View Full Version : Female P.A. Announcers at Major League Parks
Greg B.
08-22-2008, 05:51 PM
Watching the Mets game tonight (8/22) I notice there is a female PA announcer working at Shea. Is that always the case there?
It made me wonder where else female PA announcers are employed by MLB clubs. I think there is one used by the Giants. Any others?
Any thoughts on the general topic of female PA announcers? I'm an old school guy and I find it jarring. Their voices always sound forced somehow.
murphwright5
08-22-2008, 05:56 PM
no that's a one night thing.....it's fiesta latina night so the mets are breaking out the los mets jerseys......i actually think that is jocelyn pierce, the wife of giants linebacker antonio pierce....but yea she's only doing it for one night
steveironcity
08-22-2008, 06:46 PM
Viva los mets!!!!
Williamsburg2599
08-22-2008, 07:21 PM
I know the Giants do (or did). That's the only one I can remember.
Personally I didn't like that particular announcer. Man or women, I probably wouldn't care, but she made it sound like she was introducing the robot band at the local Chuck E. Cheese.
JC Daly
08-22-2008, 07:24 PM
I seem to remember the Red Sox having a female PA at one time, didn't they? Or maybe that was a short time thing?
Williamsburg2599
08-22-2008, 07:37 PM
I seem to remember the Red Sox having a female PA at one time, didn't they? Or maybe that was a short time thing?
Don't think so. Might of been a one game thing....
marlins739
08-22-2008, 08:13 PM
The Giants still do. I liked her, she was really energetic about it compared to some of the stodgy old announcers in other parks
efin98
08-22-2008, 08:52 PM
Don't think so. Might of been a one game thing....
The Red Sox hired Lesley Sterling(a female) to replace the famous Sherm Feller as the voice of Fenway Park. She was the PA announcer for Fenway from '94-'96...She sounded horrid and out of place and incredibly slow for a PA announcer(took a good second or two to get the players' names out when they came to bat).
Must have been before your time...listen for her voice next time NESN has classic Red Sox games on from that time frame.
The House That Ruth Built
08-22-2008, 09:00 PM
The Giants still do. I liked her, she was really energetic about it compared to some of the stodgy old announcers in other parks
I actually hate those loud, obnoxious PA announcers. I prefer the Bob Sheppard/Carl Beane (Red Sox) style. They respectfully announce names, not shout into the microphone. :radio
Yankees12
08-22-2008, 09:09 PM
I hate that Giants PA announcer - she has a grating voice, and just screams everything out.
I greatly prefer the Bob Sheppard types myself.
Aviator_Frank
08-22-2008, 09:21 PM
Eric Smith (LA Dodgers) has a good voice but lately he's been mimicking Michael Buffer's style.
KevinWI
08-22-2008, 09:31 PM
Eric Smith (LA Dodgers) has a good voice but lately he's been mimicking Michael Buffer's style.
Let's get ready to rumble!
Mario Mendoza...HOF Lock
08-22-2008, 09:42 PM
The Giants still do. I liked her, she was really energetic about it compared to some of the stodgy old announcers in other parks
I'll take the "stodgy old announcers" in the other parks. Energetic announcers belong in wrestling and roller derby. And without sounding sexist, preferably male (unless the woman is a 4 pack a day smoker with a deep throaty voice, and even then.....).
Urbanshocker13
08-22-2008, 10:21 PM
I'll take the "stodgy old announcers" in the other parks. Energetic announcers belong in wrestling and roller derby. And without sounding sexist, preferably male (unless the woman is a 4 pack a day smoker with a deep throaty voice, and even then.....).
I am probably the only dork that will get this reference.....
http://www.baseball-fever.com/images/attach/jpg.gif
efin98
08-22-2008, 10:27 PM
I am probably the only dork that will get this reference.....
http://www.baseball-fever.com/images/attach/jpg.gif
You aren't the only one!
Williamsburg2599
08-22-2008, 10:30 PM
The Red Sox hired Lesley Sterling(a female) to replace the famous Sherm Feller as the voice of Fenway Park. She was the PA announcer for Fenway from '94-'96...She sounded horrid and out of place and incredibly slow for a PA announcer(took a good second or two to get the players' names out when they came to bat).
Must have been before your time...listen for her voice next time NESN has classic Red Sox games on from that time frame.
Whoa, showing my age. :crazy I'll check it out next time.
