Lauren Jbara talks MLB Postseason reporting

TNT Sports’ coverage of the MLB Postseason gets underway Saturday with their exclusive coverage of the two American League Division Series matchups, featuring the Detroit Tigers against the Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees. Lauren Jbara will be working her first MLB Postseason as the reporter on the Tigers-Guardians series (alongside play-by-play voice Brian Anderson and analyst Jeff Francoeur), and will also be the reporter on TBS’ exclusive American League Championship Series following that. She spoke to AA on this Thursday, and said she’s thrilled to get this opportunity, especially around a team she has fond memories of.

“When I first heard about it, I was over-the-moon excited,” she said. “I love baseball: I grew up in Detroit, so actually growing up watching the Tigers, it’s fun to now be able to cover a series that they’re playing in. Obviously, I’m going to be impartial and tell stories from both sides, being the reporter that I am, but it is kind of a full-circle moment going back to a ballpark that I grew up having season tickets at with my family. It’s really, really cool.”

Jbara said covering postseason baseball is an incredible opportunity in general, though.

“When I first heard about the MLB Postseason and being able to cover it, I was so excited. I called my husband and he was like ‘Is this for real?’ And I was like ‘Yes, it’s for real!’ It was a pinch-me moment. I’m really excited to take the next step in my career and be able to do it alongside some really awesome people.”

Jbara’s other work for TNT Sports includes NBA sideline reporting last year and this year and Mountain West college football sideline reporting this year. She’s previously done MLB work for Atlanta Braves’ local coverage on Bally Sports South , but said playoff baseball will be different.

“I have that baseball coverage checked off my list, but doing it in the postseason is an entirely different animal. Postseason baseball is unlike anything else. You show up to the park, it’s electric. Especially in cities like Cleveland, too.

“Obviously, they’ve been there before, all the way to the [2016] World Series when they played against the Cubs. And I was actually in Cleveland for Game 7, which didn’t end the way they wanted it to. …But I just feel like covering postseason is a different animal. It’s electric, the players are excited.”

She said both the Guardians and Tigers enter this with great stories to be told.

“I feel like those are two underdog teams that, really, nobody expected much out of them. The Tigers specifically had a .2 percent chance on August 10 of making the postseason, and what they’ve done since mid-August to get here is crazy.

“And the Guardians as well, exceeding everyone’s expectations by clinching the division and getting the bye through the wildcard, I just feel like they have so much momentum on their side right now. And [José] Ramirez is kind of the heartbeat for that team with everything that he’s been through.

“There are so many storylines. [Cleveland] having a manager like Stephen Vogt, in his first year, being able to take them to the postseason in the way that he was able to, it’s just very cool to be able to see what that team’s done. And I’m just excited to tell the storylines of both teams and just experience the electricity that’s going to be in both ballparks.”

Jbara said her cross-sports work means she has lots of interviewing experience, but on-broadcast baseball reporting does come with some unique challenges.

“It’s so fun because all of the different sports have such different dynamics. When you get down to the nitty-gritty, all reporting is similar regardless of the sport itself: you want to tell the stories, you want to cover the game, and ask the right questions. But in terms of baseball, it is a little bit slower, just in terms of there is more time to talk. The pitch clock sped up the game, but still.

“But also, on the sidelines of a football game, you can walk back and forth. In the camera well, you have to choose certain times; you can’t just walk back and forth in the middle of an inning. You can’t just walk on the warning track to the other dugout. You have to pick your times to be able to do that. And you have to be on the right side at the right time to be able to do that, and create the right vibe at the right time, be with the team that has the momentum, and choosing the storylines that you have in that way.”

She said there’s a lot that’s particularly appealing about working on baseball broadcasts.

“I just like baseball because it feels like there’s so many different members of the team, and it’s so specific, and so niche in terms of the defense, the offense, how everything works. In terms of the nitty-gritty reporting, it’s not that different from other sports, as you want to tell the right stories and ask the right questions, but in terms of knowing where to be and when to be there, it’s a little bit different.

“And it’s also a little bit different because we get to interview the managers during the game, during the third inning, so I’m kind of learning where to be at the right time. I want to be in the right dugout at the right time, and then race over to the other dugout, waiting for that half-inning to end to interview the other manager. So that will be a little bit of a learning process for me. But I feel prepared and ready for it, and I’m excited.”

Jbara said she has a long history with baseball thanks to her family.

“My dad actually has always been a fan of baseball. He played basically his entire life growing up. And I have two brothers, so basically from the moment I was born, I was given either a baseball bat or a ball of some sort, whether it be a baseball, football, soccer ball.

“We played basically every single sport growing up. We learned to love sports before we knew how to walk, and I think that was kind of my dad’s goal. I was the oldest, and being a girl, I think he kind of wanted a boy first, but he got two sons too, and he kind of raised us all the same way, to love sports. And baseball was one of those things.”

“Being in sports in general, and now having this as a career, you know how much sports just brings people together. And it brings people joy and happiness. And I feel like that was kind of my bonding moment with my family growing up, going to Tigers’ games, and Lions’ games; they sucked back then, but now we have something to talk about! But that just kind of started my love of baseball and sports in general.”

And she said going to those Tigers’ games growing up was memorable even when the team struggled, and made their later postseason push even more notable.

“It was just such a cool thing growing up. And the Tigers sucked for quite a while, but then got good in the 2014 era. Being able to see that postseason push and them get all the way to the ALCS was fun.”

Jbara said she’s thrilled to get to work these MLB playoffs for TNT Sports, and to continue her versatile cross-sports career.

“It’s honestly a dream come true. I’ve covered every single sport, obviously, I covered the Colorado Avalanche for the NHL, the Atlanta Hawks for NBA, Braves for MLB, and I did a little bit of ACC stuff for Bally Sports when I worked there too, for football, so it’s just cool to be able to bring together all of those sports.

“Because I love every sport for different reasons. They all have their own specificity that makes them special. But it’s just really cool to be able to cover every single sport, all the different storylines that are going on, and being able to challenge myself in different ways as well. Because being a casual fan at home, I watch these: it’s like, ‘Oh, baseball’s on tonight, oh, basketball’s on tonight, oh, football’s on tonight.’

“I just love every single sport for different reasons, and it’s just really cool to be able under one roof and them giving me the opportunity and trusting me to be able to do every single one of those. So this is definitely one of the craziest things I’ve done in my career so far, being able to do postseason baseball. I’m just grateful that they trust me to tell those stories.”

She said another appealing thing here is working with two colleagues she knows well in Anderson and Francoeur.

“I’ve worked with BA in the NBA quite a few times, and Frenchy, when I did the Braves, he was the analyst. It’s really fun that I’m able to be paired up with them. Yeah, they’re my colleagues, but they’re also friends. And I think that’s just going to make the broadcast even more fun.”

Jbara said the storylines and the atmosphere are elements she’s particularly looking forward to on these broadcasts.

“I’m just really excited for the opportunity and to be able to tell the stories and experience the atmosphere. I feel like in this Guardians-Tigers series there are so many underdog storylines. So it’s going to be cool to bring that to maybe the casual baseball fan who hasn’t watched as much of these two teams as they have of the Dodgers or so on this year. I think that’s going to be fun.”

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