As expected, SportsTime Ohio is slimming down in the broadcast booth.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Indians-run TV network is not renewing the contract of John Sanders, who's been calling Tribe games on TV dating back to 1991... much of that time on FOX Sports Net Ohio and its predecessors.Sanders, along with analysts Rick Manning and Mike Hegan, moved as a group to STO when the cable/satellite network started this season.
STO's Jim Liberatore cited the move to a two-person TV booth for next year, saying that it "offers a more consistent, defined and viewer-friendly approach".
The non-bylined PD item says Manning, the popular ex-Indians outfielder, is "likely" to remain, and could be paired in the two-person booth with either Hegan, or with Hegan's fellow Indians radio analyst Matt Underwood...
15 comments:
Heagan and Manning I could take..either one of these guys with Underwood would be a disaster..they'd never shut up..
I fail to understand how getting rid of Sanders improves the Indians TV booth..his play by play I could at least listen to, unlike the screaming, Twins and Yankees hating, baseball knowledge deficent Tom Hamilton..
Wow...what is it with the harsh comments?
Is this another jealous wannabe?
I love this place but I'm really getting tired of people saying downright nasty stuff about great broadcasters.
Tom is a good broadcast, but if we ever win the world series his head will explode.
You don't have to shout, yell, and scream on almost every play. Especially for a well below .500 team like the Indians.
John Sanders = BOOOORING, vanilla radio. I never heard anyone say anything good about his broadcasts - the words "compelling" and "John Sanders" were never uttered consecutively.
As for Hammy, he's a pro's pro. The guys is flawless in his delivery (if you're not annoyed by the Wisconsin accent...which at times I am), but he does need to chill. A leadoff homerun in the first inning should in no way sound like the homer to win the ALCS...
I have no beef with Sanders like many do in the area. I don't care that he isn't from the market either. If I were calling as many games as these guys will be next year I would be hoping for a pay bump. I didn't find it annoying that one would take trips off.
I always liked Jack Corrigan and Mike Heagan on the TV side during the WUAB days. 'Touch em all time!'
i, for one, am sorry to hear that sanders is leaving. while he doesn't get excited like hammy does, they share a passion for the nuances of the game. Both teach the fans about them as they call the games. sanders is a class guy who will land on his feet. while matt started out in tv as asports director for channel 5,he is a radio commentator, not a tv one. we probably will get archie and mike on the tv side.
Sanders = boring, vanilla radio? Well, of course...thats is because he was the TV play by play guy. I don't think you can compare Hamilton and Sanders. Hamilton's job is to paint a visual picture for the radio listener, and I think he does that well. Sanders job was to accent a visual medium...television. I prefer my TV play by play guys to keep it low key, they don't have to tell me what I am viewing.
The best TV booth that I could remember with the Indians was when Joe Tait and Jack Corrigan did the games in the mid 1980s. I enjoy a game much more when two professional broadcasters do the games as opposed to a player who they just put in the booth. Howard Cosell was right the Jockocracy has taken over sports broadcasting. Who is to say that a person who has never played professional sports can't be a good color analyst?
I thought Sanders and Manning had great chemistry -- Rick never seemed to like Sanders and it made for a lively broadcast. I think they were perfectly paired -- the laid-back Sanders and the opinionated, Type A Manning. I'm sure Heagan is a very nice man, but his delivery is just lacking any presence for my taste. Manning will dictate the tone from now on.
I long for the days of Harry ("You can kiss it goodbye!") Jones and Mudcat ("I'd like to say 'Hi' to all my friends in Byoo-Cy-Riss, Ahia!" Grant.
John Sanders' biggest problem is that he's a "professional," and that doesn't fly with viewers anymore, it seems. "Steady as she goes" leads people to say he's vanilla or boring. I don't think so. He knew he was only to augment the pictures, and then let his analyst do the breakdown work. That's just "classical" sports broadcasting, IMO.
I like Hegan, though it took me a long time to warm up to his gravelly voice. Manning, I think, is very, very good.
I was never much of a Sanders fan. He was just a bit to drab for me. I too prefered Corrigan. He had just the right amount of energy (and he was a cleveland native). I wonder if he would seek to try and return? I wouldn't have a problem with either (Hegan/Underwood and Manning) of the proposed teams. Simpy because I don't think either are great on radio. Underwood has always been a face in my opinion and would fit better on that side of the ledger. Hegan is one of the few former players who is a good analyst and also capable (though not exciting) on the play-by-play side. Then maybe the Indians could go down to Memphis and call-up my boy DK to fill the vacancy on radio.
matt underwood? god i hope not.
David Kelly? He would be talking about how great USC is during every Indians game. David Kelly is terrible
Sounds like a scared Buckeye fan to me!?!
I've never heard Kelly do a baseball game, but I'm sure he must be capable or else he wouldn't have been able to get a gig in Triple-A.
Considering he covered football, I was always impressed with his knowledge and passion for baseball when he would do the TAM Indians post game show.
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