One of the pleasures of technology is that no longer are we stuck being subjected to the putrescence that is the NESN baseball broadcast. I still get to watch the Red Sox even though I am out of market, but now I have a choice. Do I watch NESN and filet my brain with awful, terrible, no good, very bad things.... or do I switch to the other team's broadcast and maybe see, hear, and/or learn something about the sport I am watching. I would say that at least 80% of the time these days, the correct choice is to turn the other cheek and watch the opposing broadcast because, hey, anything is better than an AT&T Text Poll taking up my screen for an inning at a time.
With that in mind, I want to know who you guys think the best and worst broadcasts to watch are. You don't have to explain why, but it is likely more fun if you do, and maybe, just maybe, it will help some of us to enjoy baseball just a little bit more than we already do. I'll go first, with the caveat that most of what I have seen is in the context of Red Sox games, so there are definitely broadcasts out there that I have not seen.
Best:
Without a doubt, my favorite broadcast is the Dodgers when Vin Scully is in the booth. I know I am not alone in this, either. Vin Scully's voice, in my opinion, IS baseball. He has been around the game longer, and has more stories to tell, than just about anyone left on the planet. Every now and then he says some weird old man thing, and instead of being annoying like McCarver, it is awesome because when you think about what he say, it makes total sense. Along with that, he is not slow to call out the players on the field, Dodgers or otherwise, and you get the feeling that he really just wants to see the game played the right way.
Honorable Mention:
I actually really enjoy the Blue Jays broadcasts. This one will probably be much more contested around here, but I actually enjoy Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler is pretty knowledgeable about the game. Outside of the Buchholz incident last year, I have never felt like they went out of their way to be dickish, and the broadcasts tend to have good information about the players on the field.
Last night was my first time catching a Mariners broadcast, and I was really impressed, especially after the shitshow that was the NESN Bachelorette party. They were low key for most of the game, gave me good information, and listening to them in the 9th inning, even though the Sox were busy crafting yet another come from ahead loss, was pretty cool, as you could really feel their excitement for this year's team coming through. They actually had a lot of good things to say about Sox players, and it was obvious they had done their homework on the opposing team because of it, which is a breath of fresh air after listening to Remy and Orsillo pronounce players' names differently for the last too many years.
Other broadcasts I enjoy are the Nats (though I can see how they would be annoying to some people) and the Twins (in limited exposure).
The Bad:
Outside of NESN, the obvious choices to avoid are the White Sox and Hawk, and the god awful, holier than thou, rulers of baseball morality Tampa Bay Rays broadcasts. I think both of these are self-explanatory for anyone who has seen them.
As I said, I have not seen nearly as many broadcasts as some of you, and part of the reason I started this thread was so that maybe I can start watching some of the better ones over the course of the rest of the season. What say you, SoSH?
With that in mind, I want to know who you guys think the best and worst broadcasts to watch are. You don't have to explain why, but it is likely more fun if you do, and maybe, just maybe, it will help some of us to enjoy baseball just a little bit more than we already do. I'll go first, with the caveat that most of what I have seen is in the context of Red Sox games, so there are definitely broadcasts out there that I have not seen.
Best:
Without a doubt, my favorite broadcast is the Dodgers when Vin Scully is in the booth. I know I am not alone in this, either. Vin Scully's voice, in my opinion, IS baseball. He has been around the game longer, and has more stories to tell, than just about anyone left on the planet. Every now and then he says some weird old man thing, and instead of being annoying like McCarver, it is awesome because when you think about what he say, it makes total sense. Along with that, he is not slow to call out the players on the field, Dodgers or otherwise, and you get the feeling that he really just wants to see the game played the right way.
Honorable Mention:
I actually really enjoy the Blue Jays broadcasts. This one will probably be much more contested around here, but I actually enjoy Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler is pretty knowledgeable about the game. Outside of the Buchholz incident last year, I have never felt like they went out of their way to be dickish, and the broadcasts tend to have good information about the players on the field.
Last night was my first time catching a Mariners broadcast, and I was really impressed, especially after the shitshow that was the NESN Bachelorette party. They were low key for most of the game, gave me good information, and listening to them in the 9th inning, even though the Sox were busy crafting yet another come from ahead loss, was pretty cool, as you could really feel their excitement for this year's team coming through. They actually had a lot of good things to say about Sox players, and it was obvious they had done their homework on the opposing team because of it, which is a breath of fresh air after listening to Remy and Orsillo pronounce players' names differently for the last too many years.
Other broadcasts I enjoy are the Nats (though I can see how they would be annoying to some people) and the Twins (in limited exposure).
The Bad:
Outside of NESN, the obvious choices to avoid are the White Sox and Hawk, and the god awful, holier than thou, rulers of baseball morality Tampa Bay Rays broadcasts. I think both of these are self-explanatory for anyone who has seen them.
As I said, I have not seen nearly as many broadcasts as some of you, and part of the reason I started this thread was so that maybe I can start watching some of the better ones over the course of the rest of the season. What say you, SoSH?