A baseball announcer watches and announces a baseball game to an audience as the game is being played live. This sort of announcer may work at a minor league level and announce a game over a loudspeaker to people at the game to help them keep track of who the players are at any given time. Most well-known professional baseball announcers, however, work in either television or radio and announce games for audiences who are not in the stadium. Some announcers may also act as hosts for sports shows or write columns for newspaper sports sections or sports magazines.
At a high school, college, or minor league level, a baseball announcer will often act as an extra pair of eyes for the fans at the game. It can be difficult for a person at a live game to see all of the action on the field, especially if he or she has seats far from the field or at a strange angle. An announcer at a game can help those in attendance keep track of the game better by mentioning who is at bat, who made an important play, or what call an umpire or official made. This sort of announcing can often be a way for a new announcer to get experience toward working for a major league team or a television or radio network.
A major league baseball announcer will usually work at a stadium where a major league game is being played and announce the game for a television or radio audience. Someone who is a television baseball announcer serves to help an audience watching in much the same ways an announcer at a game can help the fans in the stadium. Though instant replays and a variety of angles can make games viewed on television easier to understand and follow, the announcer can add more details and explanations for the audience.
Radio announcing of a major league game, however, requires more than simply adding to the action on the field. To be a baseball announcer on radio requires the ability to describe the action as it happens for people who cannot see the game. This form of announcing often becomes a performance as the announcer uses his or her words to paint the scene in broad strokes across the listener’s mind.
Some baseball announcers can also go beyond announcing games and host sports programs on television or radio for fans of local teams. An announcer who makes enough of a reputation for himself or herself may also be able to find work at a national level by hosting cable sports programs. Additionally, a baseball announcer with a talent for writing may also be able to find work submitting material for sports sections in newspapers and magazines.