Marlin Maniac interview with Miami Marlins Glenn Geffner

MM: Makes sense. And will admit to having watched, not listened to that one. But I promise I alternate! Anyway, if I can ask, what made you choose sports radio?

GG: I don’t think of myself as a “sports radio” guy. I consider myself a “Baseball” guy. Baseball, and specifically baseball broadcasting, has been a passion of mine since I was 7 or 8, growing up in Miami. At a time before ESPN and before you could pick and choose what game you were going to watch when and on what device, I’d watch Joe Garagiola and Tony Kubek on the Game of the Week every Saturday as a kid.

If it was the Red Sox and the Yankees, I’d lay out my Red Sox and Yankees baseball cards and call the game in my bedroom, using statistics off the back of the cards. Baseball was the one sport I played as a kid, but I knew pretty early on I wasn’t going to get to the big leagues as a player.

Fortunately, I also realized there are other ways to get there. Journalism experiences I had in high school (at Palmetto) and broadcast experiences I had in college at Northwestern laid the groundwork that got me a Triple-A internship and eventually a full-time job right out of college.

Eventually that led to big league opportunities with the Padres, the Red Sox and, for the last 10 years, with the Miami Marlins, my hometown team that didn’t even exist when I was growing up in Miami. I’m a sports fan, but baseball is my passion. My dream was never to work in sports radio. It was to work in baseball.

And it was specifically to be on the radio. I understand there are more eyes tuned to TV than there are ears on the radio these days, but the artistry of baseball on the radio has held a special place in my heart since listening to Phil Rizutto, Bill White and Frank Messer call Yankees games on WIOD in Miami when I was a kid.

You’ve got to paint a picture. You’ve got to tell the story. If you don’t say something, it literally did not happen as far as your listeners are concerned. I love that, and it’s a responsibility I take extremely seriously.

MM:   And it’s definitely appreciated. Besides Marlins Park of course, do you have a favorite stadium to visit? Are there any you actually haven’t seen, and if so, what’s at the top of the wish list?

GG: I’ve been to every current park except Sun Trust Park, the new home of the Braves, but we’ll get there this weekend. I think that will make it 52 different ballparks in which I’ve seen regular season Major League game over the years. If I had to pick one favorite (other than Marlins Park, as you suggested), it would have to be Fenway.

I’m obviously a bit biased, having spent five years with the Red Sox and having been lucky enough to be along for the ride for the historic World Series win in 2004 and the second post-1918 championship in 2007. Fenway is aesthetically spectacular with the Green Monster and the Citgo sign and Boston skyline in the distance. The energy level there has to be experienced to be understood. And you can feel the history that oozes out of every corner of the park.

Even with all of the updates they’ve done there to make the park so much more fan-friendly, it’s still basically the same ballpark where the greatest legends in the history of the game have played for more than a century. There’s no where like it in my opinion. That said, of the newer ballparks, I’ve always loved Camden Yards, the park that 25 years ago began the trend of building new ballparks with an old-time feel and modern amenities.

I love Petco in San Diego for all that has sprung up around it and the fact that it’s simply in San Diego, which is so spectacular. We just left PNC Park in Pittsburgh, which has—in my estimation–the greatest view in Baseball. And I love Dodger Stadium. The first time I walked into Dodger Stadium, I felt like I’d seen 1,000 games there. There was such a familiar feel to it. There’s a magic there that the great Dodgers tradition (and one of my favorite uniforms in Baseball) certainly plays into. 

As for parks I never had a chance to see, I’ve always been intrigued by Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. I actually drove by the site where it stood at one point years ago. I would have loved to have seen a game there. Heck, if I could go back in time, I’d have loved to be a baseball fan in New York in the 1950s with the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants and countless Hall of Famers in their primes. 

MM:  Nice, definitely some common ground there. Petco is probably my favorite road stadium so far, love that green space around the Tony Gwynn statue. And no arguments on the PNC view either, it’s basically like stepping into a video game. Ballpark chasing and all the related fun is a passion of mine- 19 and counting after Safeco this April- so one more travel question.

Always have been curious just how much time you guys on the Miami Marlins broadcasting side get to check out the different cities on the road?

GG: First, because I’ve been to these cities so many times over 21 years in the majors, it’s not like I haven’t already seen or done virtually anything that’s of personal interest in most cities. Beyond that though, I think most people would be surprised how little downtime we have on the road.

