New Play-by-Play Voice for Nashville Named; Change in Huntsville Announced As Well

[Mass Haas]

Given all the effort we make in providing you with broadcast information for the in-season Daily Link Reports, and the promotion we do to invite you to sample and listen in to the minor league broadcasts (particularly when not opposite Brewer big league games), then you know we have a vested interest in learning about and keeping in touch with the affiliate broadcasters.

 

For ten seasons, Chuck Valenches (Sounds site) has been the voice of the Sounds, which includes the full Brewers' run with Nashville.

 

I haven't had a chance to speak with Chuck since September, so I don't know the circumstances, but his run with Nashville has come to an end. I hope to reach out to Chuck to wish him well, ask him about his future endeavors, and sneak in a question or two about the 2009 Sounds. (NOTE: I had confirmations from all four Brewer affiliate announcers back in September to do off-season Q&A's, but circumstances on my end had delayed that until a planned re-visit later this month).

 

The Sounds accepted over 100 applications back in November, and the play-by-play man of the San Antonio Missions (AA Texas League, Padres), Stu Paul, is your new Voice of the Sounds.

 

Stu Paul new play-by-play voice of Nashville Sounds

http://www.staatalent.com/Images/Headshots/Paul.jpg (January 6, 2010) It was going to take an outstanding opportunity to lure Stu Paul away from his long-time job as a baseball play-by-play broadcaster for the San Antonio Missions. After nearly ten years, though, an outstanding opportunity has arrived. Paul, an STAA client (Sportscasters Client Agency of America), has been named play-by-play broadcaster and account executive for the Nashville Sounds.

The Sounds are the AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The opportunity has been a long-time coming for Paul, who has spent the past nine seasons as the No. 2 voice of the Class AA Missions.

“To finally make it to Triple A is great,” Paul says. “Larger ballparks, larger cities and flying everywhere is great. Nashville is a growing city that really has a passion for baseball. Also the opportunity to move up to Triple A and see veterans that are only a phone call away from the Major Leagues is exciting.

“The sales part won't be easy and the new owners are hoping to turn things around in Nashville, and I'm happy to be a part of this. More than 100 people applied. Persistence and patience do pay off!”

Paul applied for the job when it was posted on the STAA job forum in early November. He was invited to interview in Nashville one month later. To help him prepare, STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik conducted a mock interview with Paul over the telephone.

“I went into the interview knowing what to expect and trying not to oversell myself. Keeping it simple helps,” Paul says. “[sTAA] has done great work and you do a tremendous job. Thank you.”

Paul has also had his demo and resume packages built by Chelesnik since 2004.

“It has been a great benefit for me. I’ve been in the business a long time but I never want to stop improving. I always try to benefit from other peoples opinions on how to market myself. You want to sell yourself without having to overdo it. The quality [of the portfolios] was different, the way everything was presented.”

“I’ve had a terrific run [in San Antonio] but when the opportunity comes you have to take advantage of it. It was time to make the leap. I am very thankful for the Sounds (VP of Sales and Marketing) Brad Tammen and (GM) George King for giving me the opportunity.”

“It took me awhile to get here but I never lost faith. I told myself to keep plugging along and everything would fall into place.”

 

***

 

From 2006, this Q&A with Stu will give you plenty of information on his background and baseball broadcast philosophies.

 

***

 

You get to sample quite a bit of Stu's work by clicking on the audio links in the upper right of this page.

 

***

 

Stu would certainly know quite about about RHP Will Inman and LHP Steve Garrison.

 

***

 

Welcome Stu, to the extended Milwaukee Brewer (and Brewerfan.net) family, and we would be remiss in not once agin thanking Chuck Valenches for his work, and his friendship to Brewerfan, over the years. Our best to you, Chuck!

[craigharmann]

Wow! One of my good friends called HS football games with Stu here in San Antonio. What a loss for us down here! Nashville's gain!

[Mass Haas]

Just heard from Stu, who reminded me about current big league play-by-play man Brian Anderson's San Antonio Missions connection -- they actually worked together for a while, pretty big coincidence...

[Mass Haas]

Actually completely separate from this thread, but I'll include it here regardless, we've learned tonight that Huntsville's play-by-play man, Brett Pollock, won't be back for a sixth season.

 

Like Chuck in Nashville, Brett was always very helpful to us, and appreciative of our efforts to promote his broadcasts. I'll admit that I migrated to his broadcasts most often among all our choices on those nights when "Link Report listening" was convenient, not only because AA is usually such an intriguing level, but because Brett did an excellent job and was an easy and enjoyable listen.

 

We'll contact Buck Rogers and attempt to learn more about the Stars' plans -- we imagine they'll be continuing the web-only broadcasts with a new voice.

 

For what it's worth, we have also contacted the lead bloggers over at MiLB.com in an attempt to learn more about the status of audio archiving, which was sorely missed in 2009.

