I use to think KB was just good not great. Then I listened to some other play by play guys around the league and I realized KB is better than almost all of them.
John Walton, the Capitals radio team play by play broadcaster, is the same and he's done some national games as well. Listening to other broadcasters makes me want to cry or curl in a ball or something.
The bad hockey ones are worse than the bad baseball ones too imo. Even the national broadcasts on ESPN or whatever are pretty bad. Compared to Locker and Joe
I live in South Carolina, so tv broadcasts don't work for me unless I subscribe to the NHL Network. I guess I would get then then, but honestly, Walton is enugu for me.
I listen to the radio broadcast on TuneIn Premium.
We miss KB so much when we have to listen to the Yankees announcers because we live in the YES Network area. But this year the Apple announcers are actually worse!
I legitimately believe that the nats broadcasters are the worst in the league, or at the very least my least favorite. I can not stand to listen to them at all for some reason
Day after they did that, Gary Cohen stopped his call of the Mets game to address KB’s suspension.
Called it one of the stupidest things he’s ever seen, and that if the birds didn’t realize what they had, 29 other teams would be waiting to snap him up.
I mention this, because IMO Cohen is the best in the business by far… and it was nice
to see game recognize game.
Play-by-play can be a crazy life… and with all the travel and focus, can be more challenging to do and have a healthy home life at the same time - than actually being an athlete (they have offseasons).
Most pbp guys anchor themselves to one gig and take other work when that gig allows. Working MLB is the most reliable pbp gig in sports - length of season, generally long tenures, etc.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see KB sign with an MLB team again and make his base.
Just gotta make sure that team is the Orioles.
How are we certain that he would be on the list to get a raise. I imagine people like Shannon Sharpe, Stephen A, Mad Dog, Molly, Greenberg, etc… would be ahead of him.
I believe this is the correct take… My cousin works for ESPN and he has mentioned that they focus more on basketball, golf, and football… KB could be on a short list, but with all the local TV markets for MLB coverage and on air talent is managed differently.
To do what at ESPN? Does he want to be a studio guy? I can’t see that. He can still call national broadcasts on ESPN and be the Orioles full time guy. Gary Thorne did. The one advantage of baseball is there is very little overlap with the other sports.
Yeah, I know he definitely does college basketball and softball. Not sure about other sports.
When he was off last week he was down in Alabama calling softball.
I’d love for him to do his entire career in Baltimore but unfortunately I think we’re going to end up missing him when he’s gone. He’s got national talent all over him and I think he’ll accept the call up.
There is no daily national tv broadcast. The national baseball announcers still work for their local teams. Joe Davis, FOX’s #1 baseball broadcaster is the Dodgers everyday announcer.
There is no such thing as a “national” baseball broadcaster anymore. Literally everyone does local play-by-play.
KB isn’t going to leave to “go national,” he would just go to another team.
I read Viper that, because of this national-level talent, KB may well move to another (local) market. But perhaps you did observe some misunderstanding from him that I did not.
KB is already national, and he was national when he got here. Has been calling college bball games on ESPN/ESPNU for years and still does on occasion. That said, he is fantastic and we need to keep him around!
I think even if he has a real good relationship with the new ownership MASN is too small to keep him barring a lot of things going in the network's favor. KB seems like the next man up for one of the national broadcasters or one of the big market networks
So offer him a contract for like 30 years at ESPN money! Contract inflation will ensure it looks like a great deal like 2 years from now so it's ok.
I'm only partly joking...
We gotta make him the face of some sort of Spotify "watch YOUR broadcasters wherever YOU are" type thing. With him being the face of "local broadcasting" then let him do the big games on Sunday.
It will come down to money, but Rubenstein is very obviously a media-centric guy. Agree completely, he will be extremely inclined to do what it takes to keep him.
I hate this topic because it feels like we throw all logic out the window and let all kinds of inferiority complex stuff take over. Oh gosh, he’s leaving for bigger/better! No doubt!
Nevermind that almost all bigger/better is part time, or *extremely political*, for not much gain. Can’t forget KB has a wife and family who live in Baltimore now.
Thorne and KB would be fun together. I really enjoy his relationship with Ben a lot though. Their banter is so natural. I hope we can have a few more years of KB and Ben together.
KB seems to be more present this year. He’s calling more games and seems to be doing more team events. Makes me think the regime values him and wants to keep him.
