2016 Broadcaster Rankings (Radio): #30 – #21
Roughly four years ago now, the present author facilitated a crowdsourcing project designed to place a “grade” on each of the league’s television and radio broadcast teams. The results weren’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.
The results of that original exercise have been useful as a complement to the dumb NERD scores published by the author in these pages. Four years later, however, they’ve become much less useful. In the meantime, a number of the broadcast teams cited in that original effort have changed personnel. It’s possible that the tastes of this site’s readers have changed, also.
Recently, the author published an updated version of the television rankings according to the site’s readership. This week: the results of that same exercise, but for radio broadcasts.
Below are the 30th- through 21st-ranked radio-broadcast teams, per the FanGraphs readership.
But first, three notes:
- Teams are ranked in ascending order of Overall rating. Overall ratings are not merely averages of Charisma and Analysis.
- The author has attempted to choose reader comments that are either (a) illustrative of the team’s place in the rankings or (b) conspicuously amusing.
- A complete table of ratings will appear in these pages on Thursday, unless they appear later than that.
30. New York Yankees
Main Broadcasters: John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 2.5, 1.7, 2.0
Representative Reader Comment
“As a Yankee fan, I am thankful for MLB At Bat.”
Notes
It’s difficult to find any feedback among the readers’ comments that doesn’t merely resort, at some point, to an ad hominen attack on the Yankees’ radio team. Which, that’s unfortunate. But also: probably indicative of the sort of frustration a FanGraphs reader might have attempting to comsume a Yankees game by way of the radio feed.
29. Chicago White Sox
Main Broadcasters: Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 2.4, 2.3, 2.4
Representative Reader Comment
“They can both get kind of weird in their attempts to play off each other.”
Notes
A number of comments regarding the White Sox’ away television broadcast suggested that, whatever their merits as individuals, that Hawk Harrelson and Steve Stone gave the impression — on air, at least — of never having become bosom friends. Multiple respondents suggest that the club’s radio broadcast team suffers from a similar lack of compatibility.
28. Los Angeles Angels
Main Broadcasters: Terry Smith and Mark Langston
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 2.4, 2.7, 2.8
Representative Reader Comment
“They never truly replaced Rory Markus, who was terrific.”
Notes
Most of the television teams over the course of this excerise receives somewhere between 100 and 500 ballots from readers; most radio teams, between about 50 and 200. The Angels receives nine total ballots. This score, as a result, likely features the largest margin of error. This paragraph, for a number of reasons, is an experiment in futility.
27. Cincinnati Reds
Main Broadcasters: Marty Brennaman and Jeff Brantley
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.1, 2.7, 2.8
Representative Reader Comment
“Marty is a curmudgeon and his negativity and criticism of players tends to overshadow the fact that he is one of the very best in the business at the act of calling a ballgame.”
Notes
Many of the sentiments expressed by readers regarding Thom Brennaman appear relevant, as well, to his father Marty. Both Brennamans receive praise for their vocal timbre and narrative skills. Both also seem to exhibit a sort of antagonism with life itself, however, that doesn’t lend itself to the long-distance race that is a baseball season.
26. Colorado Rockies
Main Broadcasters: Jack Corrigan and Jerry Schemmel
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.2, 3.0, 3.2
Representative Reader Comment
“[W]orth mentioning the Rockies became the first NL team to have a woman on the radio crew last year when Jenny Cavnar filled in for a few games at Jack’s suggestion while Jerry was absent.”
Notes
The Rockies’ radio score (3.2) is actually about even with the median score produced collectively by the league’s television broadcasts. Responses regarding Corrigan and Schemmel reflect, perhaps, the difference in the medium. Because, despite their ranking, the pair receives little actual negative criticism.
25. Minnesota Twins
Main Broadcasters: Cory Provus and Dan Gladden
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.2, 3.2, 3.3
Representative Reader Comment
“The Twins radio crew is laudable for its inoffensiveness. Provus has a great voice, and, together with Gladden, the two of them never really manage to tick me off… In modern announcing, that’s a major plus.”
Notes
Provus is an alumnus of the Brewers’ radio team alongside Bob Uecker — which group also includes Joe Block (now in Pittsburgh on radio and TV) and Jim Powell in Atlanta (also on radio) and Pat Hughes (on Cubs radio). All four are generally praised by FanGraphs readers, which may or may not be a coincidence. Like how everything in life may or may not be a coincidence, as well.
