I was unable to work with the crew on yesterday’s (Friday) telecast as I was attending a memorial service for a family member.
The game that I missed ended with the score of 14 – 4. There were 20 hits, a 4-run inning, and a 7-run inning. During the eight hour drive home from the service, I was able to listen to the radio broadcast. The visitors scored a single run in the first inning and the home club responded with 4 runs in the first and 2 more in the second inning. I turned to my wife and said, “A game like this is very challenging for the Director. If the game continues at this pace, (the Director) is going to be wiped out at the end of the telecast.” Our regular Producer was cutting the game and our main graphics Producer sat in the Producer’s chair.
A baseball Director can be very challenged by a high scoring game. But I do not think there can be any situation more challenging to a baseball Director than an inning with many runs scored. A game that starts out with many runs in the first few innings can really test the Director. I really felt for the Director in Friday’s telecast because, not only did he cut the first two innings where 7 total runs were scored, he was taxed with a 7-run sixth inning.
I knew how he felt and he validated this today when he told me, “That game wiped me out.”
Today, I showed up at the TV truck looking forward to the telecast because of the starting pitching match-up. The home club was throwing last season’s Cy Young award winner (and a leading candidate for this season) and the starter for the visiting club was also an excellent hurler.
One of the many story lines that we followed during this telecast was the fact that the visiting starter had spent the previous ten years with the home club. I think it is important for a baseball Director to be knowledgeable about the starting pitchers. Do they work fast? How are they with runners on base? The starting pitchers dictate the pace of the game and knowing how the starters work on the mound helps the Producer and Director dictate the pace of the telecast. Because I was covering the home ball club during the ten years this pitcher was a member of the team, I knew how he operated on the mound. And that was another reason I was excited about the telecast. During my career of over 24 years in major league baseball television, I have never seen two pitchers work as fast as the two facing each other today.
As I have stated in previous blogs, there is no better situation for a baseball Director than a well-paced game. This allows the Director to develop a rhythm and maintain a good flow to the show.
Another similarity between these starting pitchers is that they both have devastating curve balls. One of the best replay sequences we aired today was a comparison of the two curve balls. From the tight centerfield camera we showed a ball follow of the home team pitcher’s curveball first then dissolved to the visiting pitcher’s breaking ball. Both pitches were nasty and, with the great camera work and heads up by the tape room, this moment was one of the highlights of the telecast.
The final score of the game was 6 – 1 for the home team and both starting pitchers pitched well. Without taking away from the wonderful talent on the mound today, the three o’clock start presented some difficult shadows on the playing field. During the middle innings of the game, the mound was in the sun and the home plate area was in the shade. This presents a very difficult situation for the batter. With excellent framing from our mid-first camera and good use of the telestrator, (a useful tool that allows the talent to draw on the screen) we were able to show how the shadows created a challenging situation for the batter.
Another memorable moment during the telecast occurred when a player hit his second triple of the game. As the player was rounding second, I cut to the leftfield corner camera which was extremely tight on the runner’s face. I cut back to the ball and then the runner as he slid into third base. The brief moment I was on the face of the runner was nice, but the replay was unbelievable. From midway to second base and all the way to third base, the runner’s face filled the screen. This energetic shot captured the excitement of the play and provided the most thrilling moment of the telecast.
The flow of the past two games couldn’t have been more different.
It is very important for all baseball Directors to try and maintain some kind of flow to the show. The flow of the show is directly tied into the flow of the game.
When there is an all or nothing, herky jerky flow to the game like last night, The Director becomes exhausted trying to maintain some kind of flow, never seemingly able to get there.
When there is a smooth, well paced baseball game with rhythm such as today’s contest, the Director is not exhausted, he is exhilarated.
The game that I missed ended with the score of 14 – 4. There were 20 hits, a 4-run inning, and a 7-run inning. During the eight hour drive home from the service, I was able to listen to the radio broadcast. The visitors scored a single run in the first inning and the home club responded with 4 runs in the first and 2 more in the second inning. I turned to my wife and said, “A game like this is very challenging for the Director. If the game continues at this pace, (the Director) is going to be wiped out at the end of the telecast.” Our regular Producer was cutting the game and our main graphics Producer sat in the Producer’s chair.
A baseball Director can be very challenged by a high scoring game. But I do not think there can be any situation more challenging to a baseball Director than an inning with many runs scored. A game that starts out with many runs in the first few innings can really test the Director. I really felt for the Director in Friday’s telecast because, not only did he cut the first two innings where 7 total runs were scored, he was taxed with a 7-run sixth inning.
I knew how he felt and he validated this today when he told me, “That game wiped me out.”
Today, I showed up at the TV truck looking forward to the telecast because of the starting pitching match-up. The home club was throwing last season’s Cy Young award winner (and a leading candidate for this season) and the starter for the visiting club was also an excellent hurler.
One of the many story lines that we followed during this telecast was the fact that the visiting starter had spent the previous ten years with the home club. I think it is important for a baseball Director to be knowledgeable about the starting pitchers. Do they work fast? How are they with runners on base? The starting pitchers dictate the pace of the game and knowing how the starters work on the mound helps the Producer and Director dictate the pace of the telecast. Because I was covering the home ball club during the ten years this pitcher was a member of the team, I knew how he operated on the mound. And that was another reason I was excited about the telecast. During my career of over 24 years in major league baseball television, I have never seen two pitchers work as fast as the two facing each other today.
As I have stated in previous blogs, there is no better situation for a baseball Director than a well-paced game. This allows the Director to develop a rhythm and maintain a good flow to the show.
Another similarity between these starting pitchers is that they both have devastating curve balls. One of the best replay sequences we aired today was a comparison of the two curve balls. From the tight centerfield camera we showed a ball follow of the home team pitcher’s curveball first then dissolved to the visiting pitcher’s breaking ball. Both pitches were nasty and, with the great camera work and heads up by the tape room, this moment was one of the highlights of the telecast.
The final score of the game was 6 – 1 for the home team and both starting pitchers pitched well. Without taking away from the wonderful talent on the mound today, the three o’clock start presented some difficult shadows on the playing field. During the middle innings of the game, the mound was in the sun and the home plate area was in the shade. This presents a very difficult situation for the batter. With excellent framing from our mid-first camera and good use of the telestrator, (a useful tool that allows the talent to draw on the screen) we were able to show how the shadows created a challenging situation for the batter.
Another memorable moment during the telecast occurred when a player hit his second triple of the game. As the player was rounding second, I cut to the leftfield corner camera which was extremely tight on the runner’s face. I cut back to the ball and then the runner as he slid into third base. The brief moment I was on the face of the runner was nice, but the replay was unbelievable. From midway to second base and all the way to third base, the runner’s face filled the screen. This energetic shot captured the excitement of the play and provided the most thrilling moment of the telecast.
The flow of the past two games couldn’t have been more different.
It is very important for all baseball Directors to try and maintain some kind of flow to the show. The flow of the show is directly tied into the flow of the game.
When there is an all or nothing, herky jerky flow to the game like last night, The Director becomes exhausted trying to maintain some kind of flow, never seemingly able to get there.
When there is a smooth, well paced baseball game with rhythm such as today’s contest, the Director is not exhausted, he is exhilarated.
posted by Cutting The Game at 5:33 PM
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