Final month a bit titled “Participant’s View: Tales From the Minor Leagues” ran right here at FanGraphs. Comprising a group of present and former main leaguers relating tales from their time on the farm, it was equal elements entertaining and informative of life under the large league degree. What you’re studying now’s a followup, albeit with a notable twist. The storytellers listed here are all broadcasters: two who picked up a microphone after their taking part in days had been over, and three extra who by no means performed professionally. As was the case with the sooner piece, lots of the tales will depart you laughing, if not shaking your head.
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Jeff Levering, Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster:
“There are numerous nice tales. One I’ll at all times bear in mind is from after I was [broadcasting] with Springfield, in Double-A. We performed an evening sport in Little Rock and wanted to get to Tulsa for a sport the following day. There was a torrential downpour — the worst rain I’ve seen in my life — and I used to be in command of getting the films for the bus. Our supervisor on the time was Pop Warner, who’s now the third base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, and he was staunch about no comedies. It was all horror films, on a regular basis, and the gorier the higher — for him. Anyway, many of the guys had been asleep within the again, however a few of us had been watching and it’s attending to be one of many scariest elements of the film. This was in the course of a torrential downpour in rural Arkansas.
“Up forward we see a pair of headlights, however the headlights are sideways in the course of the highway. Our driver doesn’t see it till the final second and we missed this automotive, which had spun out in the course of the highway, by a foot — at least a foot. We ended up going into the left lane and down into the embankment, and proper again up. That woke all people up. From that time on everybody was awake. It was a extremely unhealthy accident that might have occurred however didn’t occur, and it was the nighttime. Once more, we had been in the course of Arkansas. Nobody would have discovered us till the following day.
“One other one I’ll at all times bear in mind is the primary minor league sport I ever broadcast. It was 2007, Rancho Cucamonga towards Lake Elsinore. The beginning pitcher was Bartolo Colon on a rehab task. To this present day it’s the quickest sport I’ve ever broadcast, an hour and 52 minutes. Bartolo Colon towards Manny Ayala in a 1-0 thriller.
“I had a few video games in Bakersfield. Not an incredible place to name video games. The temperature contained in the sales space was 126 levels. Single-pane home windows. The solar units behind heart area. Everyone may hear you, as a result of there was no one there. One sport there have been seven individuals within the stands, and 4 of them had been scouts. Peter Bourjos got here as much as me afterwards and mentioned, ‘You known as a very good sport.’ He may hear each phrase I used to be saying from heart area.”
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Jim Rosenhaus, Cleveland Guardians broadcaster:
“My first job was with the Kingston Indians in 1992. My first 12 months there, the tools — the mixer board, and the way I despatched it again to the radio station — actually blew up throughout a sport. I’d smelled one thing, then it actually caught on hearth. It began smoking. Hearth was popping out. I couldn’t do the remainder of the sport.
“One other time — this was additionally with Kinston — the tower of our radio station was hit by lightning. That knocked us off the air for 3 days. We had been on a highway journey, and there was no radio station, so we couldn’t do the video games. They really had me swimsuit up and sit within the dugout one evening. They most likely weren’t supposed to try this, however it was principally, ‘There’s no radio station, so what are you going to do?’ I mentioned, ‘I assume I’ll simply watch the sport.’ They mentioned, ‘Why don’t you watch it from the dugout?’ So, I placed on a generic uniform, sat there, and type of simply stayed out of the best way. It was enjoyable, if not possibly a bit ridiculous.”
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Andy Freed, Tampa Bay Rays broadcaster:
“I’ve instructed this story many instances to mates, as a result of it paints an image of the minor leagues, how guys are likely to have enjoyable. You’re all bunched collectively on a crowded bus, touring at odd hours, otherwise you’re all collectively in a lodge room. It tends to provoke a gaggle, so if anyone can ever provide you with one thing to make the group giggle, that makes somebody a valued member of the group.