 

But most importantly for this post, a big thank you to Brett, and best wishes for success in the future.

[Mass Haas]

For what it's worth, we have also contacted the lead bloggers over at MiLB.com in an attempt to learn more about the status of audio archiving, which was sorely missed in 2009.

From Benjamin Hill, the "Business of Baseball" blogger at MiLB.com:

 

I am not particularly well-versed on why we no longer provide the game archives, but essentially what it comes down to is that the demand for them was not sufficient enough to justify the cost and time expenditure.

 

I, too, miss the archives. Hopefully it's something that we'll be able to provide in the future.

 

Ben

[Mass Haas]

Waterbury (Connecticut) Newspaper:

 

Voice of Waterbury Spirit alive and well

By Joe Palladino

 

Waterbury is fortunate and all the richer for its long-running and exceptional broadcast legacy. It began half a century ago with the radio voice that defines the phrase broadcast legend, the man we called AV, Allie Vestro Sr. The link remains unbroken, from AV Sr., to AV Jr., to Jim Senich and today to The Voice, Bob Sagendorf.

 

There is a link in that chain you may not remember. This link remains vibrant in the business, and he may be the highest achiever of all our broadcasters.

 

To remember him, you must remember professional baseball in Waterbury, the last vestige being the independent Waterbury Spirit. The voice of the Spirit, Stu Paul, is still climbing the ladder in the world of sports broadcasting.

 

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native, 51, did play-by-play for home Spirit games for four seasons, with occasional turns as a color analyst when Senich slipped behind the microphone.

 

"I really enjoyed being in Waterbury," said Paul in a telephone interview last week from San Antonio, Texas. "For one thing, it was really close to home for a guy who lived in Brooklyn, and I met some great people there. You couldn't work with a better man than Jim Senich, and, the guy who covered the Spirit for your newspaper, Roger Cleaveland, he is still there? You tell him I said hello."

 

Consider it done.

 

Paul's broadcast career started where all good ones do, in small stations in small towns, doing sportscasts and high school games in upstate New York. He moved up to minor league hockey, with the Utica Blizzard, San Antonio Iguanas and Tulsa Oilers. His true passion, though, is baseball, and Paul had stops in Hagerstown, Md., Jacksonville, Fla., and of course, the garden spot of the game, Waterbury. He has done Quad Cities Thunder basketball, University of Texas-San Antonio men's and women's college basketball, and his most recent gig, the Double A San Antonio Missions.

 

Now, comes the big step. Paul has finally landed a big one: This summer he will be the play-by-play man for the Nashville Sounds, the Triple A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. When we reached him by phone, he was packing up the last few boxes and preparing for the long drive to the Music City.

 

"I've had shots at jobs with the Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins," Paul said. "There have been a few close calls. This is my first Triple A job. These are larger crowds, in the largest cities in America without major league teams."

 

Triple A ball is the place where young men prove they are ready for the bigs, or where fading talent proves it deserves one more shot. It is the same for broadcasters. Paul is not a young buck and this is not his last chance, but it is his first chance to prove he is ready.

 

"I wasn't the best student growing up," Paul admits. "I also knew I was not going to be the next Mickey Mantle, but I wanted to be somebody and do something with my life. I love sports, and I can talk, so I worked hard to get rid of a Brooklyn accent and now I go to work at a ball park or an arena every day. I love what I do, plain and simple. I love doing play by play. It is my life. It jangles my juices, as Satchel Paige said. If I couldn't be a ball player, this is what I wanted to do, and I am glad I stayed with it for all these years."

 

Paul's dogged pursuit to get the major leagues, in any sport, has taken him to every level of sport in America. This was his third shot to get a Triple A job. He won this one over more than 100 candidates.

 

Nashville has big league teams in the Preds and the Titans. Now it has a broadcaster who has taken the long and winding road to get to a big league town, and earn his shot to the Big Show. One stop along the way was Waterbury.

[Mass Haas]

More "Sign of the Times" in this press release from Nashville, including:

 

In 2010, The Zone will air all 72 home games as well as five select away games (April 14 at Iowa, May 27 at Sacramento, June 13 at Omaha, June 25 at Memphis, August 11 at Las Vegas) over the airwaves on 104.5 FM, with the remainder of games available to fans via live internet webcast based at www.nashvillesounds.com.

 

I imagine across the country fewer and fewer markets will support (via advertising) radio coverage of 140 games. In terms of Brewerfan's interest, as long as there's a webcast...

 

Broadcasts will begin approximately five minutes prior to game time and will include a 10-minute postgame show.

That's a much shorter daily pre-game than in the past, and doesn't bode well for the archived pre-game audio interviews we're accustomed to from the Sounds. We'll have to see on that one.

[Mass Haas]

It'll be pretty exciting if we get to listen to any Huntsville players hit for the cycle during a home game in 2010.

