Mike Emrick, longtime Pittsburgh Pirates fan, to call July game
Mike Emrick doesn’t hide his Pittsburgh Pirates fandom while broadcasting NHL games for NBC. Whenever he can, “Doc” will slip in some sort of reference to the Buccos.
His love of the team has resulted in his participation in a Pirates fantasy camp and calling two innings of a spring training camp this past March. But next month, Emrick will fulfill a longtime dream, thanks to Bob Costas.
According to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, Emrick will join Costas in the MLB Network booth at PNC Park and call the Pirates’ July 8th game against the Chicago Cubs.
Costas said he would call the first three innings, during which he and Emrick would talk about his connection to the Pirates as a fan and his favorite broadcasters.
“And then I’ll say, ‘To take us through the next few innings, here’s Doc Emrick,’” Costas said.
Costas is not expecting a polished baseball announcer beside him at PNC Park. But Emrick is skilled at using anecdotes, a critical skill in a baseball booth.
Costas said he heard about Emrick’s love of the Pirates last year and reached out to invite him to call a game. It’ll be an interesting adjustment going from hockey to baseball.
“I just want to make sure that what I do is at least at M.L.B. Network level — maybe the bottom of the bar they set, but I want to be halfway professional,” Emrick told Sandomir.
With some extra time in the booth compared to the two innings of that spring training game, it’ll be fun to see if Emrick’s verb count can come close to what he pulls off nightly during NHL games.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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