09-03-2022, 06:51 PM
(09-03-2022, 06:23 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: As an analyst, he's killing it. One thing he proved is that play by play is much more difficult than most people thought. He's brutally bad at it, but I expected it . . . not slamming Votto. I kind of winced when they announced Votto was going to do play by play because I know how hard it is(I've been in radio off and on for over 30 years). I can't stand Sadak but he showed how difficult it is to be the lead play by play announcer when he covered up for Votto's minimalist approach, which is just the byproduct of no formal broadcasting training.
Play by play takes a special skill that needs to be developed, very few can do it naturally. I started in college radio and admired one of the afternoon DJs because he was so smooth in his delivery. He and another DJ called a college volleyball match and I listened to it and told him later "Dude, I learn a lot from listening to you . . . but that was awful. What happened?" and his answer taught me the difference between play by play and analyst.
"Anybody can be an analyst . . . you don't speak until the play has been over for a few seconds . . . you have a little bit of time to think about what you want to say about what just happened. Play by play is way different. Your eyes see something and then sends the info to your brain. Your brain then needs to translate it into words and then relay it to your mouth and then your mouth needs to vocalize it all while your eyes are seeing new things for your brain to translate. It's way harder than talking about the impact of a guitar player that I've been listening to since I was a kid." Add in that Votto had producers talking in his ear that we can't hear and that's another distraction for your brain to take in while trying to sound like you are having a flowing conversation about a baseball game.
I’ve just enjoyed his insights and his Back-and-forth with Larkin a lot. His reaction to Steer’s HR was genuine. I really do hope he comes back healthy next ST ready for a revenge tour.
