Overthinking Broadcasting

I'm heading to Yale University tomorrow for softball.

For the first time in my "illustrious" career, the letters E S P N will be associated with my name. That will certainly look nice on my resume.

Indeed, I'll have the call of the Central Connecticut/Yale softball doubleheader with game one at 2 p.m. and game two sometime after 4 p.m.

Both games will be carried online on ESPN+.

They have their own style and I'm sure I need to learn out cues and so on. Since I'm not expected to see any camera time (it's best for all of you, really) I don't have to dress up. I just have to stay warm.

Most of my fears have already been resolved.

I belong to a play-by-play group on Facebook. Nice to be among peers, though it's a different flavor from our beloved Call of the Game discussion page of now some 10-15 years ago. Still that page produced people that I'm proud to call friends.

I'm often fascinated by what I read in the Facebook group. Sometimes it's fairly high and mighty people preaching from on high. Other times it's solid advice and conversation. It's an interesting mix. I act as an observer and chime in when I think I can help. After over 20 years of play-by-play (counting the PM-Kraft softball days) I have stories to tell and wisdom to pass along.

My belief is to keep it simple. Report, tell stories and have some fun.

There are plenty of things for the play-by-play enthusiast to read, such as Logan Anderson's "Say the Damn Score" page. Logan blogs and opines about things relevant to the world of sports broadcasting, with the latest entry being about covering a tournament.

I love the challenge of a tournament. When the Babe Ruth World Series came to Stamford, CT in 2002, I couldn't wait to give it a try. We didn't get to call all of the games due to some technicality but we were the broadcasters for several of the big games, including the National Championship. Not many can say they've had the opportunity.

The first real tournament that I got to call was the 2015 Babe Ruth New England Regional. It was suggested to us by a local person, and I was all-in. Fifteen games in five days? Oh hells to the yes.

I called every pitch. Every moment. Four games per day from Friday to Sunday, with two games Monday and the championship on Tuesday.

I had a similar stretch in 2017 but was content to let Dan Gardella and Jake Zimmer each handle calling some of the action to give my voice a rest. Each night heading home in 2015 felt like I had sandpaper in my throat.

Last year, I called (nearly) every pitch of another Babe Ruth tournament in Norwalk. There was no press box, so I fought heat and rain while standing on the blacktop. Plus Fairfield Little League wanted me on their games (and Cal Ripken baseball in Greenwich and the Trumbull Babe Ruth team before that). It was a wonderfully exhausting stretch. I worked almost every game completely solo or had Shawn Sailer, Paul Silverfarb, or Chris Kaelin come by. But mostly, it was me.

The key to it is to not overthink it. With teams coming in from all around New England, I mine the local newspapers and baseball web sites until I find some things. Some years, teams will fill out little bios for us. Then I make sure my computer and phone are always available for tidbits that I haven't thought of, such as facts about the towns the teams are from.

At the game site, coaches are happy to say hello for pronunciations and maybe a few things to expect. Depending on the atmosphere, families will stop by and tell you a few things. Play along, and you make friends.

I had a T-shirt brought to me from Maine in 2015. Last year, I got hats from Rhode Island and Norwalk (plus Del's lemonade mix from Rhode Island), a sign saying "Keene" from the New Hampshire team and plenty of kindness from every team.

Lastly, I have this thing in my head. A brain. With a ton of knowledge. And I use it.

From there, I make sure to have honey lemon drops for my throat, bottles of water and seltzer to stay hydrated, and know where the nearest restroom is for between games.

As Kevin Costner says in Bull Durham: "Don't think. It can only hurt the team."

In this case, don't overthink. Trust your instinct to describe and tell stories. I'm not going to know everything about Yale or Central Connecticut by tomorrow. I'm hopeful that, as with St. John's, there will be other opportunities, and then it will become second nature.

Once again, I'll be working with people whom I have never met. Once again, this is not my favorite mode of chemistry, though I did exchange emails with one of the guys I'm going to work with. I've been blessed that I've had few (if any) booth problems. When I've been the number two guy in the room, I've respected that it's their place. Phil Giubileo, Sean Ford, Geoff Brault, and Josh Caray are examples of booths like that. It's their room.

I've also been blessed to share the booth with so many friends, and that chemistry shines every time. You know those names by now.

So for now, I'm going to get a decent nights sleep, do some reading in the morning, and head out to the stadium.

It's softball. It's sports. This isn't rocket science.