Baseball has always been a writer's sport -- think Roger Angell and that other Roger, the Aga's brother -- and HOME TEAM proves that baseball is radio's sport. I've always loved Gwen M's tone: a kind of warm and welcoming with just a hint of the acerbic. And the stories are perfect in a baseball way -- witness the potato story and the sheer headtwisting weirdness of the dugout. PDs: by my New Englander's reckoning, you've got four weeks to air this before there's absolutely no hint of snow in the forecast. Don't dawdle.
It's difficult to believe a special could be both amusing and dark, but "Home Team" is both. We just aired this on KFAI in Minneapolis. Host Gwen Macsai does an embarrassing rendition of the National Anthem at a minor league game, Dan Collison recounts an odd footnote in baseball history: The Potato Ball Caper. (The catcher sneaks a potato onto the field and uses it to fake out a runner, later tagging him out with the real baseball. It's like something you did as a kid!)
And then there's the eeriy "Dug-Out," a long piece that's sure to intrigue listeners. I don't know quite what to make of it, but I like it. Actors with southern accents tell a disjointed story of violence, exploring the real meaning of the word "dugout." According to this piece, baseball dugouts were originally called "graves" because they were rectangluar and dug into the earth.
Listeners are sure to be entertained in the first 30 minutes of this program and a little confused in the second 30 minutes.
Takes the most deeply American, earnest and lyrical of all the sports - starts out clever and sweet and then in half two takes a plunge down into the dark heart of turn-of-the-century America - with a symphonic story that successfully defends serious, longer-bite listening and makes it worth it - let's give audiences a little credit!
Choosing three tones this time was challenging. This one runs round lots of bases.
Comments for HV Special: Home Team (Baseball)
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3 comments
Jackson Braider
Posted on April 03, 2005 at 04:49 PM | Permalink
Review of HOME TEAM Baseball Special
Baseball has always been a writer's sport -- think Roger Angell and that other Roger, the Aga's brother -- and HOME TEAM proves that baseball is radio's sport. I've always loved Gwen M's tone: a kind of warm and welcoming with just a hint of the acerbic. And the stories are perfect in a baseball way -- witness the potato story and the sheer headtwisting weirdness of the dugout. PDs: by my New Englander's reckoning, you've got four weeks to air this before there's absolutely no hint of snow in the forecast. Don't dawdle.
Todd Melby
Posted on September 22, 2004 at 09:17 AM | Permalink
Review of HOME TEAM Baseball Special
It's difficult to believe a special could be both amusing and dark, but "Home Team" is both. We just aired this on KFAI in Minneapolis. Host Gwen Macsai does an embarrassing rendition of the National Anthem at a minor league game, Dan Collison recounts an odd footnote in baseball history: The Potato Ball Caper. (The catcher sneaks a potato onto the field and uses it to fake out a runner, later tagging him out with the real baseball. It's like something you did as a kid!)
And then there's the eeriy "Dug-Out," a long piece that's sure to intrigue listeners. I don't know quite what to make of it, but I like it. Actors with southern accents tell a disjointed story of violence, exploring the real meaning of the word "dugout." According to this piece, baseball dugouts were originally called "graves" because they were rectangluar and dug into the earth.
Listeners are sure to be entertained in the first 30 minutes of this program and a little confused in the second 30 minutes.
And that's a good thing.
Marjorie Van Halteren
Posted on September 05, 2004 at 05:46 AM | Permalink
Review of HOME TEAM Baseball Special
Takes the most deeply American, earnest and lyrical of all the sports - starts out clever and sweet and then in half two takes a plunge down into the dark heart of turn-of-the-century America - with a symphonic story that successfully defends serious, longer-bite listening and makes it worth it - let's give audiences a little credit!
Choosing three tones this time was challenging. This one runs round lots of bases.