Posted May 3, 200519 yr Ranking the Marlins' television announcers Where does new Marlins play-by-play voice Rich Waltz fit in? Our take: No. 3 with upside. 1. Dave O'Brien (1997-2001): Nobody did it better for Fish. Excellent and versatile on ESPN. 2. Len Kaspar (2002-04): Strong voice; landed prestigious Cubs job. Avoids goofs, takes few chances for gems. 3. Rich Waltz (2005-): Beginning to sparkle. Learning team, finding his pace with analyst Tommy Hutton. 4. Joe Angel (1997-2000): Best moments came on early Marlins radio. Humor, timing sometimes off on TV. 5. Jay Randolph (1993-96): Got the ball rolling for club's pioneering TV efforts. Note: Years refer to time as TV play-by-play announcers; Angel and O'Brien shared duties in 1997-2000 on television and radio.
May 3, 200519 yr Joe Angel-He is my all-time favorite. "The Marlins are in the WIN column" still gives me goosebumbs. Has a great voice for calling a game. Len Kasper Dave O'Brien Waltz Randolph
May 3, 200519 yr I remember Dave O'Brien even though he didnt have much to talk because he was here in the early millenium when the Marlins were a horrible team....
May 3, 200519 yr I like Waltz but it's too early to rank him. That said... 1. Joe Angel 2. Dave O'Brien 3. Len Kasper
May 3, 200519 yr I miss the Joe Angel & Tommy Hutton duo, anybody feel the same? 761423[/snapback] Two strong knowledgable personalities. Added great but appropriate dimensions to the games. (Joe wouldn't kiss Franchise ass so we lost him.) O'Brien was not a team player. Good announcer but interested only in his career. "Didn't play well with others." Jay Randolph, decent PBP announcer, helluva nice guy, but ready for retirement (though I'd rather have him in pre-game than p***y Minervini.) Len Kasper was great because he instinctively worked well with Tommy. Waltz doesn't. It's nice to root for him. But, painful.
May 3, 200519 yr Dave O'Brien WAS THE GREATEST! I miss him. Waltz sucks. Why does he get so excited for the other teams?
May 3, 200519 yr Dave O'Brien WAS THE GREATEST! I miss him. Waltz sucks. Why does he get so excited for the other teams? 761465[/snapback] I don't agree that Waltz sucks, but we can agree to disagree on that. In my mind it isn't that he gets so excited about good plays or a homerun by another team (to the detriment of the Marlins) as it is that he gets excited by watching baseball played well. I have to admit that even when I'm coaching LL I'll find myself applauding a good play by the opposing team because I get excited by the play more than by which team did it. It's just his enthusiasm for the game not that he doesn't want the Fish to win. Of that I'm sure. He's no fool, he knows what side his bread is buttered on.
May 3, 200519 yr Dave O'Brien WAS THE GREATEST! I miss him. Waltz sucks. Why does he get so excited for the other teams? 761465[/snapback] I don't agree that Waltz sucks, but we can agree to disagree on that. In my mind it isn't that he gets so excited about good plays or a homerun by another team (to the detriment of the Marlins) as it is that he gets excited by watching baseball played well. I have to admit that even when I'm coaching LL I'll find myself applauding a good play by the opposing team because I get excited by the play more than by which team did it. It's just his enthusiasm for the game not that he doesn't want the Fish to win. Of that I'm sure. He's no fool, he knows what side his bread is buttered on. 761468[/snapback] thats a good point, i coached little league last year too and there was this one game it was a tie game and we had a runner on third with 1 out and our kid hit a line drive and the third baseman dove towards the ball down the line caught it and landed on the base. we were so excited about that play we didn't care that we tied.
May 3, 200519 yr I don't understand why people like Kasper so much, he was good, but in Angel you had a ton of excitement, O'Brien was the voice of the franchise, and just thinking of Randolph reminds me of when the team was on Sunshine, ah, nostalgia. This is going to get me a lot of flack, but I don't see that big of a difference between Kasper and Waltz, and IMO, the color guy makes the booth. I've been watching a bunch of games on Extra Innings (and I've had to watch a lot of Marlins games on non-Marlins feeds) and the guys that I think are "good" announce crews always have a solid color guy, a prime example being the Rockies. So, my rankings: O'Brien Angel Kasper/Waltz Randolph
May 4, 200519 yr waltz does get a little too giddy for the other team, and it seems that the marlins just aren't his home team yet. maybe it's just me
May 4, 200519 yr Of course the Marlins are not Waltz's team yet... it's been what... 2 months? Oh... 1. Angel 2. O'Brien 3. Kasper 4. Waltz But with time, I expect Waltz to climb that list.
May 4, 200519 yr Joe Angel-He is my all-time favorite. "The Marlins are in the WIN column" still gives me goosebumbs. Has a great voice for calling a game. 761407[/snapback] I still use that quote after every Marlin win :thumbup .
May 4, 200519 yr 1. angel 2. o brien 3. kasper 4. waltz 5. randolph Kasper was average, angel was by far the best
May 4, 200519 yr 1. angel 2. o brien 3. kasper 4. waltz 5. randolph Kasper was average, angel was by far the best 762709[/snapback] My list is almost the same as this venerable youngster, but I would put Waltz at the bottom until proven otherwise. I like him somewhat, but I haven't seen enough yet to really make a fair comparison. Angel was my favorite, O'brien was the most talented (in my opinion), Kasper reminds me of the good times, although I think he is a little overrated because of that.
May 4, 200519 yr Felo Ramirez and Yiki Quintana 762745[/snapback] they said TV announcers. with that being said, felo is SHOT. they need to put armando fernandez lima in, he is better than those two put together.
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