“One time we had been on some lengthy bus journey, who is aware of from the place to the place. The temperature on the bus by no means appears to be constant; anyone is sizzling and anyone is chilly. Possibly it’s sizzling in entrance of the bus and chilly within the again, or the opposite manner round. Effectively, behind the bus someday it was a little bit bit heat. I bear in mind trying again and there was this one participant — he was a prospect on the time — utterly bare. He’d taken every part off, head to toe, and I may hear the blokes guffawing as he walked as much as the motive force. He deadpanned, ‘Bussy, the blokes say it’s a little bit bit heat in again proper now. Are you able to decrease the AC?’
“In 2001, my first 12 months in Triple-A Pawtucket, I used to be broadcasting a sport that turned well-known, or possibly the phrase is notorious. There was a beanball battle seemingly about to ensue, and the batter was Izzy Alcantara, who was a kind of mercurial gamers who was an amazing minor league hitter however by no means appeared to get his act collectively to be a daily main league participant. I don’t bear in mind who was pitching for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Purple Barons, however the catcher was Jeremy Salazar. The pitch got here in shut — it didn’t truly hit [Alcantara] — and as a substitute of charging the mound, Alcantara turned and mule kicked the catcher, knocking him backwards. A brawl ensued.
“The Purple Sox [organization] had one other participant who was a really massive man. He was an amazing energy hitter, however he would get chubby because the season went alongside; he had a tough time staying in form. The coach for the crew, who was a extremely small man, had the job of making an attempt to maintain his consuming habits below management. We didn’t have a nutritionist again them. Someday, the participant had had sufficient of the coach staying on him about his food regimen, so he picked him up and stuffed him right into a rubbish can. I feel he may need gotten suspended for that.”
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Doug Glanville, ESPN broadcaster and former participant:
“One among my favourite teammates within the minor leagues was Ben Burlingame, a pitcher from College of Maine. He was type of our crew comic with Winston-Salem. This was within the Carolina League. Winston-Salem had a marathon that went by the city, with the runners doing the ultimate leg contained in the ballpark alongside the warning observe after which ending at house plate, the place there was a ribbon to run by. Burlingame, being the clown that he’s, determined that it could be enjoyable to attend for them to come back into the outfield wall for that remaining curve, then pounce into the working, carrying a faux quantity that he’d taped to his again. He hid so [the leaders] couldn’t see him, then once they glided by he jumped in. In fact, he had a full tank of power, so he blows by all of them and runs by the tape. Then he falls down and does this James Brown ‘decide him up with the cape.’ Everybody was like, ‘The place did this man come from?’
“The next 12 months, 1993, our minor league crew in A-ball moved from the Carolina League to the Florida State League, in Daytona Seaside. We had a type of rough-and-tumble group there and had been entering into brawls. We received into numerous fights, and at one level it was so apparent that we had been going to get right into a struggle that one of many gamers began charging the mound as quickly because the pitcher began lifting his leg. The pitcher threw at him as he was working towards him. I used to be at first base, and ran in and dove into the pile. I used to be fairly sore the following day.
“Once I was in Double-A, I noticed the temperature altering to the place the man was most likely going to throw at me. I’d hit a three-run homer. So, he throws at me and I simply let it go. He does it one other time, and this time I cost the mound — it’s the the one time I ever charged the mound — and the benches cleared. I received a tremendous, in addition to a letter from the [league] president. However yeah, the 2 groups — the Orlando Cubs and the Greenville Braves — had unhealthy blood.
“Then, once they got here to our area, my mother and father had been there visiting me in Orlando. We had been taking part in a doubleheader, and their pitcher hit me with the primary pitch of the primary sport. Dave Swartzbaugh, my teammate, mentioned to not fear about it, he was going to get them again. So, he threw at their pitcher. They went forwards and backwards. Their pitcher threw at him when he went to hit so he throws the bat on the pitcher. The pitcher jumps out away and the benches clear.
