Jeff Levering a finalist for Marlins' Fox TV job (Update 1/31: Not hired by the Marlins)

[Eye Black]

Jeff Levering is a finalist to become the Miami Marlins play-by-play announcer for their regional Fox Sports TV network. It sounds like he has already done his in-person audition for the gig. Other finalists are Scott Braun, Paul Severino, Jose Mota, and Craig Minervini.

[Mass Haas]

Craig Mish is a Sirius/XM host who has Marlins' contacts, his was the name you saw most often during the Giancarlo Stanton saga.

 

The tweet referred to above is here.

 

Although Fox Sports Florida was "responsible" for the decision to terminate popular Rich Waltz in November after his 13 years in Miami, the move had Derek Jeter fingerprints.

 

Fish Stripes is thankful for Marlins legend Rich Waltz

 

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Scroll to bottom of link for this text --

 

Fox Sports Florida is auditioning candidates to replace ousted Marlins play-by-play man Rich Waltz, and Sirius XM’s Craig Mish said the finalists are Mets announcer and UM grad Scott Braun, MLB Network host/play-by-play man Paul Severino, Milwaukee Brewers radio announcer Jeff Levering and Anaheim Angels announcer Jose Mota.　　

 

Todd Hollandsworth will return as the team’s television analyst.

 

Newly added name Craig Minervini has been a Marlins studio analyst.

 

Pat Hughes, Jim Powell, Corey Provus, Joe Block -- Jeff Levering?

 

Big fan of Jeff, one would think he'd be a natural choice to take over full-time once Uecker retires, but the lead TV gig anywhere is a big deal.

[jerichoholicninja]

Is that 3 radio guys in 3 years gone?

[Invader3K]

Is that 3 radio guys in 3 years gone?

 

Longer than three years, but it feels like it. Guess no one wants to stick around and be Uke's heir apparent.

[MadThinker88]

Or Uke has stayed around longer (& plans on staying even longer) than some people believed he would when they got involved.

[hawing]

Is that 3 radio guys in 3 years gone?

If Jeff is tabbed for the Miami gig, it would indeed be three consecutive three-season stints for radio guys not named Uecker:

 

Provus 2009, 10, 11

Block 2012, 13, 14

Levering 2015 (as the #3 guy), 16, 17

 

If Lane Grindle were to depart after 2018, that would continue the 3-year-tour pattern.

 

A few thoughts:

 

- I get that Uecker/Scully style longevity is a product of another era, but I'd settle for, say, a Jim Powell-length stint anytime now.

 

- I get that moving from radio to TV is generally an upward move, and obviously Miami is a big market. But who's attending/watching Marlins games? If it's as few as has been the case in recent years, is that really a net-gain move? And the fans who actually remain (or somehow become) engaged with the team are (or IMO should be) salty about the fire sale and the ouster of their popular announcer. You want to be the guy who has to win them over?

 

On the surface (and of course that's all the story we're ever going to get), to me it smacks more of "getting out of Milwaukee" than anything else. I find that troubling.

 

- I'm going to say it: I wonder if there's a side to working with Uecker that is rubbing younger booth-mates the wrong way. That could be as simple as "dude won't leave and I'll always be second banana in Milwaukee" or...less simple.

 

I'll be flat-out sad if this is the end of Jeff's tenure in Milwaukee. I enjoy listening to him, I appreciate that he is open to interacting with fans, and truth be told, there are times I prefer the Jeff/Lane call to the Uecker/Jeff call (or the rarer Uecker/Lane). That doesn't mean I dislike Uecker, but I realize the Ueckerless pairings have value too.

[SomewhereInTime]

I mean, its definitely an upward career move. Second radio guy in Milwaukee means calling 3 innings a game at home and some road games. I'd imagine its a pay raise to move to television as well.

[JohnBriggs12]

I mean, its definitely an upward career move. Second radio guy in Milwaukee means calling 3 innings a game at home and some road games. I'd imagine its a pay raise to move to television as well.

 

Hope he enjoys doing games with 5,000 fans scattered among the seats. Miami isn't a destination job. It's a stepping stone for future. Ask Len Kasper.

[Invader3K]

 

- I'm going to say it: I wonder if there's a side to working with Uecker that is rubbing younger booth-mates the wrong way. That could be as simple as "dude won't leave and I'll always be second banana in Milwaukee" or...less simple.

 

I love Bob Uecker (who doesn't?), but I have been told by one person in the Wisconsin radio industry who said that it basically takes a special kind of personality to work with Uecker. Could explain why a lot of these guys aren't sticking around long term.