24. Miami Marlins
Main Broadcasters: Dave Van Horne and Glenn Geffner
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.4, 3.3, 3.4
Representative Reader Comment
“I would venture a guess that most stumbling on a game by Van Horne would be hard-pressed to confidently state which team employs him.”
Notes
Comments regarding Dave Van Horne suggest that, if anything, he is phlegmatic to a fault. In a nearly related development, here’s a very brief story by Lydia Davis from her collection Varieties of Disturbance:
23. Pittsburgh Pirates
Main Broadcasters: Like, five different guys
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.7, 3.1, 3.5
Representative Reader Comment
“Pirates fans will mostly enjoy these pairings but fans of other teams should be warned, and should steer towards Block when possible.”
Notes
Whatever comments apply to the Pirates’ television side mostly apply here, too, on account of it’s all the same people, basically. Curiously, while Pittsburgh’s television crew ranks 15th according to FanGraphs readers, that same collection of personnel appear 23rd among radio broadcasters. Again, this is very likely due to the different demands of the two media.
22. Kansas City Royals
Main Broadcasters: Denny Matthews and Steve Physioc/Steve Stewart
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.5, 3.4, 3.5
Representative Reader Comment
“Denny Matthews is basically Vin Scully to us Royals Fans. He’s been with the Royals since the teams first year in 1969, so it’s really hard to hear a Royals game and not have Denny on the call.”
Notes
As the reader comment here suggests, most respondents exhibit a certain reverence with regard to Denny Matthews. The comparison to Vin Scully is apt for that reason. And for this one, too: as with Scully, the few dissenting views regarding Matthews all cite age as the primary reason.
21. Houston Astros
Main Broadcasters: Robert Ford and Steve Sparks
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 3.4, 3.5, 3.6
Representative Reader Comment
“Robert Ford is very good… Sparks [tries] to generate the enthusiasm by talking louder.”
Notes
When this broadcaster-rankings exercise was conducted four years ago, Milo Hamilton — and not Robert Ford — served as the primary voice for Astros’ radio. Though well respected, Hamilton was also regarded as perhaps having lost some precision with age. The combination of Ford and Sparks appears two slots higher than that previous iteration.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
OK, never saw this crowd-sourcing…
IIRC he had the TV and Radio votes going on at the same time.
“That ball is high!!!! It is far!!!!!! I-i-i-i-i-i-t, i-i-i-i-i-i-s, caught behind second base for the second out of the inning. Suzyn, you just can’t predict baseball.”
The Waldman/Sterling scores seem too generous.. I’m hard-pressed to understand how they’d get a 2 in any category.
Yeah, the Yankees radio team is frankly an insult to anyone who takes the time to listen to a ML baseball game and especially fans of the team (gratefully I am not one). They are laughably awful.
I listen fairly regularly, and it’s really not that bad. It’s just like talking to old people about baseball. They are like your nice grandparents who tell you pretty much exactly what they see.
I would like to support your comment with a few supplementary ad hominem attacks, but since they are already the worst rated radio team in baseball, the effort seems wasted.
I had the somewhat infuriating pleasure of listening to the Reds feed this weekend. Brennaman tells you the outcome, and then tells you how it went down.
Example: “And Ohlendorf … (long pause) … HOME RUN by Espinosa.” I bet he reads the ends of books and then goes back and starts at the beginning.
It’s funny, I have the opposite problem with football. The play-by-play guy who does the national telecasts, Kevin Harlan, describes the play in so much detail, whether the guy is running inside the numbers, outside the numbers, bobs, weaves, etc. that it takes him about a minute to tell us how many yards the guy gained. Many others do the same, but Harlan just stands out as irritating in this regard. When I’m listening on the radio, the most important thing is the bottom line, then fill in some of the details later. In baseball, you want to hear that it’s a drive to deep left field, way back, or whatever, first.
At least in baseball the announcers don’t feel they have to tell us if the field is oriented from left to right, or right to left, as they so pointlessly do in football. Why do they bother doing that anyway?
As much as people do not care for Marty… Brantley makes me wish I had a White Sox game on, instead. Oh, wait, No. That would be hell. Listening to Jeff is ju-u-u-u-u-u-ust a bit outside hell. How can Reds people not hear how bad he is on the radio???? He ranks up there (um, down there?) with Ron Santo with inability to be a broadcaster.
