Tim McCarver Replaces Packer as Worst Sports Broadcaster

[kcchief19]

It was already a tight race but Billy Packer's attitude and seething hatred for anything that wasn't ACC-related and the venom he spewed on mid-majors gave him the edge.

That leaves McCarver alone at the top. Granted, he and and Buck together would be a good team to leave out in the dessert alone, but McCarver really takes the cake. Buck at least used to be decent before fame and fortune went to his head and he decided to stop doing homework.

I suppose his analysis would be great for people who have never seen a sporting event in their lives and just recently started speaking English. But if I have to hear him go on about what a curveball is or explain why sometimes runners slide again, I'm going to go ballistic.

I also like how McCarver and Buck (both former Cardinals employees, naturally) went on for hours about the life of Ryan Ludwick. I would have liked to hear about Joakim Soria going from the Rule V draft a year ago and from a small factory town in Mexico to the all-star game, but please let us know more about Ryan Ludwick.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Granted, he and and Buck together would be a good team to leave out in the dessert alone, but McCarver really takes the cake.

Someone needs to head down to a KC casino dessert buffet pronto!

[Dr. Sak]

Sorry I think Joe Buck takes the cake. He makes me want to stick needles in my ears.

[Dr. Sak]

Since I know most of you don't watch hockey I would like to add the Sabers' announcer to this list...as well as the Penguins' announcer (not Mike Lange).

[rkmsuf]

If you could understand anything he was saying at all, Shannon Sharpe would be near the top of this list. In this case the way he speaks might work to his advantage.

[kcchief19]

Someone needs to head down to a KC casino dessert buffet pronto!
I'll admit that for a semi-professional writer my typing skills leave a lot to be desired, particularly in a format such as this when I'm not proofing myself or paying attention to such matters -- but the fact that I typed dessert instead of desert shames me and my family.

Maybe I was hungry. Good thing I'm going to Nick and Jake's tonight.

[RomaGoth]

I admit that Joe Buck is damn annoying. There are others as well that I just can't stand to listen to (any more comments from Gary Thorne about ANYTHING and I am going to poke my eyes out).

The worst one, however, is Jon Miller. This guy is the most annoying, uneducated, biased, sad-sack announcer I have ever had the displeasure of listening to. He seriously makes me want to cut my ears off with a chainsaw.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Big Fo]

McGarver 15 years ago >> McGarver >>>>>> Buck

I never got the Billy Packer hate. So he often said ACC teams were good, weren't ACC teams usually pretty good?

Buck and Shannon Sharpe are good ones as far the worst ones though. I never liked the guys that do White Sox games on WGN, but I don't know who they are. When watching EPL games the blatant Liverpool fan/commentator that shouts "GERRARD!" every time right before the player's next long-range shot into the stands gets on my nerves. Tony Kornheiser is bad as well, but not near as bad as Joe Buck.

[cougarfreak]

I think a network should just show a game one time with no commentary. Hell, give it a shot. I know I wish FSN Ohio would do it once, George Grande has no fucking idea what the term "comfortable silence" means, and everyone and every play is "brilliant".

[Radii]

I think a network should just show a game one time with no commentary. Hell, give it a shot.

December 20th, 1980:

TV experimented, as NBC covered the meaningless NFL game between the New York Jets (4-11) and the Miami Dolphins (8-7). No announcers were in the booth. The only sounds heard were field noise and spectators as the pictures tried to convey the emotion of the game. Headlines the next day read, “Jets Silence Dolphins 24-17.”

[molson]

I think I'm the only person that barely notices the announcers. It's like background noise, I only really tune in when I want to know something.

[FBPro]

This happened years ago, back when he and Neon Deion got into it.

[Crapshoot]

I think Tim McCarver and Joe Buck are Fox's way of trying to get me not to watch baseball. I cannot believe that pathetic old fart is considered quality.

[Crapshoot]

I admit that Joe Buck is damn annoying. There are others as well that I just can't stand to listen to (any more comments from Gary Thorne about ANYTHING and I am going to poke my eyes out).

The worst one, however, is Jon Miller. This guy is the most annoying, uneducated, biased, sad-sack announcer I have ever had the displeasure of listening to. He seriously makes me want to cut my ears off with a chainsaw.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Yeah, you need to back to one of your 300 local announcers. That's absurd.

Jon Miller is behind only the great Vin Scully in my mind - especially on Giants broadcasts, where he isn't paired with Joe "Fremp" Morgan.

[Mike Lowe]

Aside from Crapshoots brief mentioning of other options, all I see here are posts presenting the problem without any sort of solution.

Who would be good in the national baseball booth and why?

[Kevin]

Aside from Crapshoots brief mentioning of other options, all I see here are posts presenting the problem without any sort of solution.

Who would be good in the national baseball booth and why?

Uecker!!!!! He has a sense of humour.

[Atocep]

Joe "Fremp" Morgan.


:D

[Atocep]

Who would be good in the national baseball booth and why?

