Unlike Spanish language, telenovelas and professional wrestling, organized sports are not scripted reality shows-whether televised or not. The best oddsmakers have proven that nobody really can predict the outcome of every sporting event. Heck, Ron Coomer, radio color analyst of the Cubs can’t call a parlay properly.
I know several baseball fans that aren’t as interested in backstories, or color or context. They just want runs, touchdowns, slam dunks or corner-kicks. However, there are several fans that love the stories-about individual players, teams or leagues.
My friend and noted photographer, Lee, said he loved the soap opera aspect of baseball. This came on the heels of the Phillies, multi-story game on August 9th. Michael Lorenzen threw a no-hitter and Wes Wilson made his MLB debut after 706 games and 2503 at-bats in the minor leagues.
Lorenzen’s no-hitter was the fourth of the season and Wilson’s debut was not the first among players this season. The date merely is a data point in their larger, more unique stories-both captured by several different writers and announcers.
MLB is unique among professional sports given its 162-game schedule. The game is a part of our lives for 6 months. It can be likened to any daily television serial. There are season long stories, series long stories, game stories etc. Not all stories are created equally however.
In our daily lives, we’re surrounded by folks that can tell a story and others that just don’t have the ability. I was lucky enough to go to school with Roger Aesop who was a very gifted narrator and unlike my friend Del Griffith, he always had a point to his stories; morals actually.
One would assume that public speakers would be better storytellers than they often are, but nobody seems to care. If you listen to baseball games on the radio, you’ll find the guy or gal that didn’t play the sport professionally possesses the talent. They usually have a great appreciation for the history of the game and art of broadcasting. Many of the better broadcasters seem to be natural storytellers, but I know they still work very hard at their craft.
I’d like to think that the folks writing about the game worked as hard at improving their craft. However, as the role of the newspaper has diminished (with credibility and editors), anyone can write whatever they want. An article about a particular subject isn’t necessarily a story. Recounting a news conference or summing up a game, rarely is a story. Maybe it’s better to use the term narrative. Some of the better long-form, baseball writers are equally proficient in getting scoops. However, most beat reporters haven’t acquired the skill set of a narrator. One can write up a game in narrative form however-it seems rarer and rarer these days. Editor’s note: Over the years, I’ve worked very hard at improving my feature writing and interviewing techniques and am always learning. Over the past couple of years, I’ve done more editing of my posts, but I’m not sure if that’s been as effective as I would like. I’m far more comfortable interviewing players and coaches and writing about the game experience.
A perfect example of excellent storytelling is the Mets television crew of Hernandez, Cohen and Darling. They don’t drone on and don’t merely focus on the Mets. That they are well-sourced and articulate adds to my enjoyment and I don’t care for the Mets.