I swear I’m not a misogynist — I really like Jessica Mendoza… But I have no idea how a prominent major league team continues to employ Suzyn Waldman.
Sterling actually has his moments, but he needs help from someone smart and quick-witted. She’s basically the opposite of that.
Together, they really are the worst.
Excuse me while I make a passionate defense of John Sterling…
In my view, the ideal radio announcer not only provides a visual on what’s going on in the game, but also entertains. Mr Sterling does an admittedly poor job explaining what is actually going on the field, and he makes no attempt to provide any kind of stastical analysis. But if I want see exactly what happened on the field, whether it’s a closer call or a borderline pitch, I have a million ways to see that. As technology imporoves, I care less about the announcer letting me know exactly what’s happening (Twitter and the mlb app will always do a better job).
So, for me, let me be entertained. And John Sterling is funny. I’m constantly on the road, and I laugh out loud in my car, like a maniac, multiple times a game. I totally get why people don’t like him, but I wouldn’t trade him.
Waldmen, however, is awful.
I actually like both Sterling and Waldman. They are objectively awful. …but they are family.
Waldman was super as one of the hosts on WFAN, but is equally awful at announcing a live game.
It’s not just that Waldman and Sterling have missed the entire field of baseball analytics that’s developed in the past 30 years – it’s that they would have been a terrible broadcast booth for 1985 too.
When I’m in my car, listening to the game, I want to know what’s going on on the field. That’s the whole point of the broadcast. But I don’t know, maybe you’re in your car with your head down reading twitter on your phone or checking the MLB app to find out exactly what happened — I see a lot of that from people behind the wheel these days, and it’s fricking dangerous.
I meant I can see the play later, when I’m not driving. I wasn’t trying to condone actually watching a baseball game while driving.
I appreciate the effort but they are terrible. When Waldman first started she was ok, trying to actually talk about the game, noting defensive positioning, you know, being an announcer. But she’s been worn down by the non stop buffoonery. If you don’t think they are that bad listen to a Mets broadcast some time.
The Astros quote is flat wrong, and had to have been made by somebody who doesn’t listen to the broadcasts regularly. Ford is a passable play-by-play guy. Steve Sparks is amazing. He is constantly breaking down the nuts-and-bolts of pitching, player mindset in different situation, behind-the-scenes about what pitching coaches tell particular players. He has a good grasp of mechanics and often identifies quickly when a pitcher is off on his mechanics, and he mentions the corrections. He talks about how batters should approach pitchers based on their pitch selection, stuff, and tendencies.
He’s got a flat-ish delivery, but Sparks is one of the most knowledgeable broadcasters that I’ve listened to on a regular basis, and the best that the Astros have had on the radio in decades.
This is correct about Sparks, whose voice would be hard to listen to if he weren’t so good at the stuff CRPerry13 mentions. The fact that he’s so interested makes him interesting to listen to. Ford’s improving, too — he seems less rushed than he used to.
I much prefer the Radio broadcast over the TV one, mainly for Sparks. Sparks and Rob Ford both have very keen analysis, and Rob Ford’s play by play–while only serviceable–is never bad. Sparks is a treasure
Came to the comments for this. I am not an Astros fan, but I recently listened to an Astros game on the radio and found myself captivated by Sparks. He was great!
Interesting fact. The sports broadcaster with the most intolerable Boston accent is a radio announcer for the New York Yankees.
There are really no adequate words to describe the awfulness of John Sterling and Susyn Waldman. I haven’t been able to listen to more than a few minutes of the occasional Yankee game in years without changing the station in anger, which isn’t the best thing while driving.
The fault is mostly Sterling’s at this point. He has no idea what’s going on in the game beyond what he can see while squinting through coke bottle glasses at the tv monitor in the booth. So he tries to make up for this with constant clownish comments, cliches & behavior. I suppose that we Yankee fans should be proud that our team is the first to employ a legally blind play-by-play radio announcer.
Continuing with this broadcasting team really shows zero respect for the listener who actually wants to hear what’s happening in the game.
Comment on Twins broadcast team:
Provus is an excellent play-by-play guy and Gladden is a mediocre color guy. With those two in those roles, I can enjoy the broadcast.
