This is the 20th season that I have been a member of the St. Louis Cardinals TV production team.
During this tenure, there have been seasons where the team did not perform well, there have been seasons where the club battled but did not quite have enough to win consistently, and there have been seasons where the club could not lose. Our production team has been spoiled by the success of the Cardinals, give or take a season or two, since 1998.
The success of the previous seasons has not been duplicated thus far this season.
The excitement a winning ball club generates cannot be matched. The organization, the fans, and the TV production team all feed off this euphoria. When the team is consistently winning, the TV production team is exhilarated and the energy of the telecasts cannot be matched. Televising the great sport of baseball is a blast in and of itself. Baseball is the greatest sport in the world and televising baseball is the most rewarding of all sports television because capturing this sport on television is the most difficult challenge in all of TV sports production – period.
Directing any sporting event is certainly a challenge. The sports TV production team has one chance to capture every “moment” in a game in the very best way possible. Baseball is the one sport that offers more “moments” than every other sport.
To properly cover a baseball game, the cameras must be situated in a 360 degree fashion around the ball park. The camera must surround the action in order to best “cover” the game. Every other major sport must have the cameras on the same side of the playing surface – 180 degrees.
Certainly, all sports present unique challenges to the TV production team, but no sport is more challenging to the Director than baseball.
I have been very fortunate that I have had the opportunity to direct Major League baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. This organization has consistently put a quality product on the field. I believe that our TV production team has always delivered a product that does two things. One – we have always understood that our viewers are tuning in to watch the greatest game in the world. We have always respected this great game in our telecasts. Two – our production team has always considered it a privilege to be a part of Cardinals baseball.
Not only do we get to televise the greatest game in the world, we get to televise the greatest game in the world for the best organization in the game.
Televising baseball has always been a special treat because the game is so special, but this feeling has always been accentuated because I am not only directing baseball, I am directing Cardinals baseball.
During the telecast tonight, I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be the TV Director of St. Louis Cardinals baseball.
We are in Milwaukee playing the Brewers. The Brewers have not had a winning season since they joined the National League in the mid 1990’s.
This season, however, they have a very good ball club and are currently in first place in the National League Central division by 51/2 games. Since we are in a duel situation during the telecast, I am able listen to the Brewers’ TV Director during the telecast. It is a pleasure listening and watching this Director “cut” a game because he is very talented. But, what was most rewarding and enlightening to me as the telecast went on was the energy this Director exuded as the game went on. He fed off the confidence that the Brewers ball team displayed during the game and he passed this energy on to his crew! Their telecast flowed, the shots were crisp, the replays were immediate, and the energy was infectious.
Watching the Milwaukee Brewers’ telecast team was exhilarating.
I know the feeling.
During this tenure, there have been seasons where the team did not perform well, there have been seasons where the club battled but did not quite have enough to win consistently, and there have been seasons where the club could not lose. Our production team has been spoiled by the success of the Cardinals, give or take a season or two, since 1998.
The success of the previous seasons has not been duplicated thus far this season.
The excitement a winning ball club generates cannot be matched. The organization, the fans, and the TV production team all feed off this euphoria. When the team is consistently winning, the TV production team is exhilarated and the energy of the telecasts cannot be matched. Televising the great sport of baseball is a blast in and of itself. Baseball is the greatest sport in the world and televising baseball is the most rewarding of all sports television because capturing this sport on television is the most difficult challenge in all of TV sports production – period.
Directing any sporting event is certainly a challenge. The sports TV production team has one chance to capture every “moment” in a game in the very best way possible. Baseball is the one sport that offers more “moments” than every other sport.
To properly cover a baseball game, the cameras must be situated in a 360 degree fashion around the ball park. The camera must surround the action in order to best “cover” the game. Every other major sport must have the cameras on the same side of the playing surface – 180 degrees.
Certainly, all sports present unique challenges to the TV production team, but no sport is more challenging to the Director than baseball.
I have been very fortunate that I have had the opportunity to direct Major League baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. This organization has consistently put a quality product on the field. I believe that our TV production team has always delivered a product that does two things. One – we have always understood that our viewers are tuning in to watch the greatest game in the world. We have always respected this great game in our telecasts. Two – our production team has always considered it a privilege to be a part of Cardinals baseball.
Not only do we get to televise the greatest game in the world, we get to televise the greatest game in the world for the best organization in the game.
Televising baseball has always been a special treat because the game is so special, but this feeling has always been accentuated because I am not only directing baseball, I am directing Cardinals baseball.
During the telecast tonight, I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be the TV Director of St. Louis Cardinals baseball.
We are in Milwaukee playing the Brewers. The Brewers have not had a winning season since they joined the National League in the mid 1990’s.
This season, however, they have a very good ball club and are currently in first place in the National League Central division by 51/2 games. Since we are in a duel situation during the telecast, I am able listen to the Brewers’ TV Director during the telecast. It is a pleasure listening and watching this Director “cut” a game because he is very talented. But, what was most rewarding and enlightening to me as the telecast went on was the energy this Director exuded as the game went on. He fed off the confidence that the Brewers ball team displayed during the game and he passed this energy on to his crew! Their telecast flowed, the shots were crisp, the replays were immediate, and the energy was infectious.
Watching the Milwaukee Brewers’ telecast team was exhilarating.
I know the feeling.
posted by Cutting The Game at 10:23 PM
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