation. I really hope your link is not representative of him, because that example makes me downright thankful for John Sterling. That shouldn’t be possible.
I haven’t heard much political commentary from him in the past, so it’s not very representative. And I don’t usually tune into baseball games to hear sports figures’ views on world politics, so I don’t really view that interview as any sort of proof of his quality as a baseball broadcaster.
I will refrain from commenting on his interview on the merits – if you can’t help yourself, please go to Huff Post or Fox News comments sections as appropriate to vent.
/notpoliticsgraphs
I’ve listened to Scully a few times this past week, and rarely at all before that. He has this endearing quality about him, he won’t ever tell you why anything happens, like talk about any advanced metrics whatsoever, but he explains what’s going on on field clearly and with a unique sort of charm, I’d have to say. He also has a pretty good and subtle sense of humor.
I like him a lot, he does have a great voice, but again, it’s a different sort of listen than most others.
“The Dodgers tried the hit and run, or run and hit, and neither of them worked.” hahaha.
I think Scully’s special gift is his ability to wax poetic, pass along stories etc. very seamlessly in the midst of actually calling the game, without detracting from the quality of either. That’s why he’s been able to literally be his own color analyst while calling play-by-play.
How about a no politics tribute to a great storyteller, mate? /nopoliticsgraphs
I agree that Vin is the best, but the young detractors should understand the man is 88 years old, yes almost 90!! 67 years broadcasting is an amazing feat and the man deserves all the respect he gets.
That’s a comment of a troll.
But, but, Bernie. How dare you wedge two of the internets favorite things against each other.
Looks like NYM and SF run away with the title for best combined TV-Radio scores. Any way we might get a look at those averages?
You know, Goldberg-Rizzs-Blowers is a a really good combination of announcers in Seattle, and I’ll even cop some love for Dave Sims, though it’s not Frick material. I find it hard to believe they’re the 20th best team by any objective standard.
I don’t listen to our radio crew too often, but I was also surprised to see the television crew so low. I’m a big fan of the way Dave SIms calls the game. Lots of enthusiasm, without being a total homer. I’m surprised the TV crew didn’t at least rank higher in the charisma category. I also find Mike Blowers’ analysis to be spot on most of the time. It’s surprising how often he’s right. Watching other broadcasts often causes me to remark how lucky we are to have the crew we’ve got in Seattle, so I was expecting to see them higher up. Maybe part of it is I’m biased toward what I’m used to.
I’m guessing most of the voters are basing their opinions off of very limited experience listening to other teams’ broadcasters. If there’s no baseline, it becomes sort of a “how satisfied am I on a scale of 1 to 5” question. This would be fine if there was truly no baseline, but there actually is! And that baseline opinion is previous broadcasters, and in Seattle’s case that means Dave Niehaus, who was well-loved by Seattle fans. This comparison is probably driving down the average score a significant amount.
If Vin Scully calls it quits between now and the next time this ranking happens, I’m sure the Dodgers’ ranking will take a hit, even if he’s replaced by a fantastic crew. When your only anchor is greatness, anything beneath that seems mediocre in comparison.
I agree with this list on the whole — Vin Scully and Jon Miller are both terrific. And Hawk Harrelson is impossible to listen to if you are not a White Sox fan (and maybe even if you are). One question/comment: I cannot stand to listen to Jon Sterling, but I thought that might be because I’m a Red Sox fan. And I seem to hear good things about him in the general sports/baseball world (e.g. ESPN). Anyone have thoughts about why the general baseball world likes Sterling, and Fangraphs readers hate him?
John Sterling really does not like these things called sabermetrics. The RBI and the Win should be the end all of all discussions.
This is all true, along with a bunch of corny catchphrases and home run calls. But he’s also an objectively bad radio announcer. You will go half innings with no clue what is going on.
I’d imagine Suzyn Waldman doesn’t really help out the quality of the broadcast either. At least her excuse is that she’s just the color commentator.
Jon Miller? Really? He grates on me like Paul McGuire (Thiesmann’s former partner in crime in NFL).
So wait, what’s this? How did the Toronto TV broadcast team move up in rankings? They were second last and they deserve to be second last!
What happened?
They mentioned somewhere that they copied the wrong stats or something like that, the initial ranking was a mistake.
The Pirates broadcast has taking a negative turn for me this year. The addition of statcast data has made the color guys outright belligerent towards data driven baseball. Couple that with Joe Block trying to bring new stuff in and they just sound like head in the sand fools. In the past they just mostly ignored stats and were more enjoyable to listen too.
Bob Walk is so painful. Has the guy ever had a happy moment?
Totally a homer, but other than Vin Scully there is no one in the world that compares to Castiglione in Boston. His partners since Trupiano left haven’t been great, but I love Joe as much as I love any member of the actual team
Scully at the top makes me sad. He is mute worthy while watching a game.
I’ll pretend I didn’t read that.
It looks like no team has a bigger gap between radio and tv than the Nationals, 8th for radio and 55th for tv. I guess F.P. Santangelo really is that bad. I want to mute every Nationals game on tv..
phillies are 9th radio, and 60th tv…
Anyone hear Keith Hernandez reference Strat-O-Matic in a telecast the other day?? I just about fell out of my chair when he referred to an outfielder as a “4” fielder! Too funny!!
I’ve played Strat for 20 years, but outside of the league I’m in, none of my other friends who are in baseball play. When ever we talk about fielding, my mind immediately goes to their Strat defensive rating, but I know nobody would know what I’m referring to… and obviously there’s always been some wierd ratings (like Jeter) for the most part as a whole they generally a good measure.