Marlin Maniac interview with Miami Marlins Glenn Geffner

The following is the first installment of a two-part interview with Miami Marlins radio broadcaster Glenn Geffner. 

Happy weekend Miami Marlins fans! As part of our efforts to continue to bring you a unique look inside of Marlins baseball, I recently took the time to sit down with team radio broadcaster Glenn Geffner.

Alright, by sitting down I mean sat at my computer and wrote him an email. In fact, I might have been standing up. Had a sore back for awhile there. But I digress.

Glenn was kind enough to get back to me immediately, and was really anxious to provide answers as detailed as possible for the benefit of our readers. Questions range from the in the broadcast booth experience, to the on the field Marlins, and plenty of baseball in between. I hope some of the things I had to know you did as well, and that in your estimation we picked some winners.

And after it was over, as cool as I used to think teaching writing was, I have to say Mr. Geffner might have me beat here on the awesome job scale.

I’ll leave it to you to decide how your own profession measures up.

MM: Greetings and Salutations, Glenn. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. How are you, and where are you for that matter?

GG:  I’m great, Sean. Thanks. As I answer this question, I’m on the Miami Marlins charter at about 35,000 feet, somewhere between Pittsburgh and Miami. I spend a lot of time in the air (almost as much as ON the air) between April and October, so I try to make good use of the time up here. 

MM: First off, need to ask about what remains one of the season’s top highlights: on the weirdness scale, where did having to explain the actions of the Rally Cat rank for something you’ve had to do in the course of a broadcast?

GG: I know a lot of people got a good laugh out of the Rally Cat, but I’ll use the Rally Cat as an example of how different broadcasting a game on radio is than broadcasting a game on TV. When Rich and Holly do a game on TV, they have a producer, a director, a statistician, a stage manager, 12 people in the TV truck and 14 cameras covering every square inch of the ballpark.

When Dave and I do a game on the radio, we have our 4 eyes. And my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be! While TV is a visual medium, where you can be talking about anything you want during the game while fans see what’s happening on the field, radio is 100 percent reliant on Dave and me constantly describing what’s happening on the field during the game. If we don’t say it, it didn’t happen.

So while I mentioned the cat on the warning track between innings, climbing the wall and setting up shop on the Home Run Sculpture, we left it at that. The fan at home is watching whatever shot the director gives him or her. Dave and I have to be focused on the action on the field. And while we have monitors in our booth at home and on the road on which we can see the FS Florida telecast, I’ll speak for myself and say I rarely look at the monitor. I try to keep my eyes glued on the field.

The only time I turn to the monitor is to see an occasional replay of interest, the location of a border-line pitch, a close play on the bases, something like that. So, honestly, I had no idea how big a deal TV made of the Rally Cat until I saw some stuff on social media after the game. To us, the Rally Cat was merely one of 133 things we had to report on in the 6th inning of the game that night.  

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.