Yankees12
08-23-2008, 12:06 AM
I don't have a problem with female PA announcers that announce in a subdued, normal tone (not that there's too many of those), but there are certainly certain ballparks where females really should not be the PA announcer. For instance, I'd say Yankee Stadium absolutely needs a strong male voice to fill it, and I don't think Fenway would be a good venue for a female PA announcer either (I don't remember the times when it did have a PA announcer, although by all reports, it failed miserably). But I'm perfectly fine with it at most ballparks.
(That said, it needs to be a natural female voice, not something forced or overly bombastic, which a lot of women do when speaking publicly, and it comes off sounding terrible. Some women, especially in male-dominated areas, try to sound tougher and a bit more masculine when speaking publicly, and it really is annoying - Hillary Clinton had a tendency to do this, and some of her speeches were nearly unbearable thanks to it (there's some other lesser known female politicians that have fallen into this trap as well. This type of voice would be absolutely terrible as a PA announcer.)
bnbusser
08-23-2008, 08:31 AM
Renel Brooks-Moon is the Giants pa announcer. Personally, I can't stand her screaming and yelling of players when they come to bat. She needs to tone it down at least 3 octaves. She is also a radio DJ here in the bay area. I am old school with the Sherm Fellers, Bob Shepperd, John Ramsey in LA, and one of the most underrated Roy Steele in Oakland. Jon Miller dubbed Steele "the voice of God" years ago. Steele is also a Baptist minister.
Power Wally
08-23-2008, 08:43 AM
I love the female voice of my Garmin Nuvi! :)
Goober
08-23-2008, 09:02 AM
I agree that females in general aren't bad - we have one that does college basketball here - but the one that does Giants games is awful.
I do quite a bit of PA myself (college football, college hockey and town ball/youth baseball), in addition to my sports play-by-play on the radio, and tend to be overly critical of others who do it as well. That said, there are plenty of others who do it well...
Moose
The House That Ruth Built
08-23-2008, 10:48 AM
Renel Brooks-Moon: Starting Lineup LA Dodgers and SF Giants :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lGS2h8nMyA&feature=related
mets16
08-23-2008, 10:58 AM
Renel Brooks-Moon: Starting Lineup LA Dodgers and SF Giants :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lGS2h8nMyA&feature=related
God that's terrible...
I love the LA Dodger announcer... the whole experience at Dodger Stadium with the PA announcer and music.. it is good
heres the Dodgers intro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVTcURw1P3Y&feature=related
The House That Ruth Built
08-23-2008, 11:21 AM
nice, but I still prefer Bob Sheppard. :radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16k3pcv8OM
Yankees12
08-23-2008, 11:28 AM
Renel Brooks-Moon: Starting Lineup LA Dodgers and SF Giants :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lGS2h8nMyA&feature=related
She sounds like a cheerleader. :eek:
If she said everything like she announced the Dodgers lineup, she'd be fine. But that Giants lineup... it killed my ears.
mets16
08-23-2008, 11:33 AM
nice, but I still prefer Bob Sheppard. :radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16k3pcv8OM
they should hire this guy at NYS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qREuKVRX340&feature=related
Yankees12
08-23-2008, 11:41 AM
they should hire this guy at NYS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qREuKVRX340&feature=related
He should be the organist - his rendition of Eddie Layton's pre-game warm-up is absolutely wonderful, and brings back a ton of memories. I'm sure tons of Yankee fans who remember sitting back at YS hearing Layton play that tune while waiting for the game to start can say the same thing.
Gene Honda at USCF does a great job. He's goot some excitement in his voice but it's not over the top like a WWE announcer or something.
I don't believe I've ever heard a female announcer here but they did that thing where a kid does it for an inning.
Not a big fan of that but if it's only an inning let the kid have fun I guess.
The female announcers sound just like the kids from those one-inning stints. It's absolutely grating.
Greg B.
08-23-2008, 01:15 PM
nice, but I still prefer Bob Sheppard. :radio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y16k3pcv8OM
Ah, listening to that made me smile. :)
I enjoyed the Dodger Stadium clip too -- that guy has a great delivery.
As for the Giants lineup... :eek:
I wish I could find a good clip of Sherm Feller when he was working Fenway. NESN uses what is meant to be him on their game intros but I don't think it is his actual voice. His actual delivery was quite unique. As I recall, there was a standard announcement he made between halves of the 1st inning that dealt with the rules for attending a game and that was where he did the famous "Ladies and gentlemen... boys and girls... welcome to Fenway Park". The unique thing was that there was a long pause between the first and second phrases, and the "boys and girls" line was delivered very quickly and quietly, almost as an afterthought.
