Experience Wanted

 

I saw a job listing recently.

My heart raced immediately.

It felt like a potential dream opportunity and, to be honest, was a job that I felt I would be really good at.

I can envision that. I can see where I could take it if given the chance.

Actually, there have been a couple of openings like that recently.

But, there's a harsh reality.

Read the specifics.

Read the expected qualifications.

Years of this and years of that.

Experience that a (hopefully) respected broadcaster on a very local level for over a quarter of a century doesn't have.

Does it deter me? Sometimes yes and sometimes no.

But you look at the circumstances and you know you're going to be dumped in a pile.

Rejected outright.

In one case, I knew the odds were minimal. Like, literally, no chance. But I wrote a message as I applied in which I said I knew I was an "out of the box" idea. 

Yet I really think I can be good at these things. In fact, I know I can. 

I flashback to the 2021 season with the Renegades.

Early on, there was some buzz. Articles were written about the Hudson Valley guy getting the job. The man from Mahopac gets his long-overdue chance. Then the season started and I received nice reviews, including Jomboy sharing a walk-off home run call one night. 

I saw a level of regard that I had never known before. My phone kept buzzing about this "great" call and how "this guy should be in the big leagues."

And damned if I didn't dream just a little bit.

Maybe, just maybe, our Yankees compadre John Sterling might take a day off and the Hudson Valley guy would slide in.

After all of those years, the dream of sitting in the New York Yankees radio booth might come to be.

To that end, Emmanuel Berbari -- who was part of the 2022 booth after me and wanted to work with me -- has become a fill-in for John. I'm tremendously happy for him. He's a talented, good guy who got his chance.

We all know what happened after 2021. The Renegades changed the play-by-play position and, while I'm still part of the family, I'm not in the broadcast booth. I'll begin my third year in the public address booth next week. It allows me to still work with Sean, Lori, and many friends.

Oh, I won't lie. I miss it enormously. It was part of my life in parts for 20 years and finally getting to do every game (home game, that is) was intoxicating. I nearly cried on the air when the season ended in 2021 and essentially sat in a fog in the winter of 2021-2022 when it ended.

Sure, I have doubts and bad days where I think I'm awful, but overall I still trust my ability.

I work hard and grind for every broadcast and I'm fully aware that each game can be the last.

But I know I can crush these jobs and give audiences calls that they'll be happy with.

I still have a lot to offer.

That doesn't mean everyone agrees and of course, there will always be critics. Heck, even now, there's always someone nipping at my heels. It's the nature of the beast.

Until a hiring manager or a first set of eyes lets you get past the vetting process, none of it will matter.

I've been a hiring manager in corporations, small companies, and in broadcasting.

I know what it's like to take a risk on an employee.

But I know the reality of the situation.

No matter how "out of the box" it is.