VOTE: Who is the worst MLB announcer?
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 10:41 pm by SJK
To mute or not to mute, that is the question.
Does listening to these two make you feel like this?
*Props to Stringfellow Hawke and Jake Fratelli for also contributing to this post
Tags: poll
Can I vote all of the above? And I would also add Rex Hudler.
Seriously, if we could ever have an option to shut off the announcer audio and just have the stadium ambience, that would be ideal.
A McCarver/Waldman combination might mean the end of days. I simply can’t stand the two of them. Although McCarver was making me chuckle the other night in that 20 inning Mets fiasco.
I don’t mind Buck, and I actually like Sterling.
How about when some play happens in the first inning of the game…and Buck and McCarver keep doing call backs to it THE ENTIRE GAME…it doesn’t even have to be in the game. A play can happen in the series before…or even the year before…and they’ll do call backs to it THE WHOLE GAME. Like “Castillo dropped this fly ball to allow the Yankees to win”…that could possibly be a call back EVERY inning of this year’s Mets/Yankees game on Fox. It’s to the point where they won’t even show the actual game…they’ll show the call back highlight to that moment so much you miss what’s going on in the ACTUAL GAME.
Happy 4/20 Bitches!
How appropriate it is for the Bombers to be in Oaksterdam today.
Also, this is the only state where I find Buck/McCarver tolerable. However, the true travesty of broadcasting is that:
1) Bob Costas is not doing commentary for baseball.
2) Jeff Van Gundy does not do commentary for baseball.
Maybe I’m just a Yankees homer, but I like Sterling and Waldman. I’m really surprised that Harrelson is running 4th in this. I hate Buck/McCarver and Morgan as well, but at least they’re objective some of the time. Harrelson is by the far the biggest homer announcer that ever existed.
Tommy Heinson of the Celtics rivals Harrelson for homerism.
Buck/McCarver and Joe Morgan are the worst.
There is annoying, then there is bad.
Sterling/Waldmann are annoying.
Thank you for the head shot of Suzyn Waldman. I’ve been looking for some new masturbatory material.
I happen to think that Ken Singleton single handedly slows down the whole YES broadcast. Kay and Leiter will be chumming it up the whole time, and Singleton will interject with “willie Baldstone (fake, doesnt matter) once commented on the way i laced up my glove, and you know what michael? i ignore him” – singleton chuckles and you can almost hear kay and lieters eyes rolling during the akward silence… anyone with me on that?
Sterling was okay when he had Michael Kay with him. Steiner didn’t work at all, and Waldman is a trainwreck.
My all-time booth would be David Cone, Paul/Tino, and Jim Kaat.
my favorite Waldman quote –
“ROGER CLEMENS IS A YANKEE AGAIN”
of course the torree tears were pretty good too….
Michael Kay is the worst announcer, worst radio host and biggest all around dum-dum in media today. I poop on him.
Cannot stand Kay…I’m offended it took so many comments for a mere mention. His canned routines, overbearing questioning of what he views to be “celebrity-status” analysts (when in reality they are John Flaherty and Al Leiter–two of the most forgetable Yankees in the history of the franchise. He has been taking away from my enjoyment of Yankee broadcasts on a DAILY BASIS, for years, and that is worse then the less than once a week 2nd place finishers (“in my view”) of Buck and McCarver.
Jon Miller sucks something awful.
Seriously…non of these offenses stir the ire of my fellow Yankee fanatics the way it does mine? :
http://www.scottproctorsarm.com/2009/08/2009-michael-kayyes-network-drinking.html
PS: In a callback to the prospect of the week thread comment section…Ian Kennedy is still a mouthy little punk. Lets go Javy!!!!
and Michael Kay has any degree of talent? for what ? A voice almost as bad as Lindsey Nelson who used to call the Mets in the 70′s or 80′s.
A little off topic, buy Will Farrell’s impression of Harry Caray is amazing. Will Farrell said he wanted to be a baseball play by play guy growing up. Someone should give him a guest shot at it sometime. Probably would be amazing.
Click http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/postseason/mlb_ds.jsp?feature=video and watch the “The King: Part 1″ video. Sounds like a good job from Sterling and Kay.
The Washington National’s broadcast team of Carpenter and Dibble are absolutely dreadful.
I live within the “MASN” viewing network, so due to blackout restrictions, 19 times a year (when the Yanks are in Baltimore) I have to listen to Thorne and company, and last year, I was subjected to the Nationals’ tandem.
Dibble routines used the personal pronoun “we” when referring to the Nationals’ pitching staff. “We need to pound the strike zone,” and “we’re aren’t doing a good enough job getting ahead” were routine portions of his commentary. Worse, whenever a borderline call on a ball/strike didn’t drop their way, he would talk over Carpenter with some sort of “NO, NO WAY.” Just dreadful.
For anyone who thinks some combination of Kay/Sterling/Waldmen/etc. are homers, if given the opportunity, listen in on a Nationals’ broadcast and reall enjoy yourself.
Did Ron Washington borrow Mel Hall’s nose ? They’re very similar
Speaking of Kenny… does anyone else notice that he absolutely hates Leiter? He’s cordial to a fault with everyone else, but he goes out of his way to fuck with and needle Leiter. It gets incredibly awkward. Leiter tries this subservient, ass-kissing tone with him, but Kenny comes back bitch-slapping him every time. In one of the games they called this year the hostility in Kenny’s voice when he went after Leiter was hilarious. YES seriously needs to keep those two apart.
