The Scully Series 2021 (Mini Series):Toronto Blue Jays

Welcome back to another edition of ‘The Scully Series’! After a successful relaunch on opening week, I received some terrific feedback from you, the readers, with some opinions on Twitter. When I started this series, my main goal was to expand the conversation on what brings out the emotional aspects of baseball. It’s terrific to hear others share memorable moments they’ve cherished throughout their lives that have come by listening to a game.

REFRESH* Oh, the good old days of listening to baseball broadcasts on your local radio station. As a fan, you’re partial to your hometown crew because of familiarity. As almost an extension of your family or a longtime friend, some of the greatest MLB broadcasters have a unique place in the hearts of millions of baseball fans. Are you one of the people that have the misfortune of being in a market that has a substandard color team? But here’s a thought! Have you ever said to yourself, “I wonder what other teams’ broadcast booths sound like?”

With an MLB.TV subscription, we have the capability to listen, rate, and rank every team’s broadcasters. With an homage to the best to ever do it, we have nicknamed this “The Scully Series.”  The best part is that you can do this as well along with us from the comfort of your home. Let us dive in…

 

Toronto Blue Jays

 

Announcers: Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman & Hazel Mae

 

Play-by-Play

 

Before sitting down and listening to a Blue Jays game, I had no idea about the star-studded broadcast booth in Toronto. Three household names on a national level. Dan Shulman, who used to work the Sunday Night baseball games on ESPN a few years back, Buck Martinez, who has seemingly been involved with numerous positions throughout the last fifteen years, and Hazel Mae, MLB Network’s own. The speed of the game is positioned well with this combination. Shulman maintains a level-setting play-by-play that is able to effortlessly break away from the casual conversation and jump back perfectly into the action. Buck Martinez provides a fairly decent amount of commentary on a per at-bat basis, but there is not an earth-shattering value add for most of his comments.

Rating: B+

 

Storytelling, Modern Adaptations, History

 

For as much experience as this booth has in their careers, the storytelling aspect of these broadcasters leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe it’s due to the fact that Martinez hasn’t been a player for so long, or the fact that he’s just run out of stories, but there is just an overall boringness at times during the calls. Consistently hearing something of the ilk “he’s a guy that would love to get something going” or just completely repeating the call from Shulman, but Martinez doesn’t add much for my personal excitement. The stories that are told seem rather bland and old as well, not necessarily relating the current state of baseball to a few generations back when he used to step foot on the diamond as a player. Rating: C+

 

Likeability / Ease of Listening Rating 

 

A likeability and ease of listening are able to really separate themselves as categories here. Dan Shulman is able to really carry the load in the personality department. I’m used to hearing the voice from previous jobs, and I usually find myself able to start to multitask while listening to Shulman. He does an excellent job of having a descriptive call without overloading the listener with useless information. Martinez’s voice doesn’t stumble and at least he is competent when speaking. Hazel Mae provides a spark off the bench whenever they turn the cast over to her; a traditional reporter aspect and able to shed light on feel-good stories.   Rating: A-

 

Signature Calls

 

Shulman isn’t known for many signature calls. He’s had large moments & important games, but as with most multi-sport broadcasters, there isn’t a catch phrase that really sticks with fans. Even on exciting plays, Shulman doesn’t really get too worked up, but we may be able to chalk that up to his national experience and not wanting to have a rooting interest one way or the other Rating: C

Since this is an exploratory series that will be continued throughout the season. let me know in the comments if you’d like to see other categories or concepts discussed. I’d love input to incorporate into future team reviews. Hope to have your eyes and ears throughout the 2021 season.

 

Illustration and image by J.R. Caines (@JRCainesDesign on Twitter and @caines_design on Instagram)