 

Of course, it'd be more exciting if we were there with a chance to win:

 

Cycle Nation is sponsoring the Cycle Nation 'Hit for the Cycle' promotion. If a Huntsville Stars player hits for the cycle (Single, Double, Triple and Home Run) during any 2010 home game, one lucky fan will win a $5,000 gift certificate from Cycle Nation. That lucky fan will be determined by a lucky signature on the Cycle Nation ad in the Game Day Roster Insert. If you have the program with the lucky signature you'll win the certificate if the Stars player hits for the cycle during that game.

 

http://www.cyclenationhuntsville.com/

 

Remember when Milwaukee players could actually win a Harley by doing the same?

[Mass Haas]

From Stars' GM Buck Rogers' press release:

 

The Huntsville Stars will return to the radio for the 2010 season with games being broadcast on three stations that will comprise the New Huntsville Stars Radio Network.

 

Huntsville native Chad Anderson will call the games for the Stars and their new flagship station WTKI (AM 1450/92.9FM). The Stars will return to WTKI-1450 for the first time since 2006, but Stars fans are accustomed to setting their dials to AM 1450. The Stars have broadcast on AM 1450 all but five years since opening shop in 1985. Rounding out the New Stars Radio Network will be Decatur's WEKI (AM 1490/94.5 FM) and Scottsboro's WWIC (AM 1050). Stars fans are also familiar with WWIC; the Stars broadcasted selected games on WWIC from 1985-2000.

 

"We're excited about teaming up with the Stars because it really fits WTKI's mission, which is to be connected locally with the community and its organizations and really push the home town radio atmosphere," General Manager, Fred Holland said.

 

The Stars 140 games and the Southern League All-Star Game will be available online, and at least 85 contests will air on the New Stars Radio Network. The three station network will be the team's largest since the late 1980s.

 

Because some of our games conflict with scheduled programming such as our daytime games and High School and Alabama football games, we will have at least 85 games (a mixture of home and road) on the air. We'll look at adding more radio games as we go, based on availability. All 140 games will be webcast as we did last season. Fans can also follow along on the Game Day feature on our website for complete stats and graphics. Chad will also be the Top Gun for broadcasting this season's Southern League All-Star Game, so he'll get some serious exposure and great experience.

 

"I am so blessed and couldn't ask for a better situation," Anderson said. "To be able to broadcast in your hometown and be a part of something you grew up watching is special."

 

Anderson began broadcasting for alma mater, Bob Jones High School, handling baseball and football. He has also hosted local talk shows and broadcasted multiple events for the University of Alabama's WVUA (90.7 FM) as a student.

 

***

 

Chad's website includes his bio, blog, audio samples.

 

Good luck and congrats to Chad, we look forward to reaching out to the young man in the coming months.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Stars games make return to area radio's playlist

By Paul Gattis, Huntsville Times Sports Staff

 

After a year's absence, the Huntsville Stars will be back on the radio this season.

 

The team on Monday announced a partnership with newly-revived WTKI-AM that could ultimately result in the Stars being available on at least four different signals.

 

One of those signals, and possibly two, will be on FM.

 

"That's huge," Stars general manager Buck Rogers said.

 

The games can be heard on WTKI-AM (1450) and sister station WEKI-AM (1490) in Decatur as well as WTKI's FM signal at 92.9, which is expected to be online before the season stars April 8.

 

WTKI station owner Fred Holland also said efforts are being made to establish an FM signal at 94.7 in Decatur.

 

The Stars had no radio presence last year for the first time in their 25 years in Huntsville. The games could only be heard over the Internet at HuntsvilleStars.com.

 

At the time, Rogers cited expenses for dropping off the air but expressed the hope of returning to radio in 2010.

 

Rogers and Holland credited Chad Anderson - the new voice of the Stars, replacing Brett Pollock - with making it happen.

 

"We brought in someone outside of the organization who can look at it differently," Rogers said. "Sometimes, that's what you've got to do. Chad walked into our office and we were trying to make it work and we were hitting brick walls.

 

"Chad grew up here and he's got experience and he knows how to go in and knows who to talk to. We hit brick walls in a lot of those areas and Chad went and got it done."

 

Said Holland, "Chad gets the credit for putting a lot of this together. He brought us together and got the thing moving."

 

Anderson, who turns 25 later this month, was simply looking for a broadcasting job. He hosted a Saturday sports show on WUMP-AM while doing an internship but said he considers himself "a play-by-play guy."

 

He talked with Mick Gillispie, the radio voice of the Tennessee Smokies baseball team and a college classmate at Alabama, and Gillispie suggested Anderson check into the Stars' situation.

 

After sending Rogers a couple of e-mails, Anderson simply showed up at the Stars' offices at Joe Davis Stadium one day this winter and the radio wheels began turning.

 

"Fred was all for it," Anderson said. "Once we did that, that was it. We worked out the deal and it all came together."

[yoda knows all]

Where did announcer Brett Pollock end up? I think he is an excellent announcer.