Worst Baseball Announcing Crew?

by baseb3383 on Aug 5, 2005 9:35 AM PDT

In watching the A's games over MLB.TV since I am currently in the lovely town of Durham, NC for school, I have come to the conclusion that there are some really, really, horrifically bad announcing crews that we have to sit through as loyal fans. So I'm posing the poll question, which announcing crew would you least like to watch or even show up for your son's little league game for some good old fashioned play-by-play and color commentary?

Poll

Worst Announcing Crew

ESPN Sunday Crew (Joe Morgan and Jon Miller)

21 votes

Fox Saturday Crew (Buck/McCarver)

40 votes

White Sox Crew (including Ken "Hawk"/"Woody" Harrelson)

87 votes

Angels Crew (Hudler/Physioc)

40 votes

Other (please specify in short sentence of approx 2-3 lines.)

9 votes

197 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Wow, tough choices...

They all suck. I'd have to go with the Fox crew by a small margain, because they seem to be the most clueless overall.

Chicks dig Moneyball.

by Kelly on Aug 5, 2005 10:40 AM PDT reply actions

i agree

the other choices actually have a home team, so I understand why they could be bad. and I actually like miller on espn.

by AllThingsOakland on Aug 5, 2005 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions

Atlanta's crew

with Pete van Weirdo and Skip (all the intelligent parts) Carey is pretty unbearable.

Certainly the White Sox crew is up there, artfully combining unprofessional homerism with dull and irrelevant banter.

And any crew with Chris Berman or Tim McCarver in it is seeking lots of attention without good cause.

Nico

by Nico on Aug 5, 2005 10:48 AM PDT reply actions

It's so obvious to almost everybody that Hawk

and What's-His-Name in Chicago are the most unbearable, and win by general acclamation.

So you should probably be asking who the second-worst announcing crew is.

Let us not continue to debate how many Angels can be dashed on the head of a pin. Let's just get to it while the gettin' is good.

by Checkswing HR on Aug 5, 2005 10:52 AM PDT reply actions

Do people like

Gary Thorne?

Or is he just senile?

http://www.myspace.com/glorysv

by Hit4TheCycle on Aug 5, 2005 11:02 AM PDT reply actions

Gary

Gary Thorne is an excellent hockey announcer but he is out of his element announcing baseball.

Olympian Amil Gartenamo, world record holder in both the javelin and the hundred yard dash--only person who ever died by throwing a spear into his own back.

by Furious George on Aug 5, 2005 2:31 PM PDT up reply actions

Its amazing

I love him in hockey, but in baseball he always seems to be a bit behind or late on the calls.

No, I do not want to FIRE MACHA NOW, nor do I think Blanton is fat. Now leave me alone.

by pbruins92 on Aug 6, 2005 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions

oh dear joe morgan and tim mccarver...............

dumbing the nation one game at a time, but who cant forget their chart topping hit from their duet album, douchebags of the year.

[joe morgan]
Walks builds an awful wreckage for us
It feeds on OBP and creates a void
Not stealing bases haunt and torment and torture
A commentator is stricken and destroyed

[chorus]
A deepening sea of ignorance consumes
And reads way my foreword for moneyshotballs
Destined to talk through life less ordinary
Alone, exiled, different and disdained.

[tim mccarver]
There is no sound of bunt or #### and run here
Even dusty baker has thrown in the towel today
Derek Jeter's mediocrity decays my soul
But Buck's intimate hugs fulfill my hole

[chorus]
A deepening sea of ignorance consumes
And reads way my foreword for moneyshotballs
Destined to talk through life less ordinary
Alone, exiled, different and disdained.

billy beane 4 world bank prez

by pav on Aug 5, 2005 11:42 AM PDT reply actions

White Sox

Some WGN games are brodcast in the bay area, and when the A's were facing the Sox, these basically bored me to death, any ESPN announcers are horrible, except for some quality announcers.

