There’s nothing like playoff baseball. It has all of the makings of a good drama, the happiness, the love, the heartbreak, the meltdowns, the fights and the rivalries. We have some die hard baseball fans hear at C. Crane, since we’re in Northern California, we have a lot of Giants lovers (who were elated when they got the Wildcard and then heartbroken when they didn’t make it out of the division series playoffs) but we also have a few folks who root for the A’s, the Dodgers and the Cubbies.
Baseball and radio have a long history and some of the best voices in radio (in our humble opinions) are sportscasters. Just listen to Jon Miller from the San Francisco Giants call the game, or recently retired Vin Scully who had called the games since 1950. We get comments from customers regularly who buy one of our radios so they can get their favorite baseball game or take it to the games with them so they can listen to the play by play.
When sitting in on a conference about Sports Talk Radio, we learned that in order to be successful in a popular sports market like Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles, sports radio hosts had to be some of the most knowledgeable and well-studied hosts in the market. Where else would radio show callers expect the host to know everything about a pitcher from 50 years ago, even if the host is only 40? That host has to know who the pitcher was, if they won any awards, how they compare to the current pitcher, if there were any scandals, etc. And that’s just one position! They need to know the history of the franchise and the management and the owners. You’ve heard a great host. It wouldn’t do and the market wouldn’t accept someone who had no idea about those kinds of details. The panelists at this conference brought up how difficult it is for an outsider or someone who didn’t grow up in the area to come in and be successful because they have to learn so much vs. someone who grew up going to the games and listened on the radio and is really passionate about their team and their city.
Sports Talk is one of the few areas where radio has seen growth and we believe a big part of that is the local talent. It can’t be syndicated (at least not widely) because it’s specific to the market. Most people in New York DO NOT want to hear about the Dodgers and people in Los Angeles really, really don’t want to hear about the Giants. We think maybe regular radio would do well to take a page out of Sports Talk’s programming book and look for and develop strong local talent with content that’s specific to their market. From what we’ve seen, the most successful stations do this.
We would love to know if you listen to baseball on the radio and who’s your favorite team?
I have listen to the Brewers on my c.c. crane for years and bought my son one. Now my wife and live Alaska so we do not get much on the radio
I have been listening to the Cleveland Indians since 1962 (8 yrs. old), initially on a crystal radio and more recently from a obscene collection of radios on and in my nightstand. Whenever possible I start with the pre-game show, through the post-game talk shows. It’s a hobby steeped in nostalgia of my childhood, playground ball games, a second childhood with my son who is now 33 yrs. old. It is a aural touchstone in my life. And last but not least a sleeping mechanism the assist me with intermittent insomnia.
I actually prefer listening to my team, the St. Louis Cardinals, on the radio rather than watch them. I grew up listening with my Dad while he worked on his car in the garage. Now I listen to Cards games with my 94 year-old Aunt who is blind and has trouble hearing. She puts one earphone, from her radio, in her ear and I sit on her other side with my radio turned up. Aunt Ruthie calls me her “Jack Buck” kbampt@gmail.com as I try to untangle the in’s and outs of unusual plays. We don’t miss many games. We actually enjoy following our team on the radio’s more than when she could watch on TV. Aunt Ruthie says she feels more connected to the outside world and continues to be a member of Cardinal Nation.
Houston Astros