If you’ve followed Mike Emrick over the years, then you know that he’s been a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates even having their games airing in the booth while he’s called the NHL on NBC. Over the years, Emrick has called other sports than hockey including the NFL, water polo and the NCAA. Tournament.
Doc has only called one baseball game and that was in college when he attended Kent State. Now he’ll have the opportunity to call his beloved Pirates in spring training next month. He’ll call the exhibition games with Pirates TV voice Greg Brown.
One 0f the big differences is that hockey is non-stop with few breaks. Baseball has down time in between pitches and lends itself to storytelling. Emrick said he’ll have to find a way to adjust. To prepare, Emrick has been in Bradenton, FL, the Pirates’ spring training home talking with the players and getting some background for the broadcasts. It also explains why Kenny Albert has been calling NHL games on NBCSN for the past couple of weeks while Emrick has been away.
Emrick has shown he can call just about anything including his own dogs playing in his backyard as he did for HBO’s Real Sports last year:
There’s no word as to when Emrick will call his first Pirates spring training game, but when he does, we’ll be watching to see how he adjusts to calling baseball.
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About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.