But why why why on earth would you let Gladden do play-by-play for the middle innings of every game when you already have a great guy for this????
You know how when you have the game on in the background and you stop to listen when it sounds like something’s happening? The thing that drives me up the wall the most about Gladden is that the level of excitement of his voice when calling a homerun is the same as when he’s talking about a coaching visit to the mound.
A little dismayed to see the Royals crew in the bottom third, but not surprising on FG, as most statistics shared are of the batting-average-RBI’s-pitcher-wins variety. Denny Matthews’ is still a comforting voice to hear.
I can’t wait to drop the word “phlegmatic” into my next conversation.
My guess is the votes for this come almost exclusively from the fans of these teams, where TV would have a substantial number of fans of rivals casting votes.
I used to really dislike Ed Farmer, but the more I hear Darrin Jackson… the more I wish Farmio would do all the talking. DJ’s a nice guy, but he has no personality and when he tries to be funny or clever, he falls flat on his face. I can’t take more than 5 minutes of their broadcast before DJ says something so inane that I need to change the station.
The almost complete lack of White Sox fans from commenting has me believing they are simply resigned to hearing mediocre broadcasting – and have been assaulted by Farmer for so many years, that they are numb to it. It matters not one lick who he is teamed up with (Rooney – remember those dark days?), it is a waste of time to tune into their game(s).
Re: Twins Rankings
Provus is a solid PBP guy and I’m so happy that Twins fans have him. He’s entertaining, he does a great job describing what’s happening on the field, and he seems to have a genuine curiosity towards sabermetrics.
However, it’s a shame that he’s paired with Gladden, a curmudgeon that follows in the Dick Bremer & Bert Blyleven mold that the golden age was back in the 1980s and baseball just isn’t the same today. Gladden can be funny, but the radio is absolutely unlistenable for me now because of him. For example, he was discussing the new slide rule at second base back in April. Gladden argued that runners have never been taught to slide directly into a base and that the new slide rule would cause *more* injuries, not fewer. It was one of the most asinine comments I’ve ever heard from a broadcaster. Whenever Provus tries to talk defensive shifts or something new-age, Gladden is always quick to dismiss them as fads. Long story short, he’s a pain in the ass and I don’t like him.
Sorry I missed this crowdsourcing. As a Yankee fan, here’s a positive comment on Sterling and Waldman: Sterling seems willing to equally praise the opposing team and condemn the Yankees’ poor play (at least as he sees it). In close games, Waldman sometimes tries rein Sterling in and point him back to the action on the field.
As an Angels fan, I enjoy Smith and Langston. I agree that Rory Markus was terrific, but Smith and Langston have good rapport and Langston provides good insight from an ex-pitcher’s perspective. Nothing truly special, but I would never say that they are among the 10 worst.
I listen to both the Angels and Dodgers on the radio, and save for the 3 innings that Vin Scully works during home games, the Dodgers radio broadcast is difficult to endure because of Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday. It’s like listening to two old men who think that they’re witty and no one has had the heart to tell them that they’re simply corny.
And they are terrible at providing basic information. If I happen to begin listening to a broadcast after an inning has started, I may not learn the score until the inning is completed as Charlie and Rick fill the air with little insight, tired anecdotes, and stale banter.
It feels as if they have been kept around to make you truly appreciate the 3 innings that you have Scully, and while I know that both men are humble enough to admit that they could never be remotely as good as Scully, that’s no excuse for being fairly lousy.
“It’s like listening to two old men who think that they’re witty and no one has had the heart to tell them that they’re simply corny.”
This is how I feel about Farmer and especially DJ. (W Sox Radio)
I don’t know if they rate a 30th, but speaking as a Yankee fan, the Sterling/Waldman broadcasts are so bad they make me want to listen on radio–with the sound on low. You hear a roar in the background, and turn it up
interesting that NY, LA, and Chicago have the three worst sets of announcers. Not exactly small markets.
I think it says a lot about how frightened major marketing is of change. Consistency is its own virtue, and so long as the advertising dollars are there, change is to be avoided.
It also looks like those three cities have three of the best radio teams.
As a Rockies fan I’m disappointed Jack and Jerry are so low. I really enjoy listening to them.
Mad props for the Lydia Davis reference.