Royals play-by-play man Ryan Lefebvre called Sunday's game against the Twins on the national Roku broadcast. Was the criticism he got fair Photo Credit: Roku. Photo Credit: Roku.
By Michael Dixon on

While most national MLB broadcasts rely on national announcers, Roku uses the old tactic of having announcers from the two teams call the game together. For Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, that meant Royals play-by-play man Ryan Lefebvre calling the game with Twins color analyst Justin Morneau. Following the game, Lefebvre was the target of some criticism.

Minnesota hit two home runs during the game. The first game in the third inning, when Ryan Fitzgerald hit the first home run of his career. The second came in the 11th inning, when Luke Keaschall hit a two-run walk-off homer. While Lefebvre was calling the game as a “neutral” announcer, both calls had the enthusiasm that might be expected on a Royals broadcast.

The lack of enthusiasm was noticed.

While the frustration is understandable, two points need to be made.

One, Vinnie Pasquantino hit a big two-run home run during Sunday’s game, giving the Royals a lead in the seventh inning. Lefebvre’s call of that big home run was not overly enthusiastic either.

Two, even during Kansas City broadcasts, Lefebvre’s calls are often very straightforward without a great deal of emotion behind them.

So, while Lefebvre’s calls of Sunday’s biggest moments might have been a little jarring for Roku viewers, particularly those cheering for the Twins, they were also more or less on par with the announcing style of the man delivering them.

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