This past week I attended a sports broadcasting camp at Waynesburg University run by former Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare. It was a fantastic experience and I learned a lot about just how hard being a good announcer is. There has to be a lot of time spent preparing, and so much research has to be done in order to give your audience the best information possible. For example, on Thursday, the last night of camp, all of us attending the camp were able to do play-by-play as well as color for the Washington Wild Things game. We were each split into groups of two and each got to announce 2 innings of the game. Announcing the game itself was easy, but the hardest part of the whole thing was doing the research. We had to find interesting information on every player from both teams, and that took some time. Broadcasting is so much harder than people think, and the guys that decide to do it for a living deserve a lot of credit. I cannot write about everything I learned (interview techniques, announcing timing and etiquette, journalism, promotional announcements) because this post would take forever to read. I will say that anybody interested in a career in sports broadcasting, I highly recommend attending the Waynsesburg University Sports Broadcasting Camp.
It has been a while since I have written about the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they are playing as well right now as I have ever seen them play under Clint Hurdle. Gerrit Cole is the best pitcher in baseball right now, and Charlie Morton, AJ Burnett, Franscio Liriano and even Jeff Locke, who struggled through the first 2 months of the season, are pitching at a very high level as well. Everything is clicking. The offense is hitting in key situations, with Jordy Mercer being the only real disappointment in the lineup. The Bucs bullpen is also on fire, with Tony Watson and Mark Melancon being arguably the best 8th and 9th inning combination in the game. The Pirates swept the Phillies in 3 games and the White Sox in 4, with every game featuring a stellar pitching performance. Although the Bucs had their 8 game winnig streak snapped in Washington last night, things are getting real interesting in the NL Central. The Pirates are behind St. Louis by 5 games, but the way the Bucs are playing, it might nit be too long before we have a really competitive division race on our hands. Pittsburgh is in line for a home Wildcard game at the moment, but a division title would be ideal. Buckle up fans, because this summer is going to be fun.
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