JMC Bomber
08-23-2008, 02:10 PM
Here's a nice short piece on the Dodgers/Clippers P.A. guy already mentioned, Eric Smith. Just listening to his normal speaking voice is a treat!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESNlvOwtYYc
efin98
08-23-2008, 04:45 PM
Ah, listening to that made me smile. :)
I enjoyed the Dodger Stadium clip too -- that guy has a great delivery.
As for the Giants lineup... :eek:
I wish I could find a good clip of Sherm Feller when he was working Fenway. NESN uses what is meant to be him on their game intros but I don't think it is his actual voice. His actual delivery was quite unique. As I recall, there was a standard announcement he made between halves of the 1st inning that dealt with the rules for attending a game and that was where he did the famous "Ladies and gentlemen... boys and girls... welcome to Fenway Park". The unique thing was that there was a long pause between the first and second phrases, and the "boys and girls" line was delivered very quickly and quietly, almost as an afterthought.
The NESN clip is him only edited slightly to allow for the music in the background and to add a little time to the clip...compare it to the clip from here: http://www.shermfeller.com/audio.htm
Greg B.
08-23-2008, 06:21 PM
The NESN clip is him only edited slightly to allow for the music in the background and to add a little time to the clip...compare it to the clip from here: http://www.shermfeller.com/audio.htm
Interesting... because that wasn't the way he delivered it in the ballpark every time I was there. There was always that long pause between "ladies and gentlemen" and the afterthought "boys and girls".
The "Please Rise" clip on that site is more representative of how he spoke.
efin98
08-23-2008, 07:50 PM
Interesting... because that wasn't the way he delivered it in the ballpark every time I was there. There was always that long pause between "ladies and gentlemen" and the afterthought "boys and girls".
The "Please Rise" clip on that site is more representative of how he spoke.
Might be that the clip is edited or might be how you remember it, I remember it being very similar to the clip when I went there in the early 90s.
mrakbaseball
08-23-2008, 11:47 PM
Renel Brooks-Moon: Starting Lineup LA Dodgers and SF Giants :eek:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lGS2h8nMyA&feature=related
There's worst. Seen the NBA lately? The Cavaliers, Pistons, Heat, Spurs and nearly everyone else is just ridiculous. Way over the top with lasers, pyrotechnic displays. The NBA because of the constant sound effects and music during every single possession is almost unwatchable. Baseball PA announcers male or female haven't approached the NBA's level of obnoxiousness, yet.
JMC Bomber
08-23-2008, 11:59 PM
There's worst. Seen the NBA lately? The Cavaliers, Pistons, Heat, Spurs and nearly everyone else is just ridiculous. Way over the top with lasers, pyrotechnic displays. The NBA because of the constant sound effects and music during every single possession is almost unwatchable. Baseball PA announcers male or female haven't approached the NBA's level of obnoxiousness, yet.
We're spoiled in L.A.. Laurence Tantor is everything a great PA guy should be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPBr7ChmfTg&feature=related
Gary Dunaier
08-24-2008, 12:04 AM
The thread appears to have shifted from female P.A. announcers to P.A. announcers in general, so I'll throw this in.
I loved it when, during the post-season, the networks would patch in the home ballpark's P.A. announcer introducing the players for the first game at the respective ballparks. During the 1986 NLCS, after the Houston announcer finished his hyperbolic introductions, the NBC broadcasters said something to the effect of, 'the guy in New York's got his work cut out for him' (not a direct quote). So, when the series moved to Shea Stadium, I was looking forward to hearing P.A. announcer Jack Franchetti's voice coming through the television.
Unfortunately, NBC didn't do the introduction of the players in New York!!!!! (Insert voluminous profanities of increasing offensiveness here.) :banghead:
JMC Bomber
08-24-2008, 12:36 AM
The thread appears to have shifted from female P.A. announcers to P.A. announcers in general..
That's 'cause we all agree that female PA announcers suck, and would like to change the subject.
Seriously, there's three things I don't want a chick to be doing,
PA announcing,
announcing movie trailers,
and asking me to turn my head and cough
Greg B.
08-24-2008, 06:18 AM
Might be that the clip is edited or might be how you remember it, I remember it being very similar to the clip when I went there in the early 90s.
The reason I remember this is that when I made my first trip to Fenway in '82 I was with a couple of friends who had been there before. When we reached that point in the game where Sherm was about to make the announcement one of my friends called it ahead of time for me and sure enough, he nailed it with the long pause and the odd delivery of "boys and girls", and we all had a laugh. So after that it was always something I listened for and I never remember it as ever being different from what I heard that day. Ah well, it's all moot anyway now.