Nationals TV play-by-play announcer Bob Carpenter had a great birthday on Tuesday while he and his MASN crewmates, Don Sutton and Debbi Taylor, broadcasted the Nats’ first spring telecast of the season.
However, there was a time last fall when Carpenter was not part of the broadcast team and he thought he might be out of baseball.
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But give full credit to Stan Kasten and the Nats front office for getting him back in the fold and keeping a very good thing going.
In just one year together, Carpenter and Sutton established themselves as one of baseball’s elite broadcasting duos. Carpenter’s folksy, but smooth, play-by-play style was well-complimented by Sutton’s mixture of teaching, with his in-depth insights and humor.
“I really think that Don, Debbi and I can take our broadcasts to an even higher level than last season,” Carpenter said about his second year with MASN. “Don Sutton is one of the, if not the, premier color analysts in all of baseball and Debbi Taylor is one of the best in-game reporters. We are also blessed by having an outstanding technical crew.”
As for the team’s outlook and the new ballpark, Carpenter had nothing but high praise.
“I think that for the first time, teams in Major League Baseball will see what a real first class organization the Nationals really are,” Carpenter said. “Our state-of-the-art stadium and a ball club that is ready to contend now. I know that on paper the Mets and the Phillies are the teams that everyone feels will be the class of our division but the Nats have heart. They are like that team you draw in the NCAA Tournament that you don’t want to play. They may not have the talent level that you do, but they will fight you every minute of every game.”
The first game is going to be seen nationally on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball in HD on March 30. The MASN crew will hit the air the next day from Philadelphia at 3 p.m. for the Phillies’ home opener.
This season Johnny Holiday and Ray Knight will be doing live NatsXtra from the new ballpark on all weekend games and some special games throughout the season.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on www.examiner.com.
