We've neglected to mention some big broadcast news out of Jacobs Field this week.
Long-time Cleveland Indians radio voice Tom Hamilton has been given a contract extension by the team through the 2011 season, and color commentator Mike Hegan gets an extension through 2009.
Hamilton will call his 18th season of Indians games in the 2007 campaign. Hegan's been connected to the Indians broadcasting for even longer, 19 years, but has been a part of the Tribe radio crew for 10 years.
The Indians' radio booth is a two-person booth this year, with ex-radio voice Matt Underwood moved over to SportsTime Ohio's TV broadcasts starting in 2007...
Friday, February 02, 2007
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16 comments:
I know this is off-topic a bit, but can you or your readers give me an idea what Rover from Rover's Morning Glory makes a year?
Swing and a Drive, WAY back...Hamilton's prime is GONE!
If God gave me a free one, Tom Hamilton would win out over ex-wives. He's completely ruined Indians baseball for me.
My only hope is to outlive him so I can, once again, enjoy Indians baseball on the radio again.
I work at an affiliate, and TO A MAN, everyone here hates him. HATES him. As in, will not listen to our own station because he is on it.
Go listen to other Major League Baseball city's broadcasters. His voice quality is .. Columbus Clippers. Max. And don't get me started about his screaming.
If you scream in April, where do you go for the pennant in October? Just split open your head and hand people your brain parts?
What a horrid tragedy for radio in Northeastern Ohio.
Wow, Hammy blows away Herb Score. He and Joe Tait are both amazing. I love listening to games just to hear Hammy and Hegan. They are a great duo, what's not to like? I hope Hammy calls the games for 50 years, just to tick you all off.
Herb Score was much better than Tom Hamilton. Hamilton is just a homer.
I've always made it a point to sample Indians Baseball on television--so as to avoid the screaming banshee that is Tom Hamilton..
I hope the Indians get moved to the AL East again one day..so they can get pounded on a more regular basis by the Yankees and Red Sox..to make Hammy happy that the Indians can play each team 19 times and lose 33 of those games..since its something he harps on with regularity..
Wow. I had no ideas Hamilton was such a polarizing figure. I know a lot of people liked Score's hazy, confused- uncle delivery and he's no doubt a legend, but I really like how Tom calls a game. I guess I have no taste.
I think all announcers are polarizing to be honest. I personally can't stand Joe Tait - I think he's so incredibly boring and truthfully, I just don't think he knows today's NBA that well. He's extremely repetitive. But, I bet you can't find 10 other people in Cleveland that feel the same way I do.
Just about the only announcer that that received universal praise in this town was Nev.
Hammie's alright.
Tom is not a pure homer, he'll rip on the Tribe when they aren't up to snuff.
We need to gauge the homer-ness of the announcers in town on a 1-10 Fred McCleod Scale.
10 being the most rah-rah shill (McCleod).
I'd put Tom Hamilton at a 5.
Herb Score was horrible. I was a board op right before he retired and I swear to God the following came out of his mouth:
"A high fly ball to deep left field... and the second baseman fields it cleanly and tosses over to first for the easy out." Herb waited way to long to retire. I like Hamilton and the gang.
i used to board-op tribe games when herb was behind the mic too. painful. he would just stop talking for so long that the silence alarms would go off. and if you weren't paying close attention to the game (like if you were on the phone, making out with your boyfriend or doing your college algebra homework) you'd think maybe he'd gone to break (since he never used a standard outcue). so you'd sit and wait a few more panicky seconds...10...11..12...ok, i'll hit a spot. at that moment herb would come out of his coma and start talking about ruggles ice cream or the slider bobblehead giveaway....
While I'm sure Herb Score is a great guy, he had no business calling baseball games ("hazy, confused - uncle delivery" - priceless!). Thanks to XM, I listen to a lot of baseball games. Hamilton is one of best at telling the story of the game and using his tone to reflect the direction of the game. There are a lot of play-by-play guys who sound like they're reading from a teleprompter.
Hegan is good as well, very underrated. I was never an Underwood fan and thought the booth was too crowded. I think he'll be better on TV.
To answer the first question...
Rover has spoken on occasion about having a four bedroom house in the Cleveland suburbs..so I would imagine he makes somewhere in the high five figures to somewhere around 100K a year..not sure what his take is from what's left of his syndication..but its a fraction of what Stern was demanding, and getting, before he went to the promised land of Sirius..
I ran the network from 1996-1997 at WKNR and Herb always used the same outcues going into breaks. He would say for example 3 up 3 down at the middle of the fifth the Indians lead 3-0. Then you would have time to go to break. Hamilton on the other hand would just drop 3-4 words and then you better be ready. I think that is unfair criticism of Herb Score.
Herb Score used to pronounce Geronimo Berroa's name 14 different ways during the course of any single Indians-A's game of the past.
What would be nice is to see the Tribe bring back Jack Corrigan. He does a nice job with the Rockies radio broadcasts when we can pick them up on XM.
what i meant by standard outcue is how joe tait goes to every break with "on the cleveland cavaliers radio network." it was my own fault for not paying strict attention to the game, but come on, what board op listens to every moment of every game when they're a 19 year old kid making minimum wage working late nights?
you're right about hammy---sometimes even if you WERE paying attention you weren't sure if he was breaking or not.
does anyone remember when hammy and score started talking about the slider bobblehead and completely lost control of everything? i think tom asked herb what he would do with it and he said something like "take it to bed with me." and hammy lost it. good stuff.
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