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| Jose Quintana's defense couldn't play any better than their broadcasters could call the game. |
I know it’s a rough day at the gym when I’m so desperate for something to watch on TV that I actually turn to a White Sox game. This was the predicament I was in yesterday. To make matters worse, it wasn’t even a real White Sox game; it was a replay of a game played the day before.
It was the last 10 minutes on the elliptical, though, and I needed to keep my mind off of the burning in my legs, so I stuck with it. The Dodgers were having a big inning (I knew that before it happened, because I had seen the highlights that morning). Over the course of the ten batter inning, the White Sox committed four defensive blunders resulting in a 5 run rally by LA. Jose Quintana, the starter for the White Sox, just couldn’t catch a break.
As it turned out, neither could I. It dawned on me that, for the entirety of the 15 minutes I watched the game, the announcing team hadn’t once mentioned that there was another team on the field. The coverage was 80% discussing (or should I say lamenting) the play of the White Sox, and 20% telling me what was actually happening on the field. Of course, not that the Dodgers had just recorded a hit: the White Sox had let up the hit. If this had been a radio broadcast, I would have had no idea who the opponents were; they were never mentioned by name or by likeness.
As a baseball fan living outside of his home market, I saw a lot of baseball last year, some nationally televised, others on local broadcasts that I was able to find on MLB.com. Having heard plenty of announcing crews and their style of describing baseball, Ken “Hawk” Harrelson and Steve Stone must have been the worst I’ve ever experienced.
I know everything I say about the White Sox needs to be said with the caveat: I hate the Sox. I’m a true Cubs fan who can’t stand what they Sox stand for. But as a fan of the game of baseball, I’m objective enough to say things like “Jose Abreu is a monster,” and “Paul Konerko is a class act,” and “Chris Sale can flat out pitch.” In the same breath: The Sox TV crew suck.
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| Gordon Beckham's defensive struggles made for an LA big inning. Not that you would have known it was LA... |
I understand that Hawk is one of the most iconic announcers in the game. We’ve all come to know, if not love, his phrases, like “He gone,” for a strikeout, or a hearty “YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD!!! YES!!!” for a dinger. But being so narrow-minded that you don’t even acknowledge the other team on the field is a real disappointment for any fan trying to really take in a ballgame.
For any game, you want to hear a little bit about the other team. Who are their stars? How are they doing this year? What style do they play? This is even more magnified in the case of inter-league play. Sox fans don’t often get to see an NL West foe. None of that happened, though, as Hawk and Steve spent their entire air-time talking about their own team.
Good broadcasting is telling a story. A baseball story is not complete with only one side of the game, and while their paychecks are coming from the White Sox, they aren’t paid on commision for the number of times they mention the team name.
