Joe Buck on Sportscasting

Joe Buck on Sportscasting

The following are excerpts from ASA President Lou Schwartz' interview with Fox Sports and St. Louis Cardinals announcer Joe Buck that appeared in the May 1999 issue of the Insiders Sportsletter.

Lou Schwartz: "We have many young men and women writing to the ASA asking us how to get on the air. Tell me a little something about your background and how you started."

Joe Buck: "I would recommend to any young person getting into sportscasting to first get a famous father. Once you pick that up then I think you're fine. No. I do think you need a break. But I tell people all the time that if you can do the job, then there's a spot for you. I refuse to believe that there isn't any room in this business. People leave jobs and jobs open up every year. If you can do the job, you'll find your way into the broadcast booth. "I went to the minor leagues and broadcast in the minors for a couple of years. That's where I got my feet wet and understood the business even better than from just watching my father. I'm also a fan of the game. I think that's important. If you're going to be on the late night plane flights and doing games day after day, you've got to love this game. If you do that, if you work hard, if you read up, if you study and you can do the job, I guarantee you will find your way into a major league broadcast booth."

LS: "The fact is that you didn't just get there because you were the son of Jack Buck. You are talented and recognized as one of the up and coming sportscasters. Do you find it was education, the knowledge of the game, the love of the sport or is it a combination of everything?"

JB: "I think it's a combination. But the main thing is that I grew up in a broadcast booth and I don't think you can ever replace that. You can't learn that anywhere. You can't go to a university and study the game of baseball. My dad took me everywhere when I was a kid, different cities, in the broadcast booth and in the clubhouse. I'm very comfortable around major leaguers. "I think that's another factor, knowing how to act around these guys and how to treat them and how to expect to be treated. Sometimes you're going to get your heart broken standing there with a tape recorder and sometimes you're going to strike gold. Being around big league broadcasts all my life gave me a good start. But the main thing, I think, is not relying on my last name to get me a job. It's by working hard at it. When I was 13, I was doing the games into a tape recorder next to my dad. I think there is nothing better in this profession than to do it time and time again. You're not going to get better in play-by-play unless you're constantly doing it, whether its sitting at home in front of the TV or in the upper deck of a half-empty stadium doing the game into a tape recorder. That's the way you get better."

LS: "What was the most exciting event in your broadcasting career so far?"

JB: ""Well, I still have to go back to the '96 World Series when I got a chance to do that on national television and watch the Yankees come back after being down two games to none. I would say that is the highlight of my young career right now. "

LS: "Were you the youngest sportscaster to do a World Series?"

JB: "Actually, Vin Scully was the youngest to broadcast a World Series but he didn't do the entire thing. I'm the youngest to do the whole thing and the youngest to do an All-Star game. Those were all fun things. But I think the most important thing is to not take it for granted and appreciate that you got the chance to do it. "The biggest thing that I've learned from my father is to not have an ego about this, to realize that I'm lucky to be doing it and to treat everybody the same, whether they're Mark McGwire or the guy tearing the tickets for somebody to go see Mark McGwire. Just be a good guy. Don't get hung up on yourself."

LS: "When we inducted your dad into the ASA Hall of Fame, Stan Musial made the presentation. Do you have a chance to see Stan?"

JB: "Actually, I was with Stan playing golf the day that Joe DiMaggio died this past week. That's another part of it. Being around the St. Louis Cardinals and calling somebody like Stan Musial and Red Schoedienst and George Kissell friends of mine even though I'm just 29 is invaluable. These people are legends of the game, Hall of Famers. And when you have the chance to be around Hall of Famers, to play golf with them, go to lunch with them and you also know their families, it's a whole other wealth of information that you can tap into to try to help you learn this game."

LS: "How is your dad, by the way?"

JB: "My dad is good. He's coming back for another year. He started in 1954 so he's approaching 50 years in the broadcast booth. He's going to do all the home games this year and some of the road games. So we'll get a chance to do some games at home together. It's an honor to sit next to him. I'm a firm believer that you pick up little things from the people you work with. That's why I love being on the air with him. Because if I pick up some little nuance day after day from him, then I think I'll be well suited."

LS: "If you were the interviewer, what question would you like to be asked?"

JB: "I would say, 'What is Jack Buck really like?' That's something, I think, that people want to know but might not want to ask me. Like I said earlier, he is the most giving man I've ever met. He is the funniest, the most down to earth and the most successful guy I've ever met. "I probably would also ask, 'Was someone 26 years old intimidated by stepping into a network broadcast booth and doing the World Series in front of the entire nation?' "I'm a firm believer of when you're in a situation, you just let it fly. You hope to do it justice. You work hard and prepare and you've got to trust yourself to do a good job. But I would have hated to come out of that broadcast booth saying, 'I wish I would have said this,' or, 'I wish I hadn't been so nervous,' or, 'I wish would have been more relaxed.' I took that approach from day one. It's just like a player. Once you get into the game, the last thing you're thinking about is pressure. The last thing you're thinking about is how young you are. The last thing you're thinking about is how many people are watching or listening. You just want to do your job. And when you're prepared, you can do that. That's the way I feel and that's the way I approach it."