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Sunday

 

by Andrew Wagner, Contributor

 

 

HIGHLIGHT: When Matt Vasgersian was hired as the play-by-play announcer for Milwaukee Brewers' telecasts back in 1997, beat reporters jokingly referred to him as the "Armenian Bob Costas." Now, Vasgersian shares airtime with the Hall of Famer on MLB Network – a reality that leaves even Vasgersian in awe.

 

  

Matt Vasgersian is in his 10th season with MLB Network and second as the voice of ESPN s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. The veteran broadcaster got his big league start in 1997 when he as hired to handle play-by-play on Milwaukee Brewers telecasts. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)

 

Milwaukee Brewers fans tuning in Sunday night to watch their team s first appearance on Sunday Night Baseball since 2013 will hear a familiar voice calling the action.

 

In addition to his role with MLB Network since its launch in 2009, Matt Vasgersian is in his second season as the voice of Major League Baseball s premier national telecast on ESPN s Sunday Night Baseball.

 

It s a fairly lofty perch for a broadcaster just barely 20 years removed from his first big-league job, broadcasting Brewers games.

 

Vasgersian had been a minor league announcer for six years before he was hired by the Brewers in 1997. Baseball broadcast were not nearly the productions they are today Milwaukee at the time carried between 60-65 games split between over-the-air and a fledging cable package and the on-field product wasn t very good either.

 

During Vasgerisan s five years calling Brewers game, the Brewers went 367-441 under Phil Garner and Davey Lopes but the relative lack of success and, not coincidentally, viewership numbers allowed Vasgersian to be himself.

 

His broadcasts were peppered with jokes, pop culture references, movie quotes and the occasion non sequitur; elements that would at times make the most veteran of broadcasters, not to mention self-proclaimed baseball traditionalists, cringe but at the same time endeared Vasgersian to a small, but passionate group of die-hard fans tuning in to watch a team that was admittedly playing for little.

 

I was too dumb to know any better, Vasgersian says of those early days. I was having the time of my life. There was no actual attempt to be that way, it s just kind of who I was. To be honest, I liked that me better than current me 10 times more. That me was great. But as you become older, you become more aware of the opportunity. I was playing with house money every time I went on the air.

 

Eventually, Vasgersian became established enough to draw interest from other teams and after four years behind the microphone in Milwaukee, he was hired by the Padres to be their lead play-by-play announcer, pairing him with Mud Grant.

 

It was a bigger market and a chance for Vasgersian to return to California, where he was born, raised and attended college but it was still a difficult decision.

 

In moving, I might not find the same kind of group I had in Milwaukee, Vasgersian said. People at the club, (Brewers color analyst Bill) Schoerder, the people in the truck and I felt like it was mutual. But the biggest change for me was I felt like I played better in Milwaukee to this day, I still feel like I play better in Milwaukee. San Dieo is a different market not better, not worse, just different and I was a young guy, Milwaukee was so welcoming of me and my style.

 

Padres fans came to appreciate Vasgersian, too, and as he grew as a broadcaster, more opportunities started coming his way. His first national exposure came in 2001 when he was hired by NBC to handle lead play-by-play duties for the XFL. The experience was less-than-ideal at the time and while Vasgersian was eventually demoted by WWE Chairman Vince McMahnon at one point, he made an impression on NBC officials that ultimately resulted in five Olympic assignments.

 

Vasgersian called baseball and softball from the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, ski jumping from the 2006 and 2010 Winter Games and freestyle skiing from the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. None of those would have been possible, he realizes, without his XFL experience.

 

People asked me if I regret doing (the XFL) and I did, at the time, Vasgersian says. Looking back, I m very grateful for the opportunity because it led to the Olympics, it led to NBC.

 

And it led to other ventures like handling NFL games on FOX from 2006-2008. FOX also assigned him to BCS games including the 2007 Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl in 2008 and 09 and it s national baseball broadcasts during the summer.

 

Again, one opportunity led to another as MLB Network wanted Vasgersian to be part of its launch day lineup in 2008. He did a little of everything in the early days, hosting the flagship show MLB Tonight as well as the late-night Quick Pitch program and even hosted the network s first-ever game show, Baseball IQ. He still appears all across the network today and makes occasional appearances as the play-by-play voice of the MLB Network Showcase game.

 

Nicknamed the Armenian Bob Costas by members of the Brewers traveling press, Vasgersian admits he never envisioned the day he d be sharing air time with Costas some day.

 

Professionally, they are now peers but there is still a level of respect and even awe that Vasgersian says just comes with the territory and also, helps keep him humble.

 

Bob is on the Mount Rushmore for sports broadcasts, Vasgersian said. You never dream of being on the same level as somebody like that. Maybe that s part of the secret sauce. When you consider yourself part of the club, you ve lost something so for me, it s better if I fly around the perimeter a little bit.

 

Flying around the perimeter isn t easy to do when you re one of the faces of a network that reaches millions of homes each day and becomes even more difficult when you re the lead announcer for the national game of the week. That role, which Vasgersian approaches with an air of reverence, has also required him to take a slightly different approach than he did during his days calling games on cold, April nights at County Stadium.

 

He still stays true to himself the mark of any good announcer but Vasgersian knows there s a time and a place for schtick. It s a delicate balance and one Vasgersian is still refining. It s also a challenge Vasgersian embraces and an opportunity he cherishes.

 

That s what the role requires, Vasgersian says. I was so flattered to have gotten that job. Those were among the discussions when I got that job, following in the footsteps of Dan Schulman and Jon Miller.

 

I knew that I wanted to be myself, but there s a degree of reverence around seat I want to maintain.