Hamilton reduces schedule: Astros stalwart on radio to call only home games beginning in ‘06
I know this will likely make me sound insensitive, but my reaction to the news of Astros radio voice Milo Hamilton scaling back his broadcasting schedule was one of disappointment. No, I’m not disppointed that he’s cutting back. I’m disappointed that he isn’t retiring altogether. Why? Well, outside of being in love with the sound of his own voice and the brilliance of his trenchant analysis, Hamilton simply does a piss-poor job of describing a baseball game for the Astros’ radio audience.
I don’t listen to Astros’ games on radio very often, but when I do it’s always a frustrating experience. My expectations are simple. I should be able to turn on a game and in a couple of minutes know exactly what the situation is. After all, it’s the responsibility of the play-by-play man to set the table for his listeners, and in radio that means frequently ensuring that your audience knows the game situation and the score. It’s a fairly simple thing that really only takes a couple of seconds to do properly, but it’s a basic responsibility that seems to escape Hamilton.
Hamilton usually leave the fourth through sixth innings of a broacast to his partner, former Astros catcher Alan Ashby. Why Ashby can’t have the job full-time is beyond me. Ashby is interesting, he understands the game, and he understands that listeners are not tuning in so that they may hear the melliflous tones of his voice. They’re tuning in to hear Astros baseball.
[Astros President Pam] Gardner said the team hopes to have a new broadcaster on board by spring training next year. She and Jamie Hildreth, the Astros’ director of broadcasting, said radio analyst Alan Ashby, 53, who has worked with Hamilton since 1998, will be considered for the play-by-play job if he is interested.
Ashby said he is game.
“I’ve made it very clear to the folks in the organization that I would like to be considered for the (play-by-play) seat over there,” he said. “I think the world of Milo and his work ethic and his energy and passion for the game. I hope this this works out for him as he hopes at this stage of his great career.”
Of course, Ashby, being the classy sort he is, will be saying wonderful things about his partner. The reality from where I sit, though, is that Milo Hamilton, while he can and should be admired for his longevity, is simply not a very good storyteller when it comes to broadcasting a baseball game on radio. Radio is a medium that requires a play-by-play man to paint a verbal picture so that his listeners may be able to follow the action on the field. Milo Hamilton seems more interested in telling his own stories than if ensuring that his audience has a clear picture of what is happening on the field.
The Astros, in trying to display some class and honor a man who has devoted his professional life to the game of baseball, aren’t simply going to give Milo Hamilton a gold watch and show him the door. The quality of Astros’ broadcasts would improve noticeably were they to do that, but given Hamilton’s status, I can understand why they might be reluctant to allow Hamilton to go out on anything but his own terms.
Let’s be honest, though. While Milo Hamilton’s long career may be worthy of admiration, his broadcasting skills most certainly are not. If the Houston Astros truly cared about it’s radio audience, it would hand the mike to Alan Ashby on a full-time basis. Then again, you just don’t tell a man about to turn 78 not to let the door hit him in the @$$ on the way out, do you?
I can't agree with you more about Milo and his "skills" as a play by play announcer. How someone who treats the score of a game like a state secret can last for over 50 years is beyond me. The one thing I will miss is every once in a while, especially when Alan Ashby first started, you can absolutely hear in Ashby's voice that twinge and crack like he is about to tell Milo to STFU. Like Milo is just pouncing on Ashby's last nerve, and it's all Alan can do to not strangle him on the air.
As a person who ended a brief (but exciting) five year career in commercial broadcasting some twenty years ago, I have built in respect for anyone who has achieved the level and duration of success that Milo Hamilton has in such a competitive industry.
Is it time for a change? Maybe...
How many times have you continued to listen across a commercial break for the "state secret" up to the second score? But more importantly, how many times have you heard that score reported shortly after the break?
It's possible that Milo's broadcasting expertise is undervalued by an audience that is increasingly expectant of instant information. Times change. But the fact that he's still around is evidence that his employers and the sponsors that ultimately fund the broadcasts recognize the value of his talent and experience.
It would seem that when Milo retires is pretty much up to him and the marketplace, and I can assure you that he is every bit aware of the sports radio broadcasting marketplace as he is of baseball itself. He wouldn't still be in the business if he wasn't.