You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club wont be worth a dime.-Babe Ruth

by doublehustle22 on Aug 5, 2005 11:48 AM PDT reply actions

Hmm

I was tempted to go with the Fox Sports crew; I don't actually think they're as bad. Joe Buck I'm fairly indifferent to, but they got bonus points because McCarver comes close to ruining the post-season. Even so, Hawk Hawk Harrelson still prevailed. Man that guy is annoying.

by dchu on Aug 5, 2005 12:05 PM PDT reply actions

I've never heard the White Sox crew

But they must be unbelievably bad if they beat out McCarver. When that guy stops sniffing Jeter's jock long enough to put together a comment, it's pure gibberish.

Courtesy of FireJoeMorgan.com, McCarver had the following to say about pitcher Jake Woods:

"First year as a relief pitcher in the Angel chain, Woods made 97 out of 98 starts, did Woods, as a starter."

by nickolai on Aug 5, 2005 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions

McCarver ...

... used to be great. When he started out as the Mets' announcer -- pre-Yankees stint -- he was the baseball version of the early John Madden. I know a lot of you probably hate Madden, but, when he started, he added a fan's excitement to the game with the insight of someone who's been on the field.

McCarver was the same way. Plus, he's got a great voice. He was far-and-away the best in New York (where I'm from) and I also thought he was pretty good when he started doing national games.

Unfortunately, like Madden, McCarver got sucked into believing all the priase and became more of a character actor than a sports journalist. He clearly stopped doing all the research he had been doing on the teams playing and he got a bit bandwagon-y.

Still, I like to listen to him. But I find Buck to be a moralizing self-important blow hard. He thinks he's baseball announcing royalty. (which, actually, he is.) But I really don't need to hear his judgements on players' behavior or demeanor -- especially since he changes his tune as soon as the player does an interview with him. (The Kenny Rodegrs interview at the All Star game is exhibit A.) I also think Buck brings a little too much right-wing commontary into the baseball booth.

I love listening to John Miller's voice and I'm not as annoyed by Joe Morgan as so many of you seem to be. Yes, he's old school and refuses to bring his mind into the 21st century, but he offers great insight into the game.

The Angel's folks are kind of amusing.

But NOBODY is worse than Ken Harrelson. He is, no question, the bottom of the sportscasting barrel.

by Eck on Aug 6, 2005 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions

I Meant "Commentary"

by Eck on Aug 6, 2005 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Joe Buck's moralizing

If the Rogers interview was Exhibit A for baseball, then his reaction to Moss' TD celebration in Green Bay last year was Exhibit A for football. It was pretty laughable when I realized how genuinely disgusted he was by the "fake moon."

Rock over London, Rock on Oakland. Wheaties: It's the Breakfast of Champions.

by Cutthemullet on Aug 6, 2005 7:52 PM PDT up reply actions

hate that guy

buck tries to be bob costas. notice, tries.

bob costas + joe morgan= best tag team. sadly, this ended in the 90s when nbc contract ran out

by suggy on Aug 6, 2005 8:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Exactly!

There's something wrong with a guy who gets so upset about another man pretending to pull down his pants. Believe it or not, there are more important issues out there.

by Eck on Aug 6, 2005 11:02 PM PDT up reply actions

The TBS television crew for the Braves

Boring!

Two-thirds of the earth is covered by water, the other third is covered by Kotsay.

by carp on Aug 5, 2005 12:12 PM PDT reply actions

Whatever happened to Hank

Greenwald?

by AlBowe on Aug 5, 2005 12:21 PM PDT reply actions

word...

I'd have to say the Hawk is the worst, but Greenwald is up there for me...so boring...

by high street on Aug 5, 2005 3:54 PM PDT up reply actions

and his endless trivia

about giants teams nobody ever cared about while there's something really going on on the field...

Baseball is a soap opera that lends itself to probabilistic thinking. -D. Cramer

by captainamerica on Aug 6, 2005 2:12 PM PDT up reply actions

...that doesn't interest him in the least,

involving player's whose names he can not remember...

by ArakSOT on Aug 6, 2005 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions

anytime ESPN trots out Jeff Brantley...

I'm probably changing the channel.

As far as the best baseball announcers go, I hate to praise any aspect of this team whatsoever, but the Yankees' Michael Kay & Ken Singleton are probably the best, if they're by themselves. (I can live without David Justice, Paul O'Neill, and Bobby Murcer.)

