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Miller
Time
ESPN
Baseball Announcer Talks With ArmchairQB.com
About Broadcasting The Game He Knows And Loves
 In
the past quarter of a century, the inimitable Jon Miller has established
himself as one of the best broadcasters in baseball.
A fixture on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball since 1990, the San Francisco
native joined his beloved Giants in late 1996 as a radio and television
announcer.
As spring training approached, AQB spoke with Miller to get his
thoughts on broadcasting the game he loves.
Part Two (Click
here for Part One)
What unique challenges did you
face when you moved to NL duty after so much time broadcasting AL
games?
The biggest challenge was going to towns like Cincinnati or Pittsburgh
for three or four days at a time. I've been to all the towns with
ESPN but I wasn't used to spending several days there.
Other than that I grew up in San Francisco as a Giants fan so I
had great, up-close knowledge of the franchise. It was tough
to replace a great broadcaster, Hank Greenwald, who had retired
and whom the people loved greatly.
Is it difficult going from radio to television
and vice versa?
Not really. With the Giants, every game that's on TV I go on TV
for three innings, anyway. The great thing (about being) on the
radio is you feel like you're talking directly to the listener
and it's incumbent upon you to give that person everything they
need to enjoy the game. Television, because of the pictures, the
viewer doesn't actually need us.
Television is really the analyst's medium, where the fans
really want inside info from a guy like a Joe Morgan. It seems there
are too many telecasts on a local basis where all the emphasis is
on the interaction between the play-by-play man and the analyst.
On radio, it's the play-by-play man's job to keep the viewer focused
on what's going on. On television, because of the pictures, you
don't have to do that.
How has your partner, Joe Morgan, made
you a better announcer?
This'll be our 10th year together on Sunday night baseball and the
fact is we're synonomous with Sunday night baseball. Jon and
Joe. Not Jon or Joe and I like that. I feel like we've kind
of built this up together. We have a mutual love of the game, a
mutual passion for game. We come from different backgrounds and
I think that's good.
When fans get something from Joe, I get it as well. Joe always
is fresh, never gets tired of it. He could turn the broadcast into
a clinic, if he wanted to. But fans want more than instruction,
and I guess that's when I come in. If it was just me or just Joe,
we'd miss each other. Joe is fond of saying he's not a journalist
or a broadcaster - he's a ballplayer.
If you couldn't broadcast a game and had
to listen to one person perform the task, on TV or radio, who would
it be?
If I had a big game on the radio and I were in the audience I'd
definitely want to hear Vin Scully. Absolutely. If it was on
television, I don't think you could have one, I'd want Joe as the
analyst and I think I'd want Vinny on that too. The hell with it.
Joe and Harry (Caray). Put Harry on, I'd watch him.
Would you consider leaving ESPN to do the World Series on television?
I'm doing it now on radio. I feel like I got the best deal
compared with Joe Buck. It's great to do play-by-play on the radio.
I absolutely don't care about (doing the World Series on television).
If one day I had the chance I wouldn't mind doing TV. But, in terms
of what I'd like to do, I'd prefer to keep it where it is.
What was your first reaction when you heard
Cal Ripken decided to end his games-played streak?
We were originally supposed to do that game. We were flying out
of Chicago because I had broadcast Sammy Sosa Day at Wrigley. Sammy
didn't hit any but Bret Boone hit two. Then I flew back to San Francisco
with Joe. I got in the car at the airport, turned on the radio and
they were talking about Cal missing the game. I didn't know what
the hell they were talking about. I'm sorry I wasn't there for
it because I would've liked to cover it.
On the other hand, I was glad I wasn't there for it. All 14 years
I was in Baltimore Cal was the starting shortstop. I never even
checked the lineup card. If I'd done the game he sat out, I might've
missed it until I put it in my scorebook.
I was glad to see him take a day off - it was time for him to
relax. I think you might see a better year from him this season
because he'll be able to sit out a Sunday day game after a Saturday
night game. Or he can sit out a travel game so he's ready for a
road trip. The toll of playing every day is much more mental than
physical. I'd like to see him play maybe 140 games and take 20 off.
When did you start wearing the colorful
ties you are known for on ESPN?
I was tie illiterate. Thirty seconds after meeting with somebody
I wouldn't know if they had a colorful tie, a sophisticated tie
or if they were wearing a tie. Larry King gave me a tie back
in 1990...it was a Nicole Miller tie with baseball tickets.
I thought it was nice gesture so I decided to wear it. I saw myself
on the monitor and thought 'Wow that looks like it has neon on it.'
I always had to wear a dark blazer on ESPN so I thought, a colorul
tie - 'that's not a bad idea.'
Now I'm a tie junkie and can't pass a men's store without going
in. I really look for a tie strictly on how it will look on TV.
A lot of people will see this tie and they'll turn and say 'Hey
honey, come look at this tie,' and, by the time they look at me
again, I'm off the air.
Your ESPN buddy, Charley Steiner, told
me I should ask you about your fascination with big ships. What's
the deal?
I
like the old oceanliners...the really big ones. My kids, who were
all making fun of me for the various items I've collected, had renewed
respect after Titanic came out...'Wow, Dad you were ahead
of the curve on this one.'
Jon, thanks very much for taking the
time to talk to us. Enjoy the season and we'll talk to you down
the road.
Thanks very much.
Click
here to read part one of AQB's interview
Click here to read AQB's review of Jon Miller's
book
Photo courtesy of ESPN.com
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