Rhadigan Strikes Out
John Rhadigan’s biggest problem is that he doesn’t love baseball. This is obvious to everyone who does. Someone who loves baseball would have watched enough by his 13th birthday to know RBI and save rules backwards and forwards. Someone who loves baseball wouldn’t have to stop and think about when to inflect his voice to show excitement. Excitement or disappointment would naturally flow with what transpires on the field. The octave of an announcer’s voice shouldn’t peak after each inning ends. I and everyone else who loves the Rangers was on the edge of my seat in the ninth inning of yesterday’s game, and hanging on every pitch. Someone who loves baseball, or at least the Rangers, would have known that Neftali Feliz was working with a 3-1 count to Alberto Callaspo prior to the pitch Rhadigan called “Strike 3! er, Strike 2!”.
Rhadigan seems like a guy who kind of likes baseball, and is forced into pretending to be something he’s not…A baseball guy. It seems like the natural buzz generated by big plays on the field is killed when Rhadigan speaks up. Literally seconds after a graphic on the screen showed that Adrian, “don’t call me Andre”, Beltre trailed Jose Bautista by four RBI for the American League lead, Beltre hit a three run homer, and according to Rhads, “took the lead”. I’m sure I wasn’t the only fan whose excitement over the home run quickly turned to loathing our announcer’s incompetence.
I understand that the front office seems to want a Texas-themed broadcast. I also understand that Texas has long been “Football Country”. If the Rangers ownership group doesn’t want these types of problems to persist, they might just have to adapt. If they can find a Texas guy who can deliver quality play-by-play, more power to them. If they can’t, they need to be flexible enough to sacrifice a little Texas for a little baseball savvy. Think Eric Nadel or Josh Lewin.
Nolan Ryan is in charge now. Major League owners unanimously approved him as the control person for the club last Thursday. Nolan is loved by Rangers fans, myself included, and has been given an extended honeymoon, and “can do no wrong” attitude by the Texas fan base. However, he should be held accountable for the disaster which is Rangers TV. His first mistake was hiring Rhadigan. Every day that passes without things changing can be chalked up as another. It’s time to make a change, Nolan. Those of us who love baseball and the Rangers are counting on you.
Good guy, but this is unacceptable.
Glad to see that this is the only decision by the front office this year that Rangers fans unanimously agree was the wrong one.
Having started my career hoping to be a baseball PBP man, I both agree with the critics but feel for Rhadigan at the same time. It has to be incredibly difficult to have your first year as a play by play man be in such a bright spotlight as the major leagues. With that said, my problem with Rads isn’t in his gaffes, some of which I can forgive as growing pains in his job, as much as he just doesn’t have the voice for play by play. His tone comes off as harsh to the ears and he doesn’t have much of, for lack of a better term, a friendly presence in the booth like TAG has. I’m cutting him some slack but not much. I think this turns out to be a one year only gig.
I don’t understand what all the hullabaloo is about. It’s not like you are going to find a guy as awesome as John Sterling. Rhadigan just needs to find a cool catch phrase. Sterling has like 20. How about “Murphy mashes one!” for starters. Note the exclamation point. And Hellooo, saves are worth just as much as wins and steals on my fantasy team.
Rangersfan,
He does seem like a good guy, so I feel a little bad being so harsh. Ironically, when he did the pre and post game shows, I thought that aside from Lewin, he was one of the few bright spots in the overall broadcast. Regardless, I’m not going to let up any time soon.
Steve,
I agree. The job is tough…something I could definitely never do. I would probably be fine with the gaffes if I felt they were just simple mistakes of a young announcer, and that they would abate with experience. It’s not his misunderstanding of the RBI and saves rules that are the problem per se. The root of it is that these are some of the basics that nearly EVERY broadcast team beats to death. My problem is that he doesn’t seem to be someone who has watched a lot of televised baseball in his life, and that just makes everything worse.
Magoober,
Funny you mention Sterling. I’ve actually thought of him when considering Rhadigan’s corny sayings. The primary differences between the two is that there is no mistaking Sterling’s passion – he is unquestionably emotionally invested in the Yankees’ performance, and that he knows baseball. If he didn’t come across as a knowledgeable fan, his home run calls would make you vomit. Instead, they’re just viewed as kitschy and hoky. I’ll trade you a “Let’s play ball, y’all” for an “A-bomb from A-rod” any day. “The Melk-man delivers” probably crosses the line.
You look like Jon Daniels.