Brendan Burke relishes unique play-by-play role on Peacock's MLB broadcasts

When it comes to baseball play-by-play voices and analysts and whether they are endearing to that team's fans, familiarity is the one word that is always discussed. It could be the difference between a must-listen or a fan base completely tuning out a broadcast.

It can be the same with nationally televised games, as fans get to know who is calling the game after years of repetition.

The executives at NBC Sports have another twist to that philosophy. Each of their games during the early Sunday baseball window, called MLB Sunday Leadoff, features an analyst associated with each of the teams playing. The games are broadcast exclusively on Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service.

No matter how fans watch, the unique setup can make for exciting television or a complete train wreck.

Navigating the ship this season is Brendan Burke, who most people in the Northeast know as the television play-by-play voice of New York Islanders. Burke was born in Milwaukee and grew up playing hockey. It didn't take long for him to get the sports media itch, as his father, Don, who now works for the New York Post, also penned stories as the New York Yankees beat writer for the Bergen Record and Star-Ledger in New Jersey.

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"As a 9-year-old kid, I would go with him to games and on road trips," Burke told USA TODAY Sports. "And at one point, I sat between John Sterling and Michael Kay when they were paired together on the radio. And I realized they got paid to do that. So for 30 years, that's been my passion to be a broadcaster. Everybody kept waiting for me to change my mind and want to do something else."

But the Ithaca College graduate couldn't stay away from the dream. He even got a satellite radio subscription from his father as a college graduation present so he could listen to as many broadcasts as possible, hone his skills, and take what he liked and didn't like from each broadcaster and apply it to his repertoire.

New gig with Peacock

Burke started his duties with NBC on May 21 after finishing his hockey play-by-duties with the NHL on TNT. (Matt Vasgersian and Chris Vosters called the first four games while Burke was on assignment).

So far in the MLB Sunday Leadoff package's second season, Burke's analysts have been Hall of Famer Barry Larkin (New York Yankees-Cincinnati Reds), Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles Dodgers-Tampa Bay Rays), Albert Pujols (St. Louis Cardinals-Pittsburgh Pirates), Kirk Gibson and Luis Gonzalez and Jim Palmer and Joe Girardi (Baltimore Orioles-Chicago Cubs).

"That's the fun of it is being able to have these knowledgeable analysts with you on the broadcast where you know there's no way as a national guy coming in and doing two different teams every week that I could possibly have the knowledge that a broadcaster that follows them every week," Burke said. "So having the ability to have a regional broadcaster from both sides kind of creates this perfect storm."

The idea behind the setup with distinctive analysts every week is to provide in-depth coverage and knowledge of the teams as if you were watching that regular team's broadcast during the week.

Having breakfast with your baseball is also a novel idea, as six games on the slate have 11:35 a.m. ET start times. Games begin at 12:05 or 1:05 ET for the remainder of the schedule.

But with streaming services such as Peacock, Apple+ and Amazon Prime taking their shots at broadcasting sporting events, the inevitable moan from fans who don't want to pay extra to watch their favorite teams is getting louder by the day.

"I can tell you what, it's not going back to the way that it used to be," he says. "I start to embrace the streaming services because it's not going backward. This is going to be part of wherever this wild ride ends up for sports on television. Streaming is going to be a big part of it."

Creating chemistry

Burke admits it is hard to find a groove with someone you don't work with regularly but concedes that's also the thrill of having an unfamiliar analyst in the booth, saying it creates a "perfect storm of almost doing a double regional instead of the broadcast."

Learning that whoever he is working with has up to six games during the week with their regular teams before they even start working with Burke on Sunday can have its issues too.

Burke says he talks with the analysts during the week and meets face-to-face the day before the game.

"We talk to them and say just a couple of thoughts on the way I like to handle the broadcast, which is as little of me as possible because the best people want to hear the analyst talk, especially on television, and that's what they're there for," he said.

The new rules implemented this season by Major League Baseball – including the pitch clock, meant to eliminate the unnecessary mundane things, pick up the pace of play and shorten games – have its effect in the booth as well.

Gone are the days of long, drawn-out stories that broadcasters tend to spew unless the game is out of hand. Burke says improving the product is job one, not just for the fans but for anyone invested in the game.

"I think this is across the board for everybody I talk to in the business, that everybody loves it," Burke said. "What we realize as broadcasters is that what they're cutting out of these games is dead time. Time where we had to come up with something to fill the space.

"Maybe by the fourth inning, we're feeling pretty good. At the ninth, it's over, and then we do it again the next week, the two different people. So, it's the fun but also the challenge of it, where you get done with the game. You go, Wow, that was great. I really enjoyed working with those guys. I will never work with those guys again."

The future

The married father of three (an 8-year-old girl, Quinn, and two boys, Liam, 6, and Colin, 2) says there isn't much time to do anything else when he isn't busy traversing the country for his various jobs.

He works late at night when the family is in bed, and hotel rooms are how he gets his study time in for the next assignment.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"So that whole life balance is such a struggle in this business with the travel, the hours that I keep, and the days and holidays that I miss. All that kind of stuff, where when I'm home, I try to be home with the family.

"If I have free time, I won't decide what to do with it," Burke jokes.

Burke says he doesn't know what's next for him in his career but is undoubtedly happy with how things are going.

"I'm very happy with the career that I've carved out at this point," he says. "But my phone is always on, and I've rarely said no to anything. And if people call and want me to try something else, they are more than happy to do that too."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Peacock's MLB Sunday Leadoff broadcaster enjoys unique weekly test