Cubs Radio Broadcast

[chuckiehacks]

I caught the ninth (and best) inning of the Cub game yesterday, and a couple of things stood out.

 

-Ron Santo is even worse. He doesn't even speak, he just makes a variety of grunts, groans & sighs.

-Pat Hughes pretty much ignores Santo. He might as well be doing the game alone

-Every commercial is for Old Style, and each one ends with the line "Think local, drink local. G. Heileman Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin." What's up with that? I wouldn't consider that local.

[trwi7]

I heard the Ethier homerun and Santo basically went "ugh, uh, eegh, aargh ugh that was helped by the wind."

[Patrick425]

-Ron Santo is even worse. He doesn't even speak, he just makes a variety of grunts, groans & sighs.

I know everyone hates Ron Santo. But he is the reason I love listening to Cubs games. He hilarious (even though he's not trying to be). He's like a parody of himself. Sometimes he'll ask Pat Hughes really basic questions like what is a certain player's batting average. Like he won't even make an effort to figure it out himself by looking at the press notes. I mean how many other announcers do you here yelling at the action on the field with things like "Oh come on...you have got to be kidding me." It's the same reason I loved listening to Harry Carry, especially in his later years when he was completely losing his sanity.

[burniebrewer]

Hughes almost has a condescending tone when he answers Santo's easy questions. He almost sounds like he's talking to an 8-year old at times. "Well Ron, the C stands for Cubs."

[GAME05]

no kidding. i caught a game by them recently, and they were just awful. i don't really even mind the "oh no!"'s all that much and the general grunting, even though it's completely unprofessional. but it's like they don't even study the numbers before a game and just say whatever comes out of their heads. for the whole game i just had the feeling like i was having to sit in the stands and hear the game called by some everyday, semi-drunken fan.

 

"the Brewers have a ton of power on the team, they're right around the middle of the league in HR's. Or they might even be at the top."

[Patrick425]

for the whole game i just had the feeling like i was having to sit in the stands and hear the game called by some everyday, semi-drunken fan.

Exactly, that's why I find it entertaining in a sick, demented kind of way. I remember once when Harry Carry was announcing and they flashed the NL West standings up. They were using abbreviations..(LA, SD, SF, etc.). Harry says something like (and you just gotta imagine Harry saying this) "..and South Dakota is leading the division by 1 and a half games." My brother-in-law and I still crack up about that.

[dannyjnoonan]

I've been listening to these guys a lot lately and I can't stand Santo. He's epitomizes what's wrong with sports announcers and analysts these days. They hire a guy because he used to play, even though he knows nothing about the game. It's annoying. You hear about Joe Morgan and guys like that, but Santo is even worse. Hughes talks to him like he's a child because he's about as insightful as a child.

 

Also, I looked him up on wikipedia and found this:

 

"In Chicago, Santo is well-loved for his unabashed broadcast enthusiasm, which he reveals with groans and cheers during the game. He also possesses a charming sense of humor... ...Santo and Hughes are also highly regarded among baseball broadcasters."

 

Charming sense of humor? Highly regarded? Huh? Of course, there are no cites to support these statements, even if they were appropriate for an encyclopedia. Maybe they should stop letting Cubs fans edit Wikipedia entries.

[TerraceReserved]

Santo is the worst announcer I've ever heard in my life. In a way I sorta agree with Patrick, it is entertaining just becuase its so grossly bad. I listened to Brewer game on Cardinals radio, and that was pretty solid. But those guys are just terrible. It makes me appreciate having Bob and Jim so much more and we probably take it for granted that we have them. I mean there's Ueker, the most renowned broadcaster in the game, is hilarious, and calls a decent game, and Jim, who I think is great, and although doesn't have the storytelling flair that Bob has makes up for it with a lot better playcalling.

[SeriesFinale]

When I lived in Chicago I found Santo pretty entertaining (and yeah, I did engage in a lot of schaedenfraude with his grunts and moans), and Hughes is fantastic regardless. Mostly though I liked the theme song they had for a few years: "Go Cubs Go on Seven-Two-O...W, G, N!" The Crew needs one of those, and ditch the horns.

[Fatter than Joey]

I've been listening to these guys a lot lately and I can't stand Santo. He's epitomizes what's wrong with sports announcers and analysts these days. They hire a guy because he used to play, even though he knows nothing about the game.

 

I was in Cleveland this last week, so I listened to the Cubs a lot more than usual. Santo does know a lot about the game, I would rather each MLB team have their own Ron Santo than guys like Joe Buck.

 

The noticeable difference that I noticed is how Bob and Jim do a off/on broadcast, where generally only one is talking at a time, and you NEVER hear Bob or Jim in the background when one is calling a play, whereas Hughes and Santo have more of a conversation.

 

If you travel it is sort of neat to listen to homer MLB broadcasts.