Rock over London, Rock on Oakland. Wheaties: It's the Breakfast of Champions.

by Cutthemullet on Aug 5, 2005 12:36 PM PDT reply actions

Gotta be...

Tim "captain obvious" McCarver and Joe "i really dont know whats going on, so i'll just listen to captain obvious" Buck. Those 2 kill me, especially when a yankee game is on. They just love Jeter, almost too much.

I want to make a good comment on the Angels broadcasters. I live in LA, and catch a bunch of angel games throughout the year, and, they are truely annoying and sooooo into their team it is almost disgusting. That said, when they are playing the A's, they give them madd props. Rex Hudler, who we all despise, has nothing but good things to say about Kendall everytime he was up. They praise the style of ball the A's play (not as much as their own, but whatta u expect), which is more than Joe Morgan or the Atlanta announcers can say. It sounds like they do have alot of respect for the A's players, coaches, BB, and the organization in whole.

President of the Brent Gates Fan Club

by SoCal As Fan on Aug 5, 2005 1:06 PM PDT reply actions

I couldn't agree more.....

The Buck/McCarver tag team are so horrible and monotone, I can't listen to them.

Now THIS is Billy Ball

by Masaryk on Aug 5, 2005 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions

Two cents

You really think Buck is that bad? I actually enjoy him very much because he doesn't put himself above the game. He simply calls it as he sees it.

McCarver...is...not...good.

by princemilo on Aug 5, 2005 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions

St. Louis should get a prize

for tedium, which is coupled with Morgonian fictions.

Baseball is a soap opera that lends itself to probabilistic thinking. -D. Cramer

by captainamerica on Aug 5, 2005 1:22 PM PDT reply actions

Bring back Pappa

A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz. --Humphrey Bogart

by West Bay A s Fan on Aug 5, 2005 2:35 PM PDT reply actions

The White Sox Crew...

...DEFINITELY not to be confused with the High Socks Crew...in my opinion, are the worst. Hawk Harrelson (and whoever's been with him over the past several years) are the announcers who have made me angry and, quite frankly, physically ill.

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by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Aug 5, 2005 2:54 PM PDT reply actions

Worst broadcast team?

Which is the absolute worst broadcast team? That's easy.

WHATEVER TEAM HAS JOE MORGAN!

Need I say more?

No matter how importnat the game, always remember to have some fun.

by larryh on Aug 5, 2005 4:30 PM PDT reply actions

To me (and some others) it's...

...whatever team has Ken Harrelson.

So, I guess THE absolute worst announcing team would be...Ken Harrelson AND Joe Morgan.

And thus the apocalypse would begin.

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by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Aug 6, 2005 3:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Can't Stand Miller

He's not bad (and often tries to set Morgan straight), but his syrupy, overly-modulated delivery gives me the heebies. I feel like he's on auto-pilot and everything sounds the same coming out of his mouth. Bill King sounds like a real person who deeply cares about the game, and not a robot going through the motions.

Or maybe the problem is that I associate Miller with the Giants and their lame radio commercials that extoll the glories of their garlic fries because there's nothing else to get excited about at SBC.

by SportySpice @ Athletics Nation on Aug 5, 2005 4:47 PM PDT reply actions

exactly....very canned...at best lively wooden.

Royale with cheese. (resubscribed to cable recently)

by ak_A on Aug 6, 2005 8:33 PM PDT up reply actions

The Twins announcers...

... aren't the worst, but their color analyst (it may be Dan Gladden? -- not sure) is as big a homer as anyone else I've heard. (I actually don't mind homerism-- I mean, it's their team, and their fans. But it can be amusing.)

I was listening to their broadcast of Game 5 of the 2002 ALCS against the Angels, and when Adam Kennedy hit the go-ahead HR for the Angels (his third of the game), it went something like this:

Play-by-play guy (Gordon?): Fly ball to right... way back--

Color guy: No way!

PBP: --way back--

Color guy: (yells) GOD NO!

PBP: You've got to be kidding me! Adam Kennedy has hit another home run!

by orange2299 @ Athletics Nation on Aug 6, 2005 3:33 PM PDT reply actions