Waltz's journey a study in tenacity

As a teenager, the new television voice of the Marlins never considered spending his life behind a microphone.

Rich Waltz either would be an attorney (like his father) or a baseball player.

''I wanted to be shortstop for the Oakland A's,'' said Waltz, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and played middle school basketball with Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. ``I wanted to be that until my senior year of college, when I came to the realization I probably didn't have enough power or speed.''

Twenty-one years later, Waltz is ready to follow Jay Randolph, Joe Angel, Dave O'Brien and Len Kasper as the fifth TV play-by-play announcer in Marlins history. Waltz will work 145 games alongside Tommy Hutton this season, including Tuesday's opener against Atlanta (4 p.m., Fox Sports Net Florida).

Waltz never gave thought to broadcasting until he noticed an ad in the University of California-Davis student newspaper during his senior year. The school was looking for someone to be the radio analyst on its women's college basketball games.

''What student athlete wouldn't need $30?'' he said of the women's hoops gig. ``I was at a crossroads to apply to law school or do something else. This appeared a heck of a lot more fun than being a lawyer. But I realized after college, it wouldn't be easy to get a job.''

EXTENSIVE SEARCH

In the four months after he graduated, Waltz contacted every Division I college west of the Rockies and asked if they needed an announcer. The official who owned broadcast rights to Gonzaga basketball put Waltz in touch with the man who owned rights to the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League.

Waltz never had seen a hockey game in person. ''I borrowed $300 from my mom to fly to Spokane, and he was impressed enough to hire me,'' Waltz said.

That launched a career that included two years calling minor-league baseball in Spokane, one year in Wichita and three in Las Vegas.

''The first baseball game I called, I had to ask someone how to keep score,'' he said. ``I was always on the field playing.''

Waltz, 42, has juggled numerous assignments the past decade along with his main job as pregame and postgame host and primary fill-in announcer on Seattle Mariners telecasts. He called baseball for ESPN (1997-2001) and FX, Seahawks preseason telecasts and college sports on Fox Sports Net and ESPN regional.

But Waltz pined to be the voice of a team. He came close in 2002, finishing second behind Kasper when O'Brien left for ESPN. In the 2 ? years after being passed over, Waltz sent occasional e-mails to FSN Florida general manager Jeff Genthner, who makes the announcer hires.

Genthner said Waltz's desire to keep in contact ``spoke volumes [about] his character and sincerity in the position, and his interest to get meaningful feedback. He wanted to learn from that first experience.''

Said Waltz: ``You're disappointed you didn't get the job, but you have a resolve not only to learn from that, but to get better so the next time around you'll get it.''

When Kasper left to become voice of the Chicago Cubs on WGN, Waltz still was in Genthner's thoughts. FSN initially offered the gig to former Marlins radio announcer Jon Sciambi (who had strong support from the team), but Sciambi opted for jobs at ESPN and 790 The Ticket.

DREAM REALIZED

And so, finally, for the first time, Waltz would be the voice of a major-league team.

''To be the voice of somebody, to broadcast a team's games day in and day out, is very special,'' he said. ``I'm walking into a great situation.''

Genthner describes Waltz as a ''thinking man's'' broadcaster. He lacks a booming voice but engages his analyst in conversation, much like Kasper did.

''I've always broadcast a game the way I would like to hear it,'' said Waltz, who is married with two children. ``There are a few things I try to keep in mind -- to have fun, and that the viewer is not stupid. Baseball fans, especially, are extremely educated.''

Any catch phrases? ''No,'' he said. ``Home runs are like snowflakes -- each one is different.''