The first game Orel Hershiser did for ESPN he was a fill-in for Joe Morgan, which put him in the booth with Jon Miller. He was outstanding. I remember him talking about and explaining free agent compensation and sandwich picks in the draft. It went over Jon Miller's head as he was asking genuine questions and it was obvious he didn't grasp the concept. Since then he's been paired with Steve Phillips in the booth and he's dumbed down his act noticeably. Not surprising at all with ESPN, though.

Steve Stone was outstanding when he was with the Cubs and was fired for actually being critical of the Cubs players and Dusty. One of my favorite broadcaster moments was when he was working a Cubs/Reds game the season after he was fired and he had been critical of Dusty the entire game. Late in the game Dusty brings Remlinger in to face a lefty and Steve Stone immediately pointed out that it was a typical Dusty move because he was thinking traditionally and going for the lefty/lefty matchup, but Remlinger throughout his career had been much better against righthanders. First pitch Remlinger threw ended up being a go-ahead homer that ended up winning the game for the Reds.

Bob Brenly does Cubs games now and isn't too bad. He'll bring up non-traditional stats from time to time and actually seems to understand them. A lot of his stuff is refreshing to hear from an analyst.

I don't know how these guys would do in the national booth, but Stone was outstanding and would do the job much better than McCarver does now. Brenly is solid and would still be a big upgrade. Hershiser would be great only if he was given permission to actually speak intelligently in the booth instead just going back and forth talking about whatever subject Steve Phillips thinks is important.

[Apathetic Lurker]

Since I know most of you don't watch hockey I would like to add the Sabers' announcer to this list...as well as the Penguins' announcer (not Mike Lange).

Nuthin' wrong with Rick Jeanneret you Godless heathen!

[molson]

The first game Orel Hershiser did for ESPN he was a fill-in for Joe Morgan, which put him in the booth with Jon Miller. He was outstanding. I remember him talking about and explaining free agent compensation and sandwich picks in the draft. It went over Jon Miller's head as he was asking genuine questions and it was obvious he didn't grasp the concept. Since then he's been paired with Steve Phillips in the booth and he's dumbed down his act noticeably. Not surprising at all with ESPN, though.

Steve Stone was outstanding when he was with the Cubs and was fired for actually being critical of the Cubs players and Dusty. One of my favorite broadcaster moments was when he was working a Cubs/Reds game the season after he was fired and he had been critical of Dusty the entire game. Late in the game Dusty brings Remlinger in to face a lefty and Steve Stone immediately pointed out that it was a typical Dusty move because he was thinking traditionally and going for the lefty/lefty matchup, but Remlinger throughout his career had been much better against righthanders. First pitch Remlinger threw ended up being a go-ahead homer that ended up winning the game for the Reds.

Bob Brenly does Cubs games now and isn't too bad. He'll bring up non-traditional stats from time to time and actually seems to understand them. A lot of his stuff is refreshing to hear from an analyst.

I don't know how these guys would do in the national booth, but Stone was outstanding and would do the job much better than McCarver does now. Brenly is solid and would still be a big upgrade. Hershiser would be great only if he was given permission to actually speak intelligently in the booth instead just going back and forth talking about whatever subject Steve Phillips thinks is important.

I think you hit on the issue - what % of TV baseball viewers care about non-traditional stats or sandwich picks? And why would MLB/Fox want to cater to people like that who are already hardcore fans? They're not picking broadcasters at random, they know their audience, and I think McCarver is a welcoming kind of presence for new/casual fans.

[Dr. Sak]

Nuthin' wrong with Rick Jeanneret you Godless heathen!

Only if you like non stop screaming over slap shots that are no where near the net.

[Cringer]

Since we are talking sports broadcasters, I am surprised no one bumped a NFL Network thread yesterday with Gumbel being replaced in their booth by Giants play by play guy Bob Papa.

[Atocep]

I think you hit on the issue - what % of TV baseball viewers care about non-traditional stats or sandwich picks? And why would MLB/Fox want to cater to people like that who are already hardcore fans? They're not picking broadcasters at random, they know they're audience, and I think McCarver is a welcoming kind of presence for new/casual fans.

It is actually possible to have a bit of both, though. You don't have to cater to just one audience and both Fox and EPSN do that with McCarver and Morgan. Its not a coincidence that both are considered by many to be two of the worst broadcasters in the business.

I see nothing wrong with mentioning a few non-traditional stats in a broadcast as long as the person using them actually has a basic understanding of them and can break them down in a simple way if needed.

The sandwich pick thing shows a stark difference in how the NFL, NBA, and MLB operate. Both the NBA and NFL embrace their draft and encourage fans to follow it as closely as possible. MLB is trying to head in that direction with television coverage of their draft now, but these sandwich picks play a very large role in the draft every season and they're a major part of offseason decision with free agents. Why does it make sense for MLB to want its viewers to be ignorant of something they're trying to build upon?

[kcchief19]

Aside from Crapshoots brief mentioning of other options, all I see here are posts presenting the problem without any sort of solution.