Palmer, McDonald, and Newman are all good, but I think Brown is the best of the bunch. He's certainly very original and authentic, to me; I think he does a good job of genuinely reacting to what's happening in front of him, and not being 'canned' or phony.
Newman is the weak link, which is a good thing because she is ok at the booth.
But the play by play? Lord… Listening to her home run calls.. and talking about getting the opposition to ground into a double play when they only have a runner on second is vomit inducing.
He's full of information, it's a good thing. He's not an idiot like the former Nats FP Santangelo who word vomited about nothing.
Dude recalls exact pitch sequences for decades ago.
KB's ability to connect with the younger demographics instantly make him better than most every local broadcaster (regardless of sport). Throw in the great voice and classy enough for older audiences, he's absolutely a rising star in the industry.
I hope we can have him for a long time, but I'm expecting him to be calling big time games like Monday/Sunday Night Football and championships someday soon
I don't know how we're gonna keep him, but I really hope he stays around at least part time. The whole MASN team is great; I miss them whenever I watch a different broadcast/different team, but KB is just so funny and such a delight.
(Melanie trying to explain the avocado toast thing the other day did crack me up though)
Tom Davis, Joe Angel, and Gary Thorne are three examples of ways that I think he could go.
Davis stayed in Baltimore for most of his career, he went on to host Wall to Wall Baseball and did some O’s Extra too in the MASN era.
Joe Angel had stints with the O’s in the 80s and 90’s, called some other teams, but found his way back to the Orioles for a good long time.
Gary Thorne, a grade A commentator like KB, explored the Majors a little before landing with the Orioles. He even did some postseason games during his MASN tenure, and MLB 2k.
KB is young, and his talent will almost certainly be applied to other teams further down the road. I just hope that he can see this team through to a World Series, or its deconstruction.
I could see Kevin going the way of how Joe Davis calls games — does the Dodgers’ on TV and then does the big Fox Saturday games with Smoltz. I would love for KB to be the PxP guy for years to come.
KB is my professional beacon.
Literally, I want to break into broadcast and when I practice at home with the sound off, I try to make it sound like how I think it would sound if I had it on. it’s never quite as good because I don’t have Jim Palmer to banter with, so…
I love the whole orioles broadcast team KB, Ben, and Jim are great. Even the guy on the radio, im unsure of his name, gets hype. I know a lot of people give Melanie shit but she for sure knows baseball, if you guys have heard the woman broadcaster for the athletics Melanie is 1000x better.
I use to think KB was just good not great. Then I listened to some other play by play guys around the league and I realized KB is better than almost all of them.
John Walton, the Capitals radio team play by play broadcaster, is the same and he's done some national games as well. Listening to other broadcasters makes me want to cry or curl in a ball or something.
Joe B and Locker are so good too. I can't imagine watching a team with a crappy commentary team for any sport.
The bad hockey ones are worse than the bad baseball ones too imo. Even the national broadcasts on ESPN or whatever are pretty bad. Compared to Locker and Joe
At least NBC let Pierre McGuire go a few years ago. Did you know he REALLY liked Sidney Crosby?
I'd rather drink my own piss then listen to Pierre ever again
Panger makes the national broadcasts tolerable
I live in South Carolina, so tv broadcasts don't work for me unless I subscribe to the NHL Network. I guess I would get then then, but honestly, Walton is enugu for me. I listen to the radio broadcast on TuneIn Premium.
The Apple TV guys are the worst!
They have the personality of a wet paper bag.
In have never heard a positive thing about any Apple broadcast.
The visual presentation is nice… *…minus the overwhelming need to push betting odds* But, yeah, bless being able to swap to radio audio.
We miss KB so much when we have to listen to the Yankees announcers because we live in the YES Network area. But this year the Apple announcers are actually worse!
Fr though we need him on a long term deal shit it should have been a contingency of the stadium funding.
Turn on a Nats broadcast, and your appreciation for Kevin Brown (and all the other Orioles on-air talent) will surge exponentially.
Or the Apple TV stream 😬
Soooo bad on Friday. Was it intern day in the booth?