“The managers exit to argue about who ought to get ejected, and our supervisor jumps on prime of the neck of their supervisor, Bruce Kimm. Everyone bench-clears once more. After that, issues die down a little bit bit. However then, once they go to trade lineup playing cards for the second sport, they begin combating at house plate. They each received ejected, and ended up being instructed that they couldn’t handle towards one another for the remainder of the 12 months. They banned them from managing towards one another.
“The following day, I’m going to select up my mother and father on the lodge, to go to lunch. When the elevator doorways open, Bruce Kimm, the Braves supervisor is there. He had knots, shiners, black eyes. I mentioned, ‘Man, I didn’t know we received you that good.’ He regarded like he’d been hit by Mohammed Ali 25 instances. I felt unhealthy. However yeah, that crew received in numerous fights. The following 12 months, the minors instituted a tremendous system for fights, mandating an computerized suspension with out pay. One among my teammates, Brooks Kieschnick, forgot about that and began charging the mound after getting hit. Then it was ‘wait a minute.’ He stopped midway, as a result of he realized it could have price him.”
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Tim Dillard, Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster and former participant:
“In Colorado Springs one season we had a twister delay. We had rain delays. We had each a hail delay and a snow delay. We had a fog delay in Spherical Rock, Texas. We had a bug delay. One time in Colorado Springs we had a snake delay. Brett Phillips was in left area and he was making an attempt to get the umpire’s consideration. Lastly, the umpire goes on the market and appears, and there’s a snake within the outfield. A groundskeeper runs out with a bucket — he’s a person’s man — and begins to place it within the bucket. It seems that one snake was consuming one other snake, and when he picked it up the snake fell out of the opposite snake into the bucket. This complete factor took about quarter-hour. So, unusual delays and that’s a enjoyable one.
“In 2000-something we went 16 innings. This was within the PCL. I pitched the final 4 innings. The one who pitched earlier than me was Brent Suter, who’s with the Cincinnati Reds now. He went on to have a very good main league profession. I didn’t. We ended up successful the sport, and the man who ended up pitching for the opposite crew was a place participant, Quintin Berry, who’s now a coach with the Brewers. We had been taking part in the Salt Lake Bees, and we walked Quintin Berry off. I received the win. You at all times love a very good win.
“I used to be a man who at all times wished the ball, and one time in Albuquerque our pitching coach instructed me that there was no manner I used to be entering into the sport. I’d been pitching rather a lot. I instructed him I may go, and he mentioned ‘Don’t even take your glove to the bullpen.’ I used to be going to try this, however a man we had named Erasmo Ramirez — not the present one which’s within the large leagues, however the little lefty that was there earlier than. We known as him ‘The Godfather,’ as a result of he’s been round endlessly. We had been taking part in playing cards within the clubhouse; I feel we had been taking part in Pluck. I used to be a Plucktologist for awhile; I used to be fairly good at Pluck. Anyway, he pulls me apart and says, ‘Dude, you put together such as you’re going to pitch, it doesn’t matter what.’ I mentioned the pitching coach instructed me I wouldn’t be pitching. He mentioned no, I ought to put together. I used to be like, ‘No matter.’ Anyway, I’m going out to the bullpen and have all of the snacks on this planet — I’m like, ‘That is the very best day ever’ — however our starter didn’t get out of the primary inning. They known as all the way down to the bullpen and mentioned, ‘Dillard is within the sport.’
“One other time — this was in Montana — the bus needed to cease as a result of buffalo had been crossing the highway. That was attention-grabbing. You don’t get too many buffalo crossings in baseball.
“And within the minor leagues, you’ll do loopy stuff. You’ll do absolutely anything for cash. One time, a shortstop we had introduced on this actually sizzling pepper and the clubhouse gave me $80 to eat it. The following day, they introduced in a fair hotter pepper, however I may solely work the gang as much as $40. Then, in Memphis one 12 months, I ate a stink bug, a inexperienced stink bug, for $220. It tasted unhealthy, however no matter toxins had been in it numbed the aspect of my mouth for a short while. That received higher, although. Best cash I ever made.”