Who would be good in the national baseball booth and why?
I'm not a huge fan of Jon Miller but as mentioned before, I think my appreciate of Miller would go up if he weren't attached to Joe Morgan's hip. Morgan is in the McCarver class of only being able to point out the painfully obvious. I once heard Joe Morgan spend about 10 minutes explaining what a foul ball was.

I think there are only a handful of elite broadcasters who make the game better listening to them -- Vin Scully, for example. The vast majority of announcers to me do their job well as long as they stay out of the way.

I would hazzard to guess there are probably 50 guys or more doing PBP for teams that are better than Buck and McCarver. John Sterling is the notable exception, but I guess Yankee fans like that sort of thing.

[clintl]

I like Jon Miller.

Anyway, I think most Giants fans would agree that Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are a great team. Whether their appeal would translate to a national audience is perhaps questionable. They're both former Giants (and were teammates), so a lot of their stories translate back to their own playing experiences, something that probably wouldn't fly on a national broadcast. However, what sets them apart is that approach the game like it's fun, rather than being overly serious about it.

However, (and as a Giants fan, I hate to admit it), nobody is, was, or probably ever will be as good as Vin Scully.

Oh, and by the way, as bad as McCarver is, compared to Ron Fairly, he is Vin Scully. Fairly was the worst I ever heard.

[st.cronin]

The notable decline in quality of broadcasters is a big factor in me not watching nearly as much baseball as I used to.

[larrymcg421]

Suzyn Waldman has not been mentioned in this thread.

FAIL.

[Dr. Sak]

Pam Ward sucks on ESPN College Football. So does that fucker Chris Speilman.

[clintl]

Perhaps it's just nostalgia, but I remember Jim Palmer as a very articulate, intelligent analyst. Better than anyone working on a national broadcast today.

[Mike Lowe]

1) Chris Spielman was great IMO; very dedicated to his assignments, knowledgeable and passionate.

2) Even if Remlinger is better against RH hitters throughout his career the hitter could have been miserable against LHP. I'm not a big fan of Dusty Baker either but I'm sure he knows his baseball a bit more than people may give him credit for.

3) Rod Allen for the Tigers is a total joker and mocked in Detroit but in a loving way. He's very knowledgeable but hilarious at the same time. There's even a drinking game dedicated to him:

http://thewaynefontesexperience.blogspot.com/2006/08/rod-allen-drinking-game.html (scroll down a bit)

I didn't see one of my favorites listed though: "That Marcus Thames is COUNTRY strong!"

[samifan24]

Al Leiter has been very good when I've heard him on YES.

[RomaGoth]

Actually, now that I think about it....Jon Miller might not be as bad without Joe Morgan, I have not witnessed that however as I don't live in San Francisco. Joe Morgan is actually worse than Joe Buck, how I forgot about him is a mystery. Morgan just rambles on and on about nothing. Endlessly. On top of that, he actually sticks up for Barry Bonds drug use, perjury, and genuinely asshole behavior. F-U Morgan. You suck.

[Big Fo]

Aside from Crapshoots brief mentioning of other options, all I see here are posts presenting the problem without any sort of solution.

Who would be good in the national baseball booth and why?

Eddie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, lead broadcasting team regardless of the sport. They are funny and not clueless.

[larrymcg421]

Eddie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, lead broadcasting team regardless of the sport. They are funny and not clueless.

These three doing Curling. I am so there.

[Crapshoot]

I like Jon Miller.

Anyway, I think most Giants fans would agree that Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper are a great team. Whether their appeal would translate to a national audience is perhaps questionable. They're both former Giants (and were teammates), so a lot of their stories translate back to their own playing experiences, something that probably wouldn't fly on a national broadcast. However, what sets them apart is that approach the game like it's fun, rather than being overly serious about it.

However, (and as a Giants fan, I hate to admit it), nobody is, was, or probably ever will be as good as Vin Scully.

Oh, and by the way, as bad as McCarver is, compared to Ron Fairly, he is Vin Scully. Fairly was the worst I ever heard.

Yeah, I love them, but I think its partially because of the local color. And they're fun, which is great. I mean, I hate it when they start talking about how Richie is a good vet to have on the team, but someone needs to justify Brian Sabean's latest act of idiocy... :D

[cartman]

How have we made it this many posts in with no mention of Brent Musburger?

[clintl]

The profession has been degraded to the point where Musburger is now only a little below average.

[RomaGoth]

The profession has been degraded to the point where Musburger is now only a little below average.

:+1:

[Big Fo]

You think Musburger is bad in his element, wait until the next time ABC trots him out there for soccer. Cringe city.

[RomaGoth]

You think Musburger is bad in his element, wait until the next time ABC trots him out there for soccer. Cringe city.

Kinda like Gary Thorne doing baseball.

Fail.

[SnowMan]

Vin Scully should do every baseball game. Every one.

[st.cronin]

Vin Scully should do every baseball game. Every one.

Yes.