The occasional off day in the right city can be a lot of fun. I love to see a show and get a great dinner in New York or wander aimlessly in Seattle, things like that. But without a day off, when you’re playing 6 games in 6 days on a typical trip, you’re getting back to the hotel around 11:30 or midnight after an average night game.

I usually have something to eat and work for a while, so I’m up pretty late. By the time I get a little sleep and get some more work done the next morning, I try to spend a little time at the gym most days and grab lunch before heading out to the park. There are certain cities and certain occasions where I may try to work ahead a little, sleep a little less, skip the gym and do something fun.

But that happens a lot less than many might think. The things we look forward to the most on the road are day games when you don’t have to travel after so we can get a great meal.

MM:  Obviously you have a dream job to most fans. What’s the hardest part of it we’re not thinking of?

GG: The fact that I have a job that a lot of people think they’d like to have–and one that I dreamed about having as a kid–isn’t lost on me, so I try not to dwell on the drawbacks very much. The one thing I’d say though is I’ve got a wife and 3 children and am unavailable to them about 90 percent of the time between mid-February and October.

Because I’m traveling half the time and hardly in the house even when we’re at home, I miss a lot of family stuff. From games my kids have played, to dance recitals, school plays, parent-teacher conferences, trips to the emergency room, stuff like that. I’m just not able to be around.

So, to me, the biggest challenge is the personal challenge as a guy who really likes his wife and kids. That’s why I’ve made the decision not to do anything in the offseason. I know there are football and basketball games to call, but it’s really important to me to be all-in with my family in the offseason, to do my best to make up for lost time the rest of the year, especially with my kids at the ages they are now.

MM:  And just the best part of it?

GG:  The best part of it for me comes at 7:10 every night. I do this because I love baseball, so I enjoy the games. I enjoy the fact that no matter how many games you’ve seen, there’s a chance you may see something for the first time tonight, maybe something you’d never thought about.

Maybe even something historic. The prep work is the hard part. The hours are long day after day after day. But actually calling the game is easier than all the homework that goes into being ready. I remember Roger Clemens saying he worked so hard between starts that the day he pitched was actually his easy day. That’s how I feel about calling the games. That’s the fun part of the day for me. 

MM:  Take us through the thought process going into the broadcast booth. Is there a particular experience you want to communicate every time to listeners? How much of what you do is true of every Miami Marlins broadcast, and how much changes game to game?

GG: That’s an interesting question. I’ll start with this: I do the same basic prep work for every Miami Marlins game, my daily stat work, my daily reading and my daily conversations. Just like a lot of players, I’m a creature of habit, and I have my daily routine.

Beyond that, my thought process is pretty consistent day-to-day. For one thing, you can go into a game with a plan, but you have to be quick to adjust because you never know where the game is going to take you. I’m very conscious of the fact people tune in because they want to know how the game is going.  They’re not turning in to a talk show to listen to us. It’s not about the broadcasters. It’s about the team, and it’s about the game.

Our job is to describe what’s happening on the field. That’s first and foremost. In doing that, the goal is to hopefully add a little insight and perspective that makes the game more enjoyable and interesting. Whether it’s statistical or anecdotal, historical, analytical whatever it may be, I look at what we do as trying to supplement a fan’s enjoyment of the game.

This game is 1 of 162. There was one last night. There’ll be another one tomorrow night. How can I put tonight’s 9 innings into context? Why does this game matter? It may or may not matter in the standings, but there are always reasons why games matter. Maybe part of that is explaining what a big deal it is that Gift Ngoepe is at second base for the Pirates tonight.

Maybe it’s talking about Daniel Nava‘s remarkable journey to the big leagues. Maybe it’s trying to answer the question why is Dee Gordon getting hit so much more this year than he has in the past, or why Marcell Ozuna‘s production has jumped from one year to the next.

Maybe it’s helping people understand how hard a pitcher worked to get back on a big league mound after missing a year, or why Jeff Locke has the Luis Tiant-style back turn in his delivery. Whatever it may be, the hope is that after listening to one of our games on the radio, people will feel like they’ve got a little more insight into what’s happening with the Miami Marlins and maybe why it’s happening.  

Next: Marlins at Braves: Three Stories

That’s a wrap for chapter one. Stay tuned for the rest of our interview with Miami Marlins broadcaster Glenn Geffner. And while we’re at it, let’s all hope he enjoys his time at Stadium # 52.