kba
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Some announcers have contracts that allow them to take days off to do network gigs, but the team also gets a certain number of days where they can override that - opening day, potential clinchers, etc. - when they want their number one announcer on the local broadcast. Wonder if John's contract didn't have that clause, or the team decided they were just as happy to have McKnight call a game that would have a bigger-than-usual audience. If the latter, that's telling, as was John's decision to call a UFC event in the first place.
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Some time during the post-season, it would be nice to see Luis Aparicio honored. Only person still living who played for the White Sox in the 1959 World Series. It's interesting that the two oldest members of the Hall of Fame - Luis Aparicio and Sandy Koufax - both played in that series.
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If a play-by-play announcer is asking the same question so frequently that it becomes a meme or a cliche, something's wrong with the broadcast. If John and Steve and the producer think viewers are intently interested in 3-0 count strategy, then Steve should know to talk about it without being repeatedly prompted. If Steve doesn't jump in on his own and John thinks there's value to the viewers in bringing it up, then the burden is on John to tell us why we should care. (Baseball Reference actually tracks each team's swing percentage on 3-0 counts, so that could be an interesting way into the discussion. And even John saying something like,"Yesterday, Vargas swung at a 3-0 pitch, but that was with a big lead" gives viewers context and tees up Steve to talk about how strategy differs in different situations.) Repetition is inevitable over a 162 game season, but the best announcers are always looking for opportunities to bring new information to the viewers, rather than asking the same question the same way again and again.
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FYI: For those without cable, it appears that Spanish-language telecasts of the ALDS will be available free over-the-air on Unimas. That's channel 60.1 in Chicago, and there are over-the-air affiliate stations in several other markets. https://corporate.televisaunivision.com/press/2026/09/30/televisaunivision-announces-2026-mlb-postseason-schedule-this-weekend-across-its-tv-and-streaming-platforms/
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Nice call by Tom McCarthy. It certainly tops Chris Berman's "The Red Sox dream is over" call at the end of the 2005 ALDS.
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NBC has released the announcer lineups for the Wild Card series. Tom McCarthy (the Phillies' play-by-play guy) will call the Sox/Astros series - with Steve Stone, Geoff Blum, and Adam Ottavino on color. Benetti will do Yankees/Red Sox, Matt Vasgersian will do Phillies/Braves, Dave Fleming gets Cubs/Padres.
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Steve has a multi-year deal with the Sox: https://www.mlb.com/news/steve-stone-multiyear-agreement-white-sox-tv-analyst. If Stone had decided to retire, I doubt it would have been a quick announcement at the end of a broadcast. He's been part of Chicago baseball - on the field and in the booth - for 50 years. I imagine he would at least get a retirement ceremony before a game and maybe a farewell seasonlong celebration like Howie Rose and Rick Rizzs in New York and Seattle.
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DJ mentioned on the radio broadcast that he had lunch with Ken Berry in Kansas City this week. Glad to hear he's doing well.
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TV can have a bigger audience, but it's a different experience for the play-by-play announcers. TV play-by-play is more of a multimedia hosting gig now, with all the graphics, dugout interviews, pre-taped roll-ins, musical highlight vignettes, etc. There's a production team that's calling the shots and deciding when all those elements appear and interrupt the live action. Some play-by-play guys prefer the "pure" aspect of the radio broadcast, where it's just them and their partner describing the action.
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Baltimore and Toronto's magic numbers are both down to 1, so they could eliminate each other by splitting their doubleheader tomorrow.
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Also looks like the whole pedestrian plaza is elevated to be at the same level as Roosevelt.
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https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/09/05/new-sox-park-future-owner-announces-proposal-for-riverside-stadium-at-the-railyards Interesting that they show the ballpark built partially over the tracks, with the Northwestern Medicine buildings connected by pedestrian bridges on the other side. Even combining the BNSF land and the Amtrak land, it's still a tight squeeze.
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Crain's Chicago Business did some good reporting on the various federal programs that Ishbia is trying to tap into to redevelop the current Amtrak site - and possibly the adjoining BNSF site - along the river. His company has applied for a $1.8 billion loan through the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program which offers friendly lending terms. There's also pending legislation in Congress that would make any Amtrak property exempt from property taxes and sales taxes on construction materials if it's redeveloped through the RRIF program. So lots of opportunities here to get government help without making a substantial ask in the state legislature or city hall. https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-estate/commercial/ccb-justin-ishbia-amtrak-south-loop-20260814/?utm_id=gfta-ur-260814&share-code=RSXFGSVDONBBLMWZF7I6IV2CEU&user_id=2284762&customer_secondary_source=ccb_articleGifting
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The feds have already committed $600 million to the Amtrak relocation, and Ishbia is kicking in another $125 million, so it's extremely unlikely that the city will walk away from that kind of investment (and the potential for billions of dollars more to redevelop the current Amtrak site.) But in the event that happened, the original 78 site south of the soccer stadium could still be a possibility for a ballpark.
