Baseball Broadcaster Impressions: Oakland A's

Continuing the baseball broadcaster impressions project today with a look at the Oakland A's broadcasters.

TV Announcers: Glen Kuiper and Ray Fosse (Scott Hatteberg will call 20 games upcoming this year)

Remember last week when I talked about the lack of chemistry and the awkwardness of the Florida Miami Marlins TV broadcasts? Well the same can be said for the Oakland A's broadcasts.

Here's the thing I don't get. How can Glen Kuiper be so humorless and dry when his brother Duane can be so funny and excitable? Did they even have the same parents? Are we sure they're actually brothers? Are the A's trying to put a tarp over their broadcasts like their stadium?

This is why I believe the A's are bringing in Scott Hatteberg to call 20 games sometime this season. The A's to me are clearly trying to find someone who can bring out excitement in Kuiper. He needs something (another announcer or more coffee) because Kuiper brings no excitement to the booth. Kuiper can't even sell Ray Fosse's terrible jokes. It's no wonder why A's fans actually clamor for the return of Greg Papa.


As for Fosse I'll say this about him, he can definitely break down what you're seeing in a very smart way. He doesn't say dumb things like "player x knows how to win" or "this player looked good in the batting cage". Fosse also isn't the biggest homer in the world and will equally praise an opposing player as much as an A's player.

My problem with Fosse the last couple of years though is that he's just becoming more bitter as he's growing older. I think the biggest issue here is that the A's haven't been good since 2006 and the losing has turned Fosse into a bitter old man. It's amazing to go back and listen to Fosse call games in the 1990's and listen to him today. The bitterness that seeps out of him is incredible. Go and read his quotes in that Hatteberg story. Does that sound like someone who is happy and cheerful?

My other issue with Fosse is that the losing has him reminiscing about the ye old days when the A's won championships. And I'm not talking about the La Russa/MacGwire/Canseco days either. I'm talking about when Reggie Jackson was actually a young man and the A's won three straight championships in the 70's. I get it Ray, you played with Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Sal Bando, and Reggie Jackson. I don't need a constant reminder that you played with these greats.

And yes I believe those 70's A's teams don't ever receive the credit they're due. Those were great teams that have been sadly lost to memory because they came after Roberto Clemente and the Pirates and  before the Big Red Machine and the Reggie Jackson Yankees.

Radio Announcers: Ken Korach and Vince Cotroneo

The affinity A's fans had for the late Bill King amazes me. When I think of Bill King I think of how great he was as an football announcer for the Oakland Raiders, (in my opinion Bill King was the greatest football radio announcer of all-time) so I really don't identify with King and the A's.

A's fans do though and A's fans frequently compare Korach and King and their similarities at calling A's games. And I can see why A's fans love Korach. He's exciting while not being too over the top and he's steady painting a beautiful picture of the game.

Vince Cotroneo isn't the most exciting broadcaster nor the most personable, but you can tell he puts in a lot of analytic research before the game because he'll provide top-notch analytically analysis when he's broadcasting the game.

I would recommend listening to these two if you're ever bored and there isn't another game on.