Open letter to MLB

Major League Baseball attendance has really plummeted. It’s now at the lowest average in the last fifteen years. There are lots of reasons given for this: bad weather, higher prices, length of games, too many games on television, or in the case of Los Angeles – too few games on television.

Allow me to offer another reason; one I’ve not heard anywhere else.

Today’s announcers are fucking boring.

They’re generic, they’re competent, they have pleasant voices, but they give the listener or viewer zero reason to want to tune in if the game itself isn’t important or meaningful. And face it, with 162 games a year, very few are really “important.” I love baseball, can watch it year round. But seriously, a single game the end of June? Who gives a shit who wins or loses? Even championship teams lose 60 games a year.

When I would tune into a Dodger game and find they were losing 10-0 I thought, “Goody! Vin Scully is going to fill the time with wonderful stories.  For the next hour he will keep me enthralled.” Now if the Dodgers are losing 5-0 – CLICK!

How important are announcers? Again, let’s look at the Dodgers. 70% of the market can’t get their telecasts. The only way 70% of the market can follow the games on a daily basis is over the radio. So you would expect the Dodger station would have enormous ratings. After all, we’re only a half-year from them being in the World Series. And when Vin Scully called Dodger games radio ratings were 40 shares or above – year after year – win or lose. Scully is gone. The Dodger radio station draws a 0.9. And attendance is way down so it’s not like everybody is just going to the park.  I'm sorry but that's horrifying. 

Announcers create loyalty. Announcers are a team’s best salesmen. But audiences need a reason to listen. It used to be that announcers had showmanship, distinct styles and personalities. Fans would listen or watch games regardless of the score. I’m not saying the announcers should be bigger than the game or detract from the game, but Jesus, give us SOMETHING. Are teams so deathly afraid their announcers will God forbid say something that one fan might complain about? Fuck them. Even when fans HATE certain announcers they listen. God bless John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman of the Yankees – love ‘em or hate ‘em they’re unique and they draw a big audience. Have we forgot the lessons of Harry Caray? Or Ernie Harwell? Or Jack Buck? Or Dave Niehaus? Or Bob Prince? Or Harry Kalas? Or Jerry Coleman?

I listen to a lot of announcers today and wonder – if you took away their laptops would they still be able to call the game? There is an ART to calling baseball – especially on the radio. You need to be a storyteller. You need a flair for the dramatic (and I don’t mean screaming home run calls). You need a sense of humor, you need to sprinkle in things other than baseball.

In fairness, there are some but very few who do this. People ask me who will be the next Vin Scully? My answer is always Jason Benetti of the White Sox. Don’t look now but he’s having fun. He’s making the game come alive. He’s giving a Shakespeare reference.

He makes you want to care about the White Sox – maybe enough that you’ll even come out to the ballpark. And it doesn’t cost your team $200 million for five years and Jason Benetti will never need Tommy John surgery.

Or does this just make too much sense to work?  

Thanks to Mike Kinosian  for the following chart on flagship station ratings.

from By Ken Levine