Truist Field - Charlotte, NC
It’s one of those moments when you meet someone, and you can immediately tell how much their passion means to them. You probably know the voice once you hear it. But how did that all start for Mike? "Everyone's path and journey to broadcasting is different."
From producing to hosting to play-by-play's for The Charlotte Knights, Panthers, Winthrop University, you name it - Mike has done it all.
"One of the things that has been instrumental in my career is the ability to do different things."
Growing up in Massachusetts, Mike studied Political Science and worked as a paper boy for The Boston Globe. Wanting to follow his passion, he moved to New York and began working in newsrooms, editing sound bites and creating lead-ins for on-air segments.
I have always been interested in what goes into calling a sporting event and how announcers prepare and execute a game. How does it all come together? "First thing I do, because I'm getting old (laughs), is get my glasses." After batting practice, Mike heads up to the booth to prepare for the game. "I write down the lineup and add batting averages, home runs, RBIs, just things I can reference fast because you need to be as efficient as possible when things happen." Do you get nervous, or is this just second nature? "I think it's anticipation. It's a sense of responsibility. You have fans and parents listening, you don't want to mess up a kid's name or screw up a call, but I need to be aware of what's going on and get it right and fair."
It isn't always about the numbers as well. "It's not all about the numbers and stats. Baseball allows you to stretch your legs a bit to tell a story and be descriptive."
After prep is done for the game, teammates get together to discuss pregame conversations/interviews. Mike then heads down to meet Kendall, who hosts the pregame show as fans enter the stadium, giving stats on previous games and what to expect for the upcoming matchup. It was great to see fans' appreciation for Mike as they went right up to him just to say hi or have a quick conversation. From there, Mike heads up to the booth minutes before the first pitch at 7:04 p.m. and meets with his broadcast partner and lead play by play announcer for the Knights, Matt Swierad.
Matt was honored and recognized the night before for calling his 3,500th game for the Charlotte Knights. The duo have been together since 2005 and have fallen in sync ever since. Watching these two sit in the booth, open the window, flip the switch on for their microphones and start the game was seamless, and you could tell their respect for one another. Being in the booth and listening to the play-by-play and commentary was a real treat. Don’t you always go to a game in person and think how different and strange it is not to have commentary from TV or Radio? It was a mix of feelings watching it being called in the booth. Pitch numbers, hits, strikes, balls, pop flies, home runs, everything is documented, written down and even there to sprinkle in the broadcasts.
I asked Matt in between innings if he had a favorite or funny memory of working with Mike. "We were calling a game at the old ballpark in Fort Mill, and we were so high up, and there was a hornet's nets right below us, and they were flying around us in front of the booth. Our ops guy gave us bug spray, and right as I was about to lean out the window to spray, he said, hey, it has a long reach. I started spraying this, and it started going about 20 feet out, and it started landing on fans below us who have nachos and drinks, and we are in tears laughing."
It was a pleasure talking to Mike and spending a night at the Ballpark to see how calling a game goes down. Mike gave me a sense that whatever passion you have, the journey and hard work will always pay off, especially if it's the thing you love to do.