Imagine being Suzyn Waldman, requesting Dave Simms to replace John Sterling as radio voice of the New York Yankees, and Craig Carton walks through the door.
Monday afternoon, Carton joined the afternoon airwaves he used to dominate on WFAN. There, he dropped the surprising news that he will be doing play-by-play alongside Waldman in the Yankees radio booth for an upcoming series against the Texas Rangers, August 9-11.
Since Sterling retired earlier this season, a rotating cast of announcers have filled the void including Justin Shackil, Ryan Ruocco, Brendan Burke, Rickie Ricardo and Emmanuel Berbari. And according to Carton, the Yankees called to pitch him on the idea of joining the cast of announcers by calling a series this season.
If you’re a Yankees fan who saw this news and thought it was some sort of radio bit or joke, you’re not alone.
“This is not a bit, this is not schtick. The Yankees requested it,” Carton insisted to WFAN’s Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber before admitting, “When the Yankees called me and asked me, I thought for sure I was being punked.”
But he wasn’t being punked, Carton will be in the booth alongside Waldman for three games next month. And while he certainly doesn’t think there’s any realistic chance of getting the job permanently, Carton wouldn’t fully close the door on the potential opportunity when asked about it by his former WFAN co-host.
“There’s gotta be a lot of zeroes in that check,” Carton noted with a laugh. “I have family members who do know about this who are like, ‘What if it goes great? And Hal Steinbrenner calls you and goes, You’re the guy.’
“Look, that’s pie in the sky right now. I don’t think that would happen, I don’t think that’s going to happen. There are obviously very talented broadcasters who only want to do this, who are very, very good at it. But, let’s see what happens. If it’s great, and that phone rings again saying, ‘You’re the guy,’ I don’t know.”
The newest voice of the Yankees, at least for three games in August, hosts The Carton Show on FS1 every morning from 7:00 – 9:30am ET. So, even if WFAN and the Yankees fall in love with Carton’s play-by-play next month, it seems highly unlikely that they would reach a contractual agreement.
Although, what if it goes so well that Fox Sports falls in love with Carton’s play-by-play? Carton could be Waldman’s partner during the baseball season and Tom Brady’s partner for the NFL season. Kevin Burkhardt need not dust off his resume.
Carton went on to discuss the nuts and bolts of being a baseball play-by-play voice, noting there are two aspects to calling a game. The play-by-play aspect, and the talk show aspect of filling airtime with your broadcast partner. In this case, that broadcast partner is a person, Suzyn Waldman, who Carton mocked for more than a decade during his time on WFAN.
While you have to assume Waldman signed off on the idea of working with Carton for three games, it’s still a shocking pairing. Following his interview with Roberts and Barber, WFAN morning show producer Al Dukes called out the station’s afternoon hosts for failing to ask Carton about the prospect of working with Waldman, or even about her willingness to work with him.
During the interview, Roberts laughed at the thought of Carton having to work with Waldman, but he never said the funny part out loud. Barber, meanwhile, seemed unaware of Carton’s lengthy rift with Waldman, alleging they’ll be fine together because she is “fantastic” and “so easy to talk to.”
Credit to Waldman for overlooking Carton’s radio hijinks to give him a chance in the Yankees booth. But as Dukes noted, that’s a topic that needed to be delved into by Roberts and Barber. And if you’re a fan of Carton’s radio hijinks and Waldman impressions, don’t expect too much of that during his Yankees call.
“Yankee games mean something to a lot of people, obviously,” Carton said. “And you have to treat is as such and I will. I will prepare for it and come in ready to do a very competent, hopefully very entertaining, solid broadcast.”
[ WFAN ]
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