Sorry For The Baseball

Long before the invention of the television whole families would listen to the radio. They would listen to dramas, comedies and, of course, baseball. In big and large communities, men, boys and sometimes women gathered around the radio to hear the game their team was playing that day. Radio allowed people that lived far away from their favorite team access to the play-by-play.

When I was a boy I grew to like the radio play-by-play better than the television broadcast. If I was home I would turn on Channel 9 (the Mets flagship TV station) and lower the volume on the TV as I listened to my portable radio in my headphones. Those days, with the heat of summer and me laying on our expansive front lawn with my baseball hat on, are some of the fondest memories of my youth.

Those memories are why, in 2017, I am a baseball play-by-play on radio phanatic.

We all know that, for some reason beyond comprehension, the Padres did not renew the contract for the Mighty 1090. Since I have been in San Diego sports station 1090am has done stellar work with covering the Padres, the play-by-play in the booth and the pre and post game coverage. In my opinion, the Padres ditching a real sports station like the Mighty 1090 was a slap in the face for that station, the on-air personalities (like Coach John Ketera) and for those of us that are old fashion and love baseball on the radio done the right way.

Instead the contract was awarded to the parent company that owns 94.9 FM- an alternative music station. Clearly not a sports station and a seemingly odd choice for the Padres game broadcasts to land on. I read that the same parent company that owns 94.9 also is contracted to be the Boston Red Sox radio home. So I think there was a little of "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours" going on.

Like it or not local Padres Network radio is on 94.9 FM. They have a Padres page located here.

All well and good but I have a bone to pick with 94.9 FM.

On the Padres radio broadcast 94.9 runs a spot (ad) that tells listeners to get their app to listen to music so they won't have to suffer through the horrible (my words) Padres baseball games.

To me it is like they are apologizing for having to interupt their music because of a game that their parent company was contracted to play. I understand it to a certain extent but I think it is kind of tacky during the game. It comes off like "sorry for this bullshit we have to broadcast. Go to our app and listen to music there so you are not bothered with the baseball game".

I understand that 94.9 FM is primarily a music station so it makes sense advertising the app. But the spot (that radio talk for commercial) could have and should have a different script.

If they want to plug their app during the games they obviously have the right to but the spot should just inform the baseball listeners about their app and not making it sound like do that instead of listening to the damn baseball game.

In my mind that would be sensible. Just do a quick spot about the app. People who do not want to hear Padres baseball can figure out the alternative themself. Likewise, this music station is now getting thousands of new Padre fans listening and aware of their station.

Maybe I am too damn picky but that is how that spot comes off to me...it says "Sorry For The Baseball" and that's a damn shame given the fact that we had a REAL sports station like Mighty 1090 am for years before this season!

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#baseball #sportsradio #Padres