Crafting the Call -- Marty Brennaman delivers the facts
Episode 11 -- How the Journalism background of legendary Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman shaped his style
Crafting the Call is a YouTube series that I developed along with Jesse Goldberg-Strassler. Each week, we examine different aspects of baseball play-by-play announcing, offering our perspective as working professionals for fans, and advice for fellow broadcasters.
Going into this episode, I was really excited to learn more about Marty Brennaman.
I only met him once. It was brief. Dusty Baker introduced us before a spring training exhibition game in Las Vegas.
I never grew up listening to him. Marty spent his entire career in Cincinnati. I grew up in the Bay Area and went to college in San Diego.
What I mostly knew about Marty was that he once got into a war-of-words with Ken Griffey, Jr. over Junior not running out ground balls. Marty certainly earned the reputation, in the later half of his incredible run from 1974-2019 on the microphone for the Reds, for being extremely candid with his opinions.
But this week’s Crafting the Call episode is more about Brennaman’s broadcasting style, through some of the most legendary moments.
We listened as Marty described:
Pete Rose’s record-breaking 4,192nd hit
Henry Aaron’s record-tying 714th home run
The final out of Tom Browning’s perfect game
The final out of Tom Seaver’s no hitter
Jay Bruce’s walkoff home run to clinch the 2010 NL Central
The final inning of the Reds clinching the 1990 World Series. [Fun moment as I recall the time that I screamed at a fan in the stands at the Coliseum.]
Here’s the episode:
Here’s a list of previous episodes:
Episode 1 – How to call an inside-the-park home run
Episode 2 – Vin Scully’s perfect words to describe Koufax’s perfect game
Episode 3 – Eck vs Gibson, four legends with four different calls
Episode 4 – How calling a Triple Play can be treacherous
Episode 5 — Harry Caray without the shtick
Episode 6 — Clocking a broadcaster’s fastball
Episode 7 — Opening Day philosophies
Episode 8 — “Touch ’em All Joe,” four voices call the end of the 1993 World Series
Episode 9 — Don’t blink … someone might Steal Home
Episode 10 — Early season check-in … how’s your voice?