There was a comfortable flow to the telecast tonight.
All the action in the game occurred in one inning. The Cardinals won the game 5-0 and scored all their runs in the third inning.
The left fielder for the San Diego padres was the center of attraction in tonight’s game. He dropped a ball he should have caught and he almost caught a ball he shouldn’t have caught. Both of these plays occurred in the third inning and both of these plays decided the outcome of the game.
The replays on our telecast of this action from the third inning were excellent. The angles that we aired on the ball that should have been caught by the left fielder showed precisely why the ball should have been caught. The replays on the ball the left fielder almost caught were precise in depicting how great a catch this play could have been. This player traveled a long way and almost came up with a spectacular catch.
The third inning of this contest was the only inning that tested our crew in the TV truck and we nailed it.
Unlike our wonderful telecast from last night, tonight, our crew could not find any memorable nuggets. This camera crew in San Diego is one of the hardest working crews in Major League Baseball and if there is a story to be found, they will find it.
The nicest aspect of televising Major League Baseball is the fact that it is the “game” that determines the response from the TV crew in the mobile production unit. When televising a “live” baseball game, there is no script. The production team in the truck cannot and MUST NOT come to the TV mobile unit before a telecast and say, “We are going to air this in the telecast today/tonight.”
It is beneficial for the telecast team to have production elements “in the can” before a show goes on the air because, when these elements are apropos to the game, their insertion into the telecast improves the quality of the production.
However, nothing diminishes the quality of a sports television production more than when a production element is forced into the show.
(“I have built it therefore I am airing it” is a common attitude of the inexperienced.)
Unfortunately, for our team in the TV truck, this game refused to deliver any memorable moments apart from the action of the third inning.
This particular game featured an excellent performance from the Cardinals’ starting pitcher. This career reliever, turned starter, was the major story line of the telecast. The video packages we aired in the telecast focused on this particular players’ performance.
This telecast was mistake free.
The show flowed from beginning to end.
When the game warranted a reply, we aired a replay.
When the telecast warranted a sponsor promo or a paid drop-in, they aired.
Not once did a “paid” item in the telecast take precedence over a replay. In fact, not once in the telecast did the Producer make a decision between the replay and the “paid” item.
This telecast covered a well-played, well-pitched game that the Cardinals won.
This telecast flowed from beginning to end.
Apart from two plays in the third inning, we were never seriously tested in the TV truck.
After we signed off the air, the Producer looked at me and said, “Gosh that was boring.”
He was right.