Rating MLB play-by-play and color analysts: The AL Central

In AL Central television booths, the true stars are the MLB color analysts.  As a group, they possess two plaques in Cooperstown, an MVP, a World Series MVP, a Cy Young, and a Manager of the Year.

Then of course there’s Rex Hudler, whose credentials include…well, nobody’s really sure what Hudler’s credentials are. But he’s entertaining.

Rating the MLB broadcasters – the AL Central

Play-by-play and color analysts are important because the vast majority of baseball fans enjoy the sport through the eyes and lips of their favorite team’s announcing crew. Although this is particularly true in a Covid-driven era of limited in-stadium attendance, it’s really been substantially so since widespread access to televised games became available anywhere and any time through various media.

But that, in turn, means that a lot of the buzz we draw from a game hinges on the skill, passion, knowledge, and oratorical talents of each team’s MLB telecasters. As in any field, some are better than others.

In the series that enters its third installment here, each team’s primary TV crew is rated based on six criteria that are important to fan enjoyment of a game. The criteria are:

1.       Experience: How deep and constant is the attachment between the announcing crew and the team?

2.       Likeability: Does the announcing crew genuinely come across as people a fan might enjoy spending an afternoon or evening with?

3.       Knowledge: This criterion does not require description.

4.       Humor: Does the announcing crew make an appropriate effort to entertain without being clownish?

5.       Rapport: Do members of the announcing crew seem to get along easily with one another?

6.       Oratory: Do members of the announcing crew evince a comfort level with proper techniques of English language delivery?

Focusing only on TV announcing crews – they’re the ones most readily available on more than a regional basis – the evaluation considers the main play-by-play announcer plus the principal color commentators or, if you prefer, expert analysts.

This analysis specifically does not consider pre-game or post-game personalities, or in-stadium interviewers.

We’re going to approach the task in six parts, one installment for each division. You can find the first two installments, dealing with the AL and NL East, here.

Today’s subject is the AL Central. Announcing teams can receive a max score of five points in each category: with six categories that make 30 points a perfect score.