Baseball Announcers and the Radio Voice
How radio turned baseball into a daily habit, who the famous voices were, what a radio announcer actually does between pitches, and how the job connects to the business of the game.
Baseball and radio fit each other unusually well. A game has a slow rhythm, long pauses between bursts of action, a scoreboard that changes in small steps and a cast of players the audience gets to know over 162 games. A radio announcer can fill that rhythm with description, history and conversation, and a listener in a kitchen, a car or a backyard can follow the whole thing without seeing a pitch. Over a century, that arrangement turned local announcers into some of the best-known figures in their cities, often better known than the players.
This article traces the story from the first broadcast of a major-league game in 1921 through the era of the great voices to today's mix of radio, television and streaming. It explains what the work involves, how the announcer's job connects to the club's business and what a listener can do to get more from a game on the radio. It does not describe any current broadcast arrangement in detail, because those change from year to year.
The first broadcast, and the fear of empty seats
The date usually given for the first radio broadcast of a major-league game is August 5, 1921. The station was KDKA in Pittsburgh, the announcer was Harold Arlin, and the game was between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field. Radio itself was new, and few households had a receiver. But within a few years the World Series was on the air, and by the mid-1920s the idea of a broadcast game was no longer a novelty.
Club owners were not sure whether they liked it. The argument against radio was simple: if fans could hear the game for free at home, why would they buy a ticket? In the 1930s the three New York clubs, who shared a market and a radio audience, agreed for a time to keep home games off the air. The restriction ended in 1939, when the Brooklyn Dodgers, under a new executive who believed in broadcasting, put their games on the radio with a young announcer named Red Barber, and the Yankees and Giants followed.
Over the following decades most clubs concluded that the fear had been overstated. Radio created fans, taught them the players and built habits. A child who listened to games all summer wanted to see one in person, and a club that was heard across a region drew visitors from it. The pattern, in which the broadcast serves as advertising for the live event, has held through the arrival of television and streaming, although the business around it has become much more complicated, as the history of baseball broadcasting shows.
Re-creations and the telegraph
For a period in the early decades, not every game was described by someone at the park. Some stations did not send an announcer on the road. Instead, an announcer sat in a studio with a telegraph ticker that reported each pitch and play in a short code, and he re-created the game for the audience, adding sound effects for the crack of the bat and the crowd. Done well, the effect was convincing, and the best of these announcers filled the gaps with colour and stories.
The craft was a feat of imagination. The announcer was given only the bare facts, such as ball one, strike two or a single to left, and had to supply the rest. Ronald Reagan, before his career in film and politics, was one of those who re-created Chicago Cubs games for a station in Iowa, and Gordon McLendon built a large network in the early 1950s around re-created games. The practice faded as travel, technology and the cost of a line to the park made live description normal.
The re-creation tradition left something behind: a tolerance for the announcer as a storyteller. A listener who knew that the announcer was not necessarily at the park accepted that he was telling a story, and the best broadcasters kept that role even when they were sitting in the press box.
The voices that defined cities
The mid-century years are remembered as the era of the great voices, when an announcer might work for one club for decades. The names below are among the best known, with the clubs they are most associated with. The list is a sample, not a ranking, and each of these broadcasters has a long career that this table does not capture.
| Voice | Best known with | Remembered for |
|---|---|---|
| Red Barber | Brooklyn Dodgers, then the Yankees | A Southern, unhurried style; one of the first television announcers |
| Mel Allen | New York Yankees | The catchphrase "How about that!" and decades as the club's voice |
| Russ Hodges | New York and San Francisco Giants | The call of the 1951 pennant-winning home run |
| Vin Scully | Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers | A career of 67 seasons, from 1950 to 2016 |
| Ernie Harwell | Detroit Tigers | A gentle, literate style over many seasons |
| Harry Caray | Cardinals, White Sox, Cubs | An enthusiastic style and the singing of the seventh-inning stretch |
| Jack Buck | St. Louis Cardinals | A long career with the club and national radio work |
| Jack Brickhouse | Chicago Cubs, on WGN | Decades as the club's radio and television voice |
| Bob Prince | Pittsburgh Pirates | A colourful, freewheeling style |
| Harry Kalas | Philadelphia Phillies | A deep voice that fans associated with the club |
| Jaime Jarrin | Los Angeles Dodgers, in Spanish | Decades of Spanish-language broadcasts |
| Bob Uecker | Milwaukee Brewers | Self-deprecating humour and a long run with the club |
Hodges is the cleanest example of how a single call can become part of a city's memory. When Bobby Thomson hit the home run that won the 1951 pennant for the Giants, Hodges repeated the phrase "The Giants win the pennant!" in a rising voice. The reason that call is remembered is not its length but the moment it captured, and the fact that radio listeners were hearing it at the same time as the people in the park.
Scully's career is unmatched in length. He began with the Dodgers in 1950, when the club was in Brooklyn, and stayed with them after their move to Los Angeles, retiring after the 2016 season. It was a 67-year relationship between one voice and one club, and it gave several generations of fans a shared narrator.
What a radio announcer actually does
The job is stranger than it looks. A radio announcer has to describe the game to someone who cannot see it, and he has to do so for three hours without stopping the flow. A few principles are common to the best of them.
He keeps the listener oriented. A listener who tunes in during the fifth inning needs to know the score, the inning, the number of outs, the count and the runners. Announcers repeat this information often, usually between pitches. A radio broadcast that does not do this is hard to follow.
