A home opener in Major League Baseball, no matter where the game is played and without regard to the team’s expected season, has a certain pomp.
There’s usually commemorative bunting displayed everywhere. The “Opening Day” paint on the grass is fresh. The on-deck circle is clean. Excitement is in the air. Dignitaries show up, often for the ceremonial first pitch.
This year in the Coors Field press box, the sounds of the game had a different pep.
“Michael Toglia lines it into right field. It’s an easy single.”
In the home half of the fourth inning of the Colorado Rockies’ April 4 home opener against the Athletics, the KOA broadcast team of Jack Corrigan and Jerry Schemmel took a breather as a guest play-by-play man made his broadcast debut.
“A beautiful shot, and we are up and going here with a man on first and no outs.”
This may not have been Gov. Jared Polis’ ultimate Walter Mitty moment, but it is apparent that it’s toward the top of his bucket list. With Kyle Farmer at the plate, there’s action on the basepaths.
“Toglia, easily gets to third. He might even get home.”
Polis touts himself as a longtime baseball fan, rooting for the Padres in his youth and frequenting the Denver Zephyrs minor league games until the Rockies came along in 1993.
“I was thrilled to do it,” Polis told the IJN. “I’m a big baseball fan. I grew up with baseball and played all the way through high school, even before the Rockies were in town.
“I played in the Congressional baseball game for nine years when I was in Congress. I still go to the batting cages a lot, and I love everything from playing to watching to going to my daughter’s Little League games.”
So, when Polis received an invite to do some play-by-play, he jumped at the chance.
“I was thrilled,” Polis says. “You get a little nervous, trying to get a few facts in about the players, and I had a lot of general knowledge about the game that came out.
“It’s just kind of a fun chance to share your thoughts on baseball and it was special to call a game for an inning in the radio booth. “It was a really special experience in life.”
“Not a lot of speed, but he’s (Toglia) going . . . looks like we have a run for the Rockies. It’s a standup double for Farmer. We have a 2-2 ballgame, folks.”
By all accounts, Polis did a credible job. He appeared not to have a “deer in the headlight” moment that afflicts all neophyte broadcasters when the red light comes on for the first time.
The governor identified players easily, detailed without difficulty the action on the field, and made sure to update the context of each play.
“I was trying to have some anecdotes ready about the players,” Polis said, “but honestly a lot of it was just spontaneous, like when there was a delay for an appealed call.
“I talked about some of the other changes that have been made to make the game shorter, and that’s one of the few that made it longer. So, it was mostly just spontaneous comments on what was going on in the field.
“I would say the job of a broadcaster got harder with the rule changes, because the game fundamentally moves faster. You had more time between pitches and between batters three or four years ago than you do now.
“You have to talk a little faster than in the past, and I got to see that firsthand. The action was just unrelenting, you know?”
The jobs of Corrigan and Schemmel are safe, and they offered the state’s chief executive an invitation to return.
“I’m auditioning, I’m available in a year-and-a-half,” the governor quipped, referring to when his term in office ends.
“So give me a call, OK. Go Rockies.”
While there are countless examples of sportscasters jumping to politics, there are virtually no known political figures transitioning to the broadcast booth.
That, at least in the case of Polis, appears to hold, as the governor has a serious day job. He remains coy about the speculation of his interest in the White House, though he did make sure to slip in to the IJN that, even with his boosting of his hometown Rockies and his early affinity toward the Padres, he is also a fan of the Washington Nationals.
“Let’s hope that there’s a good postseason and I’ll be happy to come back in October to call a game,” Polis said.
Polis estimates he is able to take in five or six games a season at Coors Field. This one, no doubt, was unique and memorable.
“It’s a lot of fun,” the governor said. “Being up there in that radio booth is very special. And being able to describe for listeners what’s going on and provide some color is just a great experience.”
Hear Gov. Polis’ interview on the IJNCast
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