[torts]

Is that 3 radio guys in 3 years gone?

If Jeff is tabbed for the Miami gig, it would indeed be three consecutive three-season stints for radio guys not named Uecker:

 

Provus 2009, 10, 11

Block 2012, 13, 14

Levering 2015 (as the #3 guy), 16, 17

 

If Lane Grindle were to depart after 2018, that would continue the 3-year-tour pattern.

 

A few thoughts:

 

- I get that Uecker/Scully style longevity is a product of another era, but I'd settle for, say, a Jim Powell-length stint anytime now.

 

- I get that moving from radio to TV is generally an upward move, and obviously Miami is a big market. But who's attending/watching Marlins games? If it's as few as has been the case in recent years, is that really a net-gain move? And the fans who actually remain (or somehow become) engaged with the team are (or IMO should be) salty about the fire sale and the ouster of their popular announcer. You want to be the guy who has to win them over?

 

On the surface (and of course that's all the story we're ever going to get), to me it smacks more of "getting out of Milwaukee" than anything else. I find that troubling.

 

- I'm going to say it: I wonder if there's a side to working with Uecker that is rubbing younger booth-mates the wrong way. That could be as simple as "dude won't leave and I'll always be second banana in Milwaukee" or...less simple.

 

I'll be flat-out sad if this is the end of Jeff's tenure in Milwaukee. I enjoy listening to him, I appreciate that he is open to interacting with fans, and truth be told, there are times I prefer the Jeff/Lane call to the Uecker/Jeff call (or the rarer Uecker/Lane). That doesn't mean I dislike Uecker, but I realize the Ueckerless pairings have value too.

 

Miami's ratings are plummeting, too. they'll be worse this year, so to me, it baffles me why someone would go for any reason other than getting paid more.

 

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article161897643.html

[jerichoholicninja]

 

- I'm going to say it: I wonder if there's a side to working with Uecker that is rubbing younger booth-mates the wrong way. That could be as simple as "dude won't leave and I'll always be second banana in Milwaukee" or...less simple.

 

I love Bob Uecker (who doesn't?), but I have been told by one person in the Wisconsin radio industry who said that it basically takes a special kind of personality to work with Uecker. Could explain why a lot of these guys aren't sticking around long term.

 

My uncle worked in radio for a few years and got to visit with Uekcer in the booth in the early or mid-90's. Said he was not a pleasure to be around. Obviously only one person's experience.

[hawing]

I love Bob Uecker (who doesn't?), but I have been told by one person in the Wisconsin radio industry who said that it basically takes a special kind of personality to work with Uecker. Could explain why a lot of these guys aren't sticking around long term.

Most everybody loves the Uecker on-air/public persona. His off-air persona could be quite different. Enough people in this forum alone have supplied evidence that he's not so happy-go-lucky away from the mic.

 

The Leverings welcomed a daughter just after Christmas, so that would be a tangible reason for more money.

[RobDeer 45]

I think if you get in the mix for a job where you are the main person on the radio, it's a bigger market, or you're going to TV, you have to go after it. It's not like Milwaukee is on most people's radar for landing spots. We get a lot of talented people on their way up. Now, I do think at some point, someone could land here long term, but it's got to be because Ueck is about to retire or has retired. You'll always be second fiddle until that time.

 

As for Ueck, I too have a family member who was in the radio/tv industry and he speaks very poorly of him and the way he treats people. I pretend to ignore it, because I love him on the radio, but it's really too bad.

[SomewhereInTime]

I mean, its definitely an upward career move. Second radio guy in Milwaukee means calling 3 innings a game at home and some road games. I'd imagine its a pay raise to move to television as well.

 

Hope he enjoys doing games with 5,000 fans scattered among the seats. Miami isn't a destination job. It's a stepping stone for future. Ask Len Kasper.

 

If it pays more and helps his career, best of luck to him. I've certainly enjoyed listening to him call games.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Agree with most of the posters so far on Ueck, Levering's skill, the recent shuffle of PxP people, etc.

 

I'm with hawing in particular on really enjoying the Levering/Lane G. pairing. They had great chemistry, were entertaining, AND did a great job with action-calling and statistical insight. That's a rare combo and one reason I was glad to see Jeff getting hoops gigs on BTN and FS1. I thought it meant he was more likely to stick around, even though his basketball skills aren't really up there with his baseball ones (he's kind of a reverse LePay, I suppose).

