Bananas!

It was an eye-opening job title for sure.

Broadcast Entertainer.

No, not just a broadcaster. Not just a play-by-play announcer.

But an entertainer.

I kept waiting for the punchline. But, no, unless you consider the whole thing to be a joke.

The Savannah Bananas, a member of the summer collegiate Coastal Plain League, didn't just want a play-by-play announcer, but they wanted an entertainer.

From the job description:

In this role you will consider the normal guidelines for baseball play-by-play then do ... the exact ... opposite.

For example ...

* Instead of describing the game, you'll talk about the game as fans do. "Why in the heck is the number 9 hitter swinging on 3-and-oh with the bases loaded?!"

* Instead of cookie-cutter home run calls, they want CHEESE. The cheesier the better!

* Instead of interviewing only players and coaches, you might interview fans, kids, local business people and Bananas office staff.

* Instead of working with an ex-player as your analyst, you might work with rotating fan analysts or even players from the active roster!

* Other ideas include doing an inning of imitations of some of the famous broadcast calls of all time including, “Do You believe in Miracles?” Or you could be doing an inning of all movie quotes and famous song lyrics. You could possibly get suggestions from fans for a word of the night that you need to mix into your broadcast. You could also record unique interviews on the Banana Bus and showcase the players in unique environments.


They should have included that the Broadcast Entertainer should "know the game, we'll forget your name. And you won't be here in another year if you don't stay on the charts." Oh, sorry. I'm just paraphrasing Billy Joel.

So, the 'Nanas go for the wild and wacky. At no point did I (seriously) give this any thought for a variety of reasons -- like moving to Georgia and already having a play-by-play job in baseball. In short, it didn't really sound like me. But it felt like we knew who would get the job.

And, yet, no, after even talking with them on Twitter a year ago (and begging). Go figure. I see a lot of begging. Somehow, that doesn't seem like the best plan of action, but that's just me.

Besides, I'll just stick with my "cookie cutter" home run call. I like my cheese on my nachos, thanks so much.

But, is this the future of play-by-play? I don't think so. Everything evolves and this is what will work for them.

I appreciate their effort to reinvent the wheel and, sure, there are ways to liven a broadcast up. I look forward to seeing how Gades broadcasts will sound (one day) and I have my ideas to put a stamp on them.

I don't know a lot about the Savannah hire. I read his bio and I know he has some Hudson Valley ties so I'm interested to hear/see a broadcast. 

Whatever the case, these Bananas broadcasts sound like they'll be...

Wait for it...

Nuts.

*****

It's long stayed in my mind that my podcast, Tales From the Booth, sort of failed. In essence I gave up. I felt like it didn't find an audience and some of the criticism (speaking honestly) made me question why I was bothering to produce something that I worked my tail off creating.

I'd write a script, find audio, edit audio, record the read, and then edit the final product. It didn't seem worth it, so I tabled it and continued to think about it.

I have those moments -- with Doubleheader and this here bloggity-doo-da as well. I have a lot of "why do I bother" moments. So, as much as I wanted to continue, I just stopped.

But it's been in the back of my head and I think I've come up with a way to revive it.

I've asked Mike Hirn to help, and we'll be asking others also. I think that will get me back to being driven to do it. Setting a time to record and so on will get me on a schedule.

We'll try. That's the game plan.

Stay tuned.

*****

My post from yesterday was a favorite to write. I enjoyed the satire of it all, as social media often devolves into this sophomoric ridiculousness.

I'm not saying I haven't been guilty in moments either but I found some inspiration and went with it.

I love to write and create parodies. It was at the very heart of why I loved things like Imus in the Morning and I put that creativity into things like our softball videos of the 90s/00s.

When two separate people tell you it's brilliant, well, I don't have the words for it. That's when it doesn't matter how many clicks it gets. It was a joy to create.

I'm not brilliant. I'm not sure what I am. But I appreciated the kind words.

I got a good laugh out of it. I hope you did also.

If you didn't read it, give it a look.