As we all know, for some reason I don’t know, and if the sportswriters know they won’t say, Alan Ashby was thrown out on his rear without warning before last season and replaced with 2 other guys who are, in my opinion, the worst baseball radio announcers besides Hawk Harrelson and the John Sterling/Susyn Waldman/Michael Kay team.
Alan did a pregame Astros show working for 790 last year, but this year he accepted a job as the Blue Jays color man, and at least one very knowledgeable Jays fan, John Brattain, thinks Ashby is VERY good. From his latest column in The Hardball Times. He says the radiocasters are
” Jerry Howarth and Alan Ashby, a veteran catcher and original Blue Jay. Although it’s not quite the same with Jerry ‘n’ Alan as it was with Tom ‘n’ Jerry, I’ve been impressed with their work thus far….
Ashby comes across as, well, a catcher. Catchers have a unique perspective on the game. In Ashby’s case, he spent 17 seasons watching the game unfold in front of him. It’s hardly a coincidence that a lot of catchers went into broadcasting: Bob Uecker, Tim McCarver, Joe Garagiola. etc. What impresses me about Ashby is that despite his experience playing in the major leagues, he respects the fact that Howarth, although not a MLBer, has learned a lot about the game from his vantage point. Also in his favor is that despite his vast experience in the game, doesn’t feel the need to expound his opinion on every little matter as if it were the word of God (or Red Barber).
A quality about both that I like is that they’re not afraid to criticize but they never come across as being critical. When they critique something, they approach the subject matter from a logical, rather than visceral, point of view. One thing that I’ve noticed of this duo (and Jays’ broadcasts in general) is that they don’t feel the need to have chatter every second of the broadcast. They are content to let the sounds of the game filter through to the audience.”
I STILL want to know why someone as good as Ash was replaced by the two guys who are simply awful. And before you ask, yes, I did try listening to them again this year – I lasted about 15 minutes before shutting them off. They still don’t know when to talk, when to shut the heck up, they still don’t give ball/strike counts properly, still forget to give the score, still talk on and on about irrelevant matters instead of the game while it is going on and still don’t understand baseball.
I’m just glad Brownie and Deshaies are so good and that I can record every game and listen to it later if I want to. Perhaps Tom Franklin, who does the post game show, could be considered to replace the 2 guys there now.
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB, Toronto Blue Jays
I know I miss the moments of silence from those Ashby/Hamilton broadcasts. This writer is correct – you don’t have to fill every second of every game. I get tired of listening to broadcasts now and having to listen to…”So then my daughter said, ‘daddy, that’s not MY sandwich’…by the way, that’s strike three to Craig Biggio.” What is the deal with broadcasters these days that they seem to feel the need to entertain, as if the game isn’t entertaining itself?
Sorry, I, miss Ash, too, and I don’t know why they fired him, but I have to defend Brett and Dave again. How can you judge them in 15 minutes? If you think they talk too much, chalk that up to the younger generation’s short attention span. (I’m 43.)
As I said before, I just want to know what’s happening in the game, and they tell me. Can I start a petition to move Milo to TV? Another example from last night – “Ball is hit, and he won’t get him because it doesn’t bounce.” Huh?? who? what? where?
well brian,
how long DO i have to listen to the 2 new guys before AGAIN coming to the conclusion that they are terrible announcers?
you DO know that most astros fans agree with me 100% and i have talked to ALL kinds of fans who won’t listen to them either…
and agree with milo – he’s the biggio of broadcasting
lisa
I am with Lisa, I keep trying to listen to the “new” guys and I really miss the “baseball” perspective from Alan. The Blue Jays fans are very lucky.
I however will tolerate them Dave and Brett only because after getting my XM and refusing to listen to them and listening to the other teams broadcast I quickly realized that although they are no match to Alan they are way better than some of the other broadcasters. But given a choice I will listen to Deshaies and Brownie.
Karen
well stephen,
you are entitled to your opinions.
me i would rather watch sticks hitting balls than other guys, what can i say.
and i also LUUUVVVVV jon and joe – think they are great. i know i am supposed to hate joe because he talks about the game from a player’s point of view instead of a stat geek’s, but, hey, i am entitled to my opinions too.
oh yeah – trust me on this – bob walk and greg brown beat heck out of the yankees announcers so count your self lucky
lisa
I watched the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates last night, Friday, June 8.
I have never heard such BORING announcers as Greg Brown ans Bob Walk. They do not know how to announce a game. I’ve listened to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan,the ESPN announcers and they are great. They actually put some interest into the game. I’m not actually a baseball fan. I simply love hockey. When watching the Stanley Cup Finals I found this to be a much more exciting sport. Exciting from start to finish. I just wish hockey would get more attention as I believe it is buy far a lot more exciting than baseball.