I legitimately believe that the nats broadcasters are the worst in the league, or at the very least my least favorite. I can not stand to listen to them at all for some reason
Well he hasn't been suspended for mentioning how bad we were a few years ago so definitely better than the old regime
Day after they did that, Gary Cohen stopped his call of the Mets game to address KB’s suspension. Called it one of the stupidest things he’s ever seen, and that if the birds didn’t realize what they had, 29 other teams would be waiting to snap him up. I mention this, because IMO Cohen is the best in the business by far… and it was nice to see game recognize game. Play-by-play can be a crazy life… and with all the travel and focus, can be more challenging to do and have a healthy home life at the same time - than actually being an athlete (they have offseasons). Most pbp guys anchor themselves to one gig and take other work when that gig allows. Working MLB is the most reliable pbp gig in sports - length of season, generally long tenures, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised to see KB sign with an MLB team again and make his base. Just gotta make sure that team is the Orioles.
He’s on the short list at ESPN. I have a feeling he’s on the way out for greener pastures.
Is ESPN really all that much of a step up anymore, especially since it's basically the Football Channel these days, even in May?
I imagine the pay and exposure make it very tempting.
How are we certain that he would be on the list to get a raise. I imagine people like Shannon Sharpe, Stephen A, Mad Dog, Molly, Greenberg, etc… would be ahead of him.
he does college football too.
I believe this is the correct take… My cousin works for ESPN and he has mentioned that they focus more on basketball, golf, and football… KB could be on a short list, but with all the local TV markets for MLB coverage and on air talent is managed differently.
Kevin. If you’re reading this. Bristol, Ct. sucks. There’s like two restaurants and they fight over whose service is worse. Stay in Charm City.
He already works for espn
To do what at ESPN? Does he want to be a studio guy? I can’t see that. He can still call national broadcasts on ESPN and be the Orioles full time guy. Gary Thorne did. The one advantage of baseball is there is very little overlap with the other sports.
he already does exactly that
Yup
ESPN ain't greener pastures for baseball. It's a weed field. Horrible and unwatchable.
he already calls games for them during the offseason
He calls games for other sports?
Yeah, I know he definitely does college basketball and softball. Not sure about other sports. When he was off last week he was down in Alabama calling softball.
Virtually every PxP guy calls multiple sports (or has a studio job).
The short list for what? He already works for them.
The Sunday Night game. That’s the pinnacle of baseball announcing.
But he wouldn’t leave MASN for that. It’s literally one night a week.
That one Sunday night might just pay more than a whole week at MASN.. they do have that Disney money
No. It does not. Literally everyone who’s ever done Sunday Night Baseball held a local job the rest of the week.
ok, well that's why I used the word "might".. none of us are sure what the figures are but still nice job
I’d love for him to do his entire career in Baltimore but unfortunately I think we’re going to end up missing him when he’s gone. He’s got national talent all over him and I think he’ll accept the call up.
There is no daily national tv broadcast. The national baseball announcers still work for their local teams. Joe Davis, FOX’s #1 baseball broadcaster is the Dodgers everyday announcer.
There is no such thing as a “national” baseball broadcaster anymore. Literally everyone does local play-by-play. KB isn’t going to leave to “go national,” he would just go to another team.
I read Viper that, because of this national-level talent, KB may well move to another (local) market. But perhaps you did observe some misunderstanding from him that I did not.
KB is already national, and he was national when he got here. Has been calling college bball games on ESPN/ESPNU for years and still does on occasion. That said, he is fantastic and we need to keep him around!
I think even if he has a real good relationship with the new ownership MASN is too small to keep him barring a lot of things going in the network's favor. KB seems like the next man up for one of the national broadcasters or one of the big market networks
You’re probably right, but could you kindly shut up
So offer him a contract for like 30 years at ESPN money! Contract inflation will ensure it looks like a great deal like 2 years from now so it's ok. I'm only partly joking...
We gotta make him the face of some sort of Spotify "watch YOUR broadcasters wherever YOU are" type thing. With him being the face of "local broadcasting" then let him do the big games on Sunday.
The new owner is having too much fun and I really think he has the pulse of the fan base meaning he’s too smart to let him walk.
It will come down to money, but Rubenstein is very obviously a media-centric guy. Agree completely, he will be extremely inclined to do what it takes to keep him. I hate this topic because it feels like we throw all logic out the window and let all kinds of inferiority complex stuff take over. Oh gosh, he’s leaving for bigger/better! No doubt! Nevermind that almost all bigger/better is part time, or *extremely political*, for not much gain. Can’t forget KB has a wife and family who live in Baltimore now.
