On The Radio Ep. 1

Most of the regular Friar Phil followers know that radio broadcast of baseball games. Most nights I am tuned into 97.3 The Fan listening to Ted, Jesse, Tony and most recently Mark Grant. I started taking one day out of each away series to listen to the opposing team's radio broadcast via my At Bat app.

Not only do I get another perspective I also get to know a little more about the city and the stadium we are playing in. I should have started to do this kind of post back in April....well better late than never, I guess!

SERIES ONE: PADRES VS. MARLINS

As you know we are playing a three game series with the Miami Marlins. It gives me the chance to listen to a Hall of Fame (yes the one in Cooperstown) play-by-play broadcaster Dave Van Horne.

According to the Marlins broadcasters page:

Dave Van Horne enters his 53rd year broadcasting professional baseball, his 50th at the Major League level and his 18th year with the Marlins. In 2011, he was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award in ceremonies at Cooperstown.

His baseball broadcast career began in the International League where he broadcast Richmond Braves games. In 1969, he was named to serve as the lead play-by-play broadcaster for the Montreal Expos games on the English radio network. He spent 32 years as the primary Expos voice on the teams radio and television broadcasts.

During Dave's Major League broadcast career, he's been behind the mic for 14 no hitters, including three perfect games. He also had the opportunity to call the 3000th hits for Willie Mays and Tony Gwynn, also Pete Rose's 1,500th, 3000th and 4,000th hits. He called record breaking strikeouts by Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton. When Andre Dawson hit two home runs in one inning, twice, Dave was behind the microphone. Other career highlights include the Marlins exciting 2003 season, capped by the World Series Championship.

Van Horne's partner, in the radio booth, is a man some Padres fans may remember. His name is Glenn Gefffner.

2018 marks Miami native Glenn Geffner's 11th season as a member of the Marlins radio broadcast team, his 22nd season in the Major Leagues and his 27th year in professional baseball as a broadcaster and front office executive.

Geffner, who called games for the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres prior to his 2008 return to South Florida, owns the rare distinction of having done baseball play-by-play at every level-from college, to Single-A, Double-A, Triple-A, and the Major Leagues.

He's broadcast the World Series; 6 no-hitters, including Roy Halladay's 2010 perfect game; Rookie of the Year and MVP seasons; and various significant Major League milestones, including Ichiro Suzuki's 3,000th hit in 2016.

Over the years, he has shared the booth with a pair of Baseball Hall of Fame broadcasters, 2011 Ford C. Frick Award winner Dave Van Horne with the Marlins and 2005 honoree Jerry Coleman with the Padres. In Boston, Glenn worked alongside Frick Award finalist and Red Sox Hall of Famer Joe Castiglione.

SERIES TWO: PADRES VS. CARDINALS

In the Cardinals radio booth sits another man that should be in the Hall of Fame. His name is Mike Shannon.

Mike Shannon, is broadcasting his 46th season on the Cardinals radio network. Throughout his years as a broadcaster for the Cardinals,

The Cardinals broadcaster page says,:

A St. Louis native, Shannon broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals in 1962 and became the Cardinals regular right fielder during the 1964 World Championship season. During the 1964 Series opener vs. New York, Shannon hit a game-tying, two-run homer off Whitey Ford as St. Louis went on to defeat the Yankees in seven games. In 1967 Shannon was moved to third base to make room for newly acquired right fielder Roger Maris, as the Cardinals went on to win two straight National League pennants in 1967 and '68 as well as the 1967 World Series.

His career was cut short by a kidney disease, in 1970. He joined the Cardinals front office in 1971 as assistant director of promotions and sales and entered the broadcast booth in 1972, where he has remained. His many years with the organization give Shannon a unique insight in his commentary. He was honored at the end of the 2007 season for his 50 years of service with the club.

Shannon has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career. A gifted athlete, he was a High School All - American football player, and in 1957 was named Missouri Prep Player of the Year in both basketball and football - the only player ever to receive both in the same year. He was named St. Louis Ambassador's 1993 Sportsman of the Year, received the 1985 Emmy for Sports Broadcasting, ST. Louis Chapter and received the Sportscaster of the Year award for the state of Missouri from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) in 2002, 2003, and 2014.

In 1999, Shannon was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his popularity and performance on the air and as a player on the field. In May 2013, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame named Shannon a Missouri Sports Legend, the 26th such honor given. In 2009, he was selected to be a member of the Academy of Missouri Squires and was honored as the St. Louis Press Club Media Person of the Year.

He was 1 of 4 inductees honored at the inaugural Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.

Given his career as Cardinals radio man I am surprised that he was not nominated in Cooperstown. He is 77 and I would hope they would do it while he is still alive! He is currently only broadcasting home games as of the 2016 season. Click here for more on Mike.

Mike's co-host on the radio home games and lead play-by-play man on away games is John Rooney.

John Rooney is in his 12th of broadcasting Cardinals games. Rooney, a Richmond, Mo. native, came to St. Louis from the Chicago White Sox where he spent 18 years (1988-2005) - one in TV and 17 seasons following in the radio booth. The Cardinals World Championship crown in 2006 gave John the privilege of working with the World Champion team in back-to-back seasons, following the White Sox win in 2005.

Rooney, 61, called his first major league game in 1983 with Shannon and Hall of Fame Broadcaster Jack Buck during a three-game series between the Cardinals and host Cincinnati Reds. He began his baseball broadcasting career at the class AAA level, spending the 1981-82 seasons with the Oklahoma 89ers and the 1983-84 campaigns with the Louisville Redbirds.

John juggled two stints in the 1980's as a sports reporter for KMOX around his baseball broadcasting and serving as the voice of Missouri Tigers football and basketball on radio and TV for 20 seasons. His major league baseball radio assignments have included the Division Series (1995-97, 2002-03), League Championship Series (1987-97), All-Star Games (1990-1998), World Series (1987-97), and the FOX Saturday afternoon "Game of the Week" (1996-98).

Rooney was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in February 2004.

Another member of the radio team is Mike Claiborne.

Mike Claiborne is covering his 35th year of St. Louis sports in 2018. He began his time at KMOX in February of 1981 co-hosting "Sports Open Line." His various duties in St. Louis have consisted of being a color analyst, providing play-by-play, a studio analyst and sideline reporter for St. Louis University Basketball, UM St. Louis Basketball, St. Louis Blues Hockey, St. Louis Rams, Fox Sports Midwest and the St. Louis Cardinals.This is Mike's 10th year as a part of the radio Cardinals Broadcast team with Mike Shannon and John Rooney. Their work together includes the pregame show, play-by-play and Star of the Game.

COMING JUNE 14, 2018: SERIES THREE OF THIS THREE TEAM AWAY GAME SET FEATURING THE ATLANTA BRAVES BROADCASTERS!

#radio