Hughes was smooth as butter right from the start and immediately upped the quality of the radio broadcast. In my experience, only one person can be that obnoxious and still entertain me and he will appear on this list shortly. I know they say a homer on the broadcast for your team is not as annoying as a homer for the other team and I really tried to get over how much his style bothered me, but it was just too annoying.
With all that out of the way, I have to add that he was a terrible announcer. The fact that he did not get in the Hall of Fame while he was still alive is an absolute travesty. I also think Santo was a Cubs legend, a good human, and a wonderful team ambassador. I think Pat and Ron had very good chemistry and they certainly had some memorable moments. Pat Hughes and Ron Santo (radio, 1996-2010)Īllow me to explain before you pelt my house with rocks. Let’s just say Kasper did a lot of work to get this pair to No. The comments came in response to a suspension Brenly, now calling games in Arizona, received for insensitive comments about then-Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman that sure seemed prejudicial. Just last year, Ramirez spoke to The Athletic about how he felt singled out by Brenly. Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano were constant targets of his displeasure, though neither player did anything to warrant the kind of constant digs being offered. Personally, though, I began to turn on Brenly when his criticism of certain players became incredibly harsh. Many responded favorably to Brenly’s tell-it-like-it-is style. Playoff runs in 2007 and ’08 certainly helped spur the early good fan feelings about them. Unlike the first two teams on this list, this pair did have a fair amount of chemistry. Len Kasper and Bob Brenly (TV, 2005-12) The Cubs moved on to an all-new booth in 2005 featuring Kasper and Brenly. It was a fitting end to a late-season Cubs collapse that cost them a playoff berth.ĥ. Things finally came to a complete end in 2004 when Cubs players, including Kent Mercker and Moises Alou, confronted Stone about his criticism of the team. Unfortunately, Chip just couldn’t match his grandfather and the team never really clicked. Joe Carter filled in for Stone and the result was an absolute trainwreck, which, if it had lasted five years, would have definitely been at the bottom of the list. The man who would eventually become Stone Pony on the other side of town actually missed two years in the middle of this stretch due to a nasty bout of valley fever. Honestly, the sweater Stone wore during this game could drop these guys a couple spots in the rankings by itself. Perhaps the most memorable game they broadcast was Kerry Wood‘s 20 strikeout game in May of ’98. Chip Caray and Steve Stone (TV, 1998-2004) The younger Caray moved into the booth after his grandfather passed away in 1997 and the new team had an eventful first season with Sammy Sosa hitting 66 home runs as the Cubs made a dramatic run for the wild card. All opinions below are mine and do not reflect anyone else at Cubs Insider.Ħ. With all that said, it is time to get to the rankings. Individual announcers can be on the list multiple times and I will grade only team performance for that specific pair, not an overall mark for each person.įinally, an announcing duo must have been together for at least five seasons to qualify for consideration. A good broadcast team is a good broadcast team no matter how you listen to them. Second, I am going to combine radio and TV announcers into a single list.
I just don’t feel I can give an opinion on them because they came before my time. That means we won’t be ranking Jack Brickhouse and Lou Boudreau, who announced together from 1961-81. Let’s go over some ground rules before we get into the actual rankings.įirst, we’re going to start in 1981 when Cubs WGN broadcasts went national. The Cubs have been fortunate to have numerous excellent broadcasting duos over the years so, since there’s nothing else to talk about right now, the time has come to rank them. Or maybe they just provide a few chuckles when your team is being blown out. Even if your attention is elsewhere at times, they’re keeping you apprised of the situation and pulling you back into the game when something exciting happens. Over the course of 162 games and several seasons, the members of the booth become almost members of the family. A key feature of those replays is the announcing team, which can help even as much as the grainy footage to transport you into the past. There is little to suggest baseball’s lockout will end anytime soon, which means the only way you’re watching the Cubs is through highlights on YouTube or replays on Marquee.
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