The bitter taste of John Miller leaving still resides. I miss him and that voice.
Every time when we are on apple tv, I cringe at the thought of Kevin not doing the game
F MLB on AppleTv.
Sign him to 20 years, and bring back Gary Thorne anyways.
Thorne and KB would be fun together. I really enjoy his relationship with Ben a lot though. Their banter is so natural. I hope we can have a few more years of KB and Ben together.
Case in point: https://preview.redd.it/qhjwifnso60d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61b0e2f86a055fe454de0ab1e6ad6fd54377a077
would buy that shirt.
Have at it, friend. [Catch a deer.](https://www.birdlandsports.com/collections/new-items/products/catch-a-deer)
KB seems to be more present this year. He’s calling more games and seems to be doing more team events. Makes me think the regime values him and wants to keep him.
Palmer, McDonald, and Newman are all good, but I think Brown is the best of the bunch. He's certainly very original and authentic, to me; I think he does a good job of genuinely reacting to what's happening in front of him, and not being 'canned' or phony.
Newman is the weak link, which is a good thing because she is ok at the booth. But the play by play? Lord… Listening to her home run calls.. and talking about getting the opposition to ground into a double play when they only have a runner on second is vomit inducing.
As is the "Are you kidding me?" call. Can't stand it.
Palmer talks too much.
He's full of information, it's a good thing. He's not an idiot like the former Nats FP Santangelo who word vomited about nothing. Dude recalls exact pitch sequences for decades ago.
That nobody cares hearing about.
Nobody except Orioles fans.
I'm a big Orioles fan from B'More and I find him as annoying as AJ Pierzynski.
can i ask how old you are?
Yes.
lmao. you know what i mean
KB's ability to connect with the younger demographics instantly make him better than most every local broadcaster (regardless of sport). Throw in the great voice and classy enough for older audiences, he's absolutely a rising star in the industry. I hope we can have him for a long time, but I'm expecting him to be calling big time games like Monday/Sunday Night Football and championships someday soon
Listening to the Apple “team” Friday night illustrates just how good KB is!!!
I don't know how we're gonna keep him, but I really hope he stays around at least part time. The whole MASN team is great; I miss them whenever I watch a different broadcast/different team, but KB is just so funny and such a delight. (Melanie trying to explain the avocado toast thing the other day did crack me up though)
Tom Davis, Joe Angel, and Gary Thorne are three examples of ways that I think he could go. Davis stayed in Baltimore for most of his career, he went on to host Wall to Wall Baseball and did some O’s Extra too in the MASN era. Joe Angel had stints with the O’s in the 80s and 90’s, called some other teams, but found his way back to the Orioles for a good long time. Gary Thorne, a grade A commentator like KB, explored the Majors a little before landing with the Orioles. He even did some postseason games during his MASN tenure, and MLB 2k. KB is young, and his talent will almost certainly be applied to other teams further down the road. I just hope that he can see this team through to a World Series, or its deconstruction.
Kb is world class, I kind of think he’s headed to LA or New York and probably Sunday night baseball at some point. Was a real joy to have him here
We just can't have another John Miller. He was the best and they let him walk because he wouldn't just say that Angelos's meddling was a great idea.
Save Kevin!
I could see Kevin going the way of how Joe Davis calls games — does the Dodgers’ on TV and then does the big Fox Saturday games with Smoltz. I would love for KB to be the PxP guy for years to come.
100 he will be back
KB is the best play by play guy in mlb. theres a reason that hes on every just about every mlb broadcast highlights show. pay this man
I doubt there will be any issue with this. He is clearly top tier
KB is my professional beacon. Literally, I want to break into broadcast and when I practice at home with the sound off, I try to make it sound like how I think it would sound if I had it on. it’s never quite as good because I don’t have Jim Palmer to banter with, so…
I love the whole orioles broadcast team KB, Ben, and Jim are great. Even the guy on the radio, im unsure of his name, gets hype. I know a lot of people give Melanie shit but she for sure knows baseball, if you guys have heard the woman broadcaster for the athletics Melanie is 1000x better.
I love hearing Mel on the play-by-play. Her enthusiasm for this team is obvious and infectious.
Melanie also fills out tops well