Worst announcer in sports?

by Travis G on Jan 31, 2009 1:07 PM EST in Miscellaneous

Yahoo gives it to Billy Packer, but my vote goes to Joe Buck, and they phrase it perfectly:

Alternating between dull and sanctimonious, Buck is a crotchety curmudgeon trapped in a younger man's body. When he's not draining the life out of the greatest moments in modern sports [Jim Leyritz' homer, Tyree's Helmet Catch, etc.], he's lecturing us on the sad state of the NFL.

And amazingly, the Yankees have a plethora of their own awful announcers - John Sterling, Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman could all be on this list. Why'd they get rid of Charlie Steiner in the first place? He was great.

- In your daily 'Yankee Years' update, Tom Verducci did an interview with Sports Illustrated, and Larry King interviewed Joe Torre.

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Sterling and Kay are on list – Nos. 17 and 49, respectively. The Tim McCarver stuff is funny.

by long time listener on Jan 31, 2009 1:20 PM EST reply actions

yep

i missed them. Waldman deserves to be there too.

by Travis G on Jan 31, 2009 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

My Vote:

My vote would go to Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver

by ruffolo2002 on Jan 31, 2009 1:30 PM EST reply actions

that's why fox saturday baseball broadcasts

are almost unbearable… buck & mccarver.. should be illegal.

The Jayfiss Report ...one fan's rants

by NumberSeven on Jan 31, 2009 1:35 PM EST reply actions

has to be Buck

Joe Buck is the worst announcer in sports by a long shot. He ruined this year’s World Series with his horrible announcing.

by YoSixers on Jan 31, 2009 4:53 PM EST reply actions

Sterling and Steiner

Steiner is great. But was he working with Sterling? Weird pairing of the ridiculous and the sublime. To bad Baseball Beat got canned. And Joe “That ball is dead” Morgan is GREAT paired up with John Miller. I’m taking cover now. Get the season started already. How ’bout a countdown clock?

by costa on Jan 31, 2009 5:07 PM EST reply actions

No question here ...

Sure we may have cornered the market on sucky announcers what with Waldman and Sterling leading the charge, but clearly and without question my vote goes to Joe Buck. It’s really not even close. I never thought it possible that one man could so infinately suck the life and energy out of a game, but Buck never fails. The WS was awful due to him. The Super Bowl was almost painful to bear, and I love the Giants.

Anytime he gets the Yankees games I get jaw pain and an upset stomach. In short, Buck Blows.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Jan 31, 2009 6:06 PM EST reply actions

'Buck Blows'

funny you should say that. i say the exact same thing all the time.

by Travis G on Jan 31, 2009 11:21 PM EST up reply actions

STERLING AND WALDMAN GOTTA GO

They are the worst announcing team in sports. Between the “it is high, it is far, it is….caught” moments, his constant references to old Broadway show tunes, her awful accent and her penchant for simply repeating what he says five times with different wording, they are nearly unbearable.
XMRADIO makes you realize what we are missing out on, when you listen to Yankees away games and hear competant announcers adding energy and excitement to the broadcast. Then the Yanks come home and Sterling sounds like he is half asleep by the 7th inning.

Munson15

by Munson15 on Feb 1, 2009 11:51 AM EST reply actions

My Take:

I agree 100% about Joe Buck…he’s terrible.

As for John Sterling, I actually like him. His style is unique and it’s recgonizable by anyone. Whenever I think of Sterling, I think of “It is hig, it is far, it…is…gone!” which just adds to the winning tradition of Yankees baseball, in my opinion.

Now when it comes to Susan Waldman, I think she is a terrible color announcer and does need to go. I mean all she does is repeat Sterling and state the obvious left and right. She gets annoying fast.

Pride, Power, Pinstripes...Go Yankees!

by acman319 on Feb 1, 2009 12:45 PM EST reply actions

Sterling, Kay, and Waldman

are all unlistenable. You’d think the greatest franchise in sports history would hire only the best talent possible to broadcast their games. It sucks that they don’t.

My guess is they figure people are going to watch/listen no matter what, so it doesn’t matter who the broadcasters are, so long as they never criticize the team too harshly.

by BrianByron on Feb 1, 2009 8:50 PM EST reply actions

Two diferent categories.

You can’t really compare a network announcer like Buck to homers like Sterling, Kay and Waldman. They’re playing to different audiences with different expectations. I hold network announcers to a higher standard because generally network audiences are watching because they love the sport and not just to root for the home team. By that standard, Buck is by far the worst.

Now if we could only get Sterling to lose “The Yankees win. THUUUUUUUH Yankees win.” It might make him tolerable.

by django48 on Feb 2, 2009 10:36 AM EST reply actions