 

Ueck deserves all the deference in the world as an on-air guy. But part of me will be really bummed if Jeff and Lane aren't the future of radio baseball in Milwaukee. If someone said they could be the team for the next 20 years but Ueck would never be heard on-air again, I don't know. I'd be tempted. It would continue the tradition of Milwaukee having a top 5 radio crew. They're that much better than anyone I've heard (I get to hear Cubs, Sox, Cardinals, Royals, and Twins fairly regularly).

[Warning Track Power]

Really enjoy Jeff Levering on the radio especially when Lane Grindle is sprinkled in. Given Uecker's lack of road travel, except to a few locations, Levering has become kind of a 1B lead. As much as I want the best for him, I hope he is passed over and becomes #1 when Uecker retires.

[Thurston Fluff]

Count me in as someone who heard stories that Ueck isn't the most pleasant person to be around. That might just be due to his being so entrenched that his style has to be catered to or he might just be a curmudgeonly old man. Either way he's earned some amount of deference for all the years he put in. He could have left many times over and stayed through a lot of lean years. That is more than I can say about all the others. No job is perfect and there is always going to be a difficult person to work with.

[MadScientist]

I mean, its definitely an upward career move. Second radio guy in Milwaukee means calling 3 innings a game at home and some road games. I'd imagine its a pay raise to move to television as well.

 

Hope he enjoys doing games with 5,000 fans scattered among the seats. Miami isn't a destination job. It's a stepping stone for future. Ask Len Kasper.

 

If it pays more and helps his career, best of luck to him. I've certainly enjoyed listening to him call games.

 

This is why I find all the talk about people leaving after a few years with Uke baffling. Everyone who left did so to be the #1 guy elsewhere. Being second fiddle to Bob is like being a coordinator for Belichick. If you do a decent job, other clubs will come knocking on your door. Only on Star Trek does the second fiddle refuse to take a promotion somewhere else.

 

Given how often this has been happening, I'm very much in favor of having the #3 guy get work in on road trips. It really helped Levering make the adjustment to regular #2 guy go much smoother. I remember disliking Provus and Block when they first started, but both improved after a year.

[pacopete4]

I heard that Ueck once pushed a kid down a flight of stairs. Laughed the entire way he bounced down the steps.

[patrickgpe]

You can't replace Levering with Uecker, The broadcasts are very boring with Levering and Grindle. You need a color guy. I would think that Dillard would be an awesome choice or someone like Gorman Thomas.

[jerichoholicninja]

I heard that Ueck once pushed a kid down a flight of stairs. Laughed the entire way he bounced down the steps.

 

That actually sounds like a story Uecker would tell.

 

You can't replace Levering with Uecker, The broadcasts are very boring with Levering and Grindle. You need a color guy. I would think that Dillard would be an awesome choice or someone like Gorman Thomas.

 

A lot of people seem to think Dillard should in the booth (TV or radio). I felt that way too until I started following him on Twitter and Facebook. I don't think he would be very good in a role where he's on the air all the time. I think he would be great as a pop-in reporter or whatever you call what Sofia does. Have him run around the ballpark and talk to people, maybe do some pre-taped skits, just be a goofball a few times a game. I think he would get old pretty fast if he was on the air 3 hours every night.

[RockCoCougars]

This is starting to become a disturbing pattern. I love Ueck and hope he goes another 10 years, but there has to be something going on. These guys are bolting as soon as they can. I'm not sure any of them would be considered hot commodities, so they must be dropping resumes everywhere. I know that Milwaukee is not a marquee destination for sports broadcasters, but either the Brewers are paying them peanuts, Uecker is 'difficult' to work with, or a combination of the two. I have heard stories of Uecker not getting along with his broadcast partners going all the way back to the early 80's.

[hawing]

This is starting to become a disturbing pattern. I love Ueck and hope he goes another 10 years, but there has to be something going on. These guys are bolting as soon as they can.

Exactly. I was bummed but not alarmed when Jim Powell moved "home" to Atlanta, because I know what it's like to have the opportunity to 'go home.'

I don't know if Provus had a prior connection to Minnesota, but being the top dog there made his move make sense.

Joe Block's wife is from Western PA, so that made his move to Pittsburgh understandable.

I have a degree of rapport with Jeff and don't know of any personal connection he has to Florida. He's a California native and his parents still live there. Pursuing jobs in a west coast franchise would surprise me less.

[pacopete4]

Just call up Tim Dillard already and let him do it. He'll be the Harry Carrey of the Brewers.

[chuckiehacks]

Just call up Tim Dillard already and let him do it. He'll be the Harry Carrey of the Brewers.

 

Actually, he'll be "Will Farrell impersonating Harry Caray" which will get (or already has gotten?) old real quick.