Had to vote Morgan…
I really dislike Joe Buck. Some may call him “objective”, but really I think he just doesn’t like baseball. He does his job like it’s a chore, even though everybody listening to him would love to have his job…
But Morgan is just WRONG so often. Plainly, inexcusably, clearly paying more attention to what’s going on in the booth and talking about himself so he lost track of what’s going on in the game – wrong.
Singleton is awesome, Leiter is so boring. Singy is wayyyy better than Kay. But Kay must have photos of someone to be on YES all the time. Miss Cone and his party stories.
Seeing as how most of these announcers suck what would it be like if Gus Johnson called baseball. 1&2 the count, bottom of the ninth, yanks trail by a run with the bases loaded. Arod at the plate…. OH MY GOOOOD HE JUST HIT IT CLEAN OUT OF THE STADIUM UNBELIEVABLE OH MAN!!!!!
Brett Pedroia and Joe Morgan would be something to see…
The two idiots for the White Sox. The one guy always says “He gone” and are SOOOOOOOOOO pro White Sox. I ALWAYS mute them when the Yankees play them.
Morgan repeats everything he says during the game. Now, you see, Morgan repeats everything his does in order for those who can’t understand him. By not understanding his commentary, he repeats stuff.
Maybe not all of you have had to listen to him but before home feeds on mlb.tv Hawk Harrelson was EASILY the worst announcer not only in all of baseball but all of sports. We should stop the voting and announce him the winner right now.
Any team involving Kay, Singleton, or Flahrety brings sudden death to TV speakers. Kay acts like he’s never seen a game, Flahrety humors him while talking like he ever had a clue at the plate, and Singleton has an inexplicable hard-on for saying “hot tub time machine.” I’ll take McCarver, Morgan, and Jerry Remy over those clowns any day.
Everyone forgot about Chip Caray and his incredible string of gaffes when calling the playoffs last year for TBS, starting with Punto’s “line drive, base hit” right at the Detroit LF in the 1 game playoff. And he pretty clearly doesn’t like the Yankees either, which made, for instance, the already uber frustrating Game 4 of the 2007 ALDS against the Indians one the most excruciating experiences I’ve had to endure as a Yankees fan since ALCS ’04.
Joe Morgan = quaaludes
Has anyone had to sit throught a NESN broadcast of a Yankee game?
Singleton is the man,he always offset’s Kay stupid babbling. I would love Singleton, Cone, and Paulie in the booth together. Too bad Cone left too I hope he ends up on MLB Network or something.
If O’neill wasn’t a Yankee hero you’d hate him in the booth. He is hardly ever prepared and is sort of like a permanent guest. His insights into hitting are usually pretty good but his approach was pretty simple… “look for a fastball and hit it a long way.”
Kenny and Cone were great last year though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AJEXpEdCNA (Harrelson is painful)
I love when Susan calls Girardi Joe Torre, Streling is pretty good i rather liten in spanish than to listen to Buck/Mc combo
I don’t know how you managed to keep John Flaherty off this list. How seriously an we take a guy commentating on hitting when his career OPS+ was a whopping 74?!? Not to mention that listening to his voice is about as exciting as listening to shadows move.
ok anyone who says they like waldeman needs to be kicked in their vagina. that means you pat D.
mccarver is the worst announcer ever. waldeman is second. after that i can deal with almost anyone.
Here’s my ranking in order:
McCarver
Morgan
Waldeman
Miller
Buck
Sterling
Kay
Eckersley
Sutcliff
Please remove the picture of Waldman.
“Your on the MARK Texeira” , Mark sends a TEX message.
“the grandy man can”
Kay is bad enough that I usually watch the opponnent’s broadcast when he’s doing a game. When the Yankees go on a road trip where he stays home and the rest of the guys can get in a rythm, those times are really great.
Harrelson and Hudler are so bad though, that I’ll endure Kay if I’m watching some baseball, if these two are the only option, well, that’s a night where I’m probably not watching baseball.
Thorne is another guy I avoid at all costs, and he’s not just on masn, he pops up on espn sometimes and ruins a ball game. His weird hatred of the Yankees is different than most, there’s a tension to his hatred, sometimes it gets intense, and uncomfortable.
Is he going to say something mean, but that’s also subtle? Is he going to snap and start yelling at
people? Is that blood that’s coming out of his ear?
Thorne gets my vote.
I love Sterling. I think it’s based solely on him being such a goof, but I find myself always laughing when he speaks. I really wish he’d do the broadcast by himself. I also enjoy his many mistaken pop flys for homers. Waldman ruins the whole radio broadcast for me though.
There’s not much to love on the TV side. I like Leiter, Oneil and Singleton. I want to like Tino, but he talks like a robot who has a sinus infection AND a lisp.
Kay is bad enough
When the Yankees go on a road trip where he stays home and the rest of the guys can get in a rythm, those times are really great.
AMEN !
Listening to the Yanks without Kay was refreshing to say the least. I can’t wait until Flaherty gets the full-time gig.
Thorne and Palmer for MASN and the O’s are the best combo in sports.
Hawk Harrelson would definitely be leading this if he did nationally televised games. I go to school outside Chicago and he is definitely the worst I’ve heard by a country mile. I can’t wait til “he(‘S) gone!”
Plus, he played for that team in Boston.
Have we forgotten about Charles Harris Steiner? I’d rather watch one of those annoying Six Flags commercials where the old guy dances around instead of listening to one word from this babbling idiot.
Buck/McCarver and Joe Morgan are so much worse than anybody else that its insulting to be on a list with those 3. in fact, anybody doing anything in conjunction with sports from FOX and ESPN is pretty much HORRIBLE.