Rating the TV booths: The AL West
By Bill Felber
Oakland Athletics: Glen Kuiper, play-by-play; Ray Fosse, Dallas Braden, color.
Kuiper took over MLB play-by-play duties in 2005 when long-time announcer Bill King died. Replacing a legend is never easy, and King was very much a legend in Oakland.
Yet Kuiper, with a smooth, informed delivery and easy-going manner, has endeared himself both to Bay Area fans and also – this is the big tribute – to mere casual fans who lack a rooting interest in the A’s themselves.
Fosse, a former catcher most famous for being run over by Pete Rose in the 1970 All Star Game, is the principal game analyst. He’s had that role for three decades now.
There is more than a bit of goofball in Braden, now in his third season as an analyst after wrapping up a pitching career that included a perfect game. But don’t be fooled by the long hair, scruffy beard and sometimes off-the-wall personality; Braden’s contributions demonstrate that he knows precisely what he’s doing.
That makes him the perfect complement to Fosse’s more straightforward approach, and also fits in superbly with Kuiper’s easy-going telecast manner.
In short, the Athletics’ booth hits all the points: It is clever, harmonious, articulate, breezy and superbly informed.
Experience: 5
Likeability: 5
Knowledge: 5
Humor: 5
Rapport: 5
Oratory: 5
Total: 30