He describes in order. The flight of a batted ball is described as it happens: off the bat, to left, back, back, at the wall. The announcer's voice follows the ball, and the pitch of the voice tells the listener how likely it is to be caught or to leave the park. The listener learns to read the tone.
He paints a picture. The announcer describes the weather, the shadows, the fielders' positions and what the manager is doing in the dugout. The aim is to give a mental image that the listener can use.
He fills the time. Baseball has long gaps, for pitching changes, rain delays and mound conferences. The announcer fills them with stories, statistics and conversation, or with silence when nothing needs to be said. Knowing when not to talk is one of the hardest skills.
He prepares. The announcer reads the team's notes, keeps a scorebook, studies the lineups and the pitching matchups and often talks to the manager or players before the game. The numbers that he can quote, such as a batter's record against a pitcher, come from that preparation. The lineup changes and substitutions he must explain are covered in the lineup card and the double switch.
An example shows the difference between radio and television. On television a fly ball to center field is shown and the announcer can say very little, since the viewer sees it. On the radio the same ball must be described with the position of the outfielder, the direction of the wind and the sound of the crowd. For this reason the radio announcer is often the more informative of the two, and many fans keep the radio on while the television is on mute.
Radio, television and the shift to streaming
Television arrived with the first televised major-league game in 1939, which Red Barber called between the Dodgers and the Reds at Ebbets Field, and it grew rapidly after the Second World War. The new medium changed the announcer's job. With the picture on the screen, the announcer talked less and added analysis. A second voice, the color commentator, usually a former player or manager, became standard in the booth. National broadcasts, such as the Game of the Week of the 1950s, introduced the sport to fans far from their local team, and Dizzy Dean became a famous voice with a folksy style.
Radio stayed. It survived because it was portable, because it could be heard where television could not, such as in a car, and because many fans preferred it. Clubs built radio networks that covered their regions, with affiliate stations carrying the games across several states. Today's broadcast picture has more pieces, with regional sports networks, club-run streaming services and national packages. The details change from year to year, so check the club's official site and MLB's own information for how to watch or listen to a particular game.
Why the announcer is part of the business
The announcer's voice is also a business asset. A club sells its games to broadcasters and sponsors, and a popular voice raises the value of those rights. A club that employs an announcer, or approves the one a broadcaster assigns, is investing in the person who will describe its product to its fans. Broadcast rights are one of the largest sources of club revenue, a subject covered in how baseball teams make money, and the money from them is part of the revenue picture that shapes salaries and negotiations, as discussed in the Players Association article.
There is a recurring debate about whether the club's own announcers are too favourable to their team. Fans call such broadcasters homers when they believe the voice leans toward the club. A broadcaster who is employed by the club, or whose job depends on the club's approval, has an obvious incentive. Many fans like it, since a local broadcast is a conversation with a friend, while others prefer a more neutral voice. National broadcasts, which serve fans of both clubs, usually try for balance.
The link between broadcasts and tickets also remains. A club that is on the air every day builds an audience, and the audience buys tickets, caps and shirts. For a practical look at that side of the sport, see baseball ticket pricing and how to buy tickets.
The Frick Award and the Hall of Fame
Broadcasters are honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, though not as inducted players. The Ford C. Frick Award, named for a former commissioner, has been given since 1978, and its first winners were Red Barber and Mel Allen. It recognises excellence in broadcasting and is presented in Cooperstown. The Hall's own pages list the honorees, and the museum's exhibits change over time, so check what is on view before a visit. The Hall of Fame museum and Cooperstown describes what a visitor can see there.
The award reflects the idea that the announcer is part of the sport's culture. A fan who grew up with a broadcaster is likely to remember the voice as clearly as any player's swing. The Hall of Fame's own site, baseballhall.org, lists the award winners and their careers.
Listening well: a fan's guide
Anyone can get more from a radio broadcast by changing a few habits.
- Keep a scorecard. Writing down each play forces you to follow the game in detail, and it turns the announcer's description into a record. A free scoresheet is available on the site.
- Listen for the pregame. The preview often contains the best information, from injuries to the pitcher's approach.
- Learn the shorthand. Announcers use short phrases, such as a full count or a ball hit to the opposite field, that carry a lot of meaning in a few words.
- Pay attention to the voice. The tone is a signal. A rising voice means a ball is carrying and a calm voice means a routine play.
- Try a broadcast from the other team. A visiting broadcast offers a different view of the same game.
Common questions
When was the first radio broadcast of a major-league game? August 5, 1921, on KDKA in Pittsburgh, with Harold Arlin describing a game between the Pirates and Phillies.
How long did Vin Scully work for the Dodgers? He began in 1950 and retired after the 2016 season, a span of 67 seasons.
What is a re-creation? A broadcast in which the announcer, working from a telegraph ticker in a studio, recreates the game for the audience using only the basic facts and his imagination.
What is the Frick Award? An honor presented at the Hall of Fame to broadcasters for excellence in baseball broadcasting, awarded since 1978.
Do teams still have their own announcers? Most clubs have a regular broadcast team for local radio and television, though the arrangements and the platforms change, so check the club's official site.
Where to go next
For the full story of the medium, start with the history of baseball broadcasting, then read about how baseball teams make money. To follow along with a game you are listening to, use the scoresheet, and check the schedule for upcoming games. The baseball on TV and streaming topic page collects more coverage.