For the past 10 years, broadcaster Marco LaNave has been calling minor league baseball games in Davenport, Iowa, and Jacksonville, Florida, and, currently, Akron, Ohio, where he handles the play-by-play duties for the Akron RubberDucks, the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. We sat down with Marco recently to talk about sports broadcasting (including his advice for aspiring broadcasters), broadcasting gear, the communal nature of the ballpark, and what it means to be back calling games after a 2020 season lost to the pandemic. What comes through most in the interview is Marco’s great love of baseball and his joy in sharing the game with his audience – now more than ever.

Can you begin by telling us a little bit about yourself and how you got your start in broadcasting? Did you always want to be a sports broadcaster?

I was always a baseball fan from childhood through high school and college. And when it turned out that I wasn’t good enough to play baseball, the next best thing was to be around the game, describing it, calling the action. I actually had the experience when I was 11 years old of being up in the radio booth, on-air with my hometown baseball team, a summer collegiate team called the St. Cloud River Bats, in the Northwoods League. I was on-air for 20 to 30 minutes or so, and I remember them asking me, Marco, are you going to be a baseball broadcaster? I said, Yes, once my major league playing career is done. So that’s kind of how I thought of it as a kid. But when it became apparent that I wasn’t going to have much of a playing career that’s when I started looking for other opportunities to stay around sports.

I did some sports journalism as extra curricular activity in college at the University of Minnesota. I actually majored in chemistry, but took a few journalism classes, worked for the student newspaper, the student radio station, and then finished college with an internship in the radio broadcast for the Minnesota Twins. That was a dream come true to work for a major league baseball team. Then I set out across the minor leagues to try and work my way up to the major leagues. This is the tenth year that I’ve been in the minor leagues. Davenport, Iowa, Jacksonville, Florida, and now Akron, Ohio, are the stops I’ve made along the way. So that’s how I got into it.

You provide radio play-by-play for all of the Akron RubberDucks’ 140 regular season games (120 in 2021). How do you prepare for each game and what are some common in-game challenges? What is your favorite part of the job?

To get ready for each game, obviously, there’s the equipment and technical setup. But there’s also a good degree, especially in baseball, of preparing and knowing the teams and players you’re describing. We exchange rosters, myself and my partner Jim Clark, with the other team. We exchange notes on both of our sets of players. The internet is also a great resource for looking up a lot on these guys, although there are varying degrees of information on some players. The other part of it is having the access to the team. That’s a little bit different this year, a little bit more restricted, but being able to meet the players and talk with the manager and get the background on these guys, and also get a feel for their personalities so we can make them seem more like people. Fans can watch on their phones and follow the stats – they can get all that. So I try to see how I can make these people come to life a little bit for those listening to a game or watching online.

I also have sales-related responsibilities at the ballpark. When I’ve got groups and clients in the ballpark, I need to make sure they’re taken care. Outside of all that, I just get ready to enjoy a few hours of baseball. My favorite part of the job, definitely, is calling the game. I’m totally absorbed in a baseball game and get to share that with people.

Marco LaNave calls the game with an Audio-Technica BPHS1 headset. (Photo courtesy of Akron RubberDucks photographer Lexi Echelberry)

You use the Audio-Technica BPHS1 headset when broadcasting games for the RubberDucks. How has this headset helped you do your job? 

In radio we’re always concerned about the sound, and I think the headset gives a good, clear, professional sound to the broadcast. We’ve all experienced a lot of different microphones over the last year-plus of people calling in on Zoom and that sort of thing, but the BPHS1 really does give you the sound that, when people tune in, they know they’re listening to a pro sports broadcast. So that’s number one: What is the audience experiencing from this? From a personal perspective, the headset’s very comfortable and the flexibility of the microphone is nice. It packs well and, because I travel a lot, that makes a big difference. Jim Clark and I both use the headset, as does any on-air guest. The headsets have been great.

Like all minor league teams, the RubberDucks had to sit out the 2020 season due to the pandemic. What does it mean to you and the RubberDucks organization to get back to

I have savored and enjoyed baseball every year that I’ve gotten to do it. But really, coming back into 2021, nothing is taken for granted. The fact that we can have people in the seats, that we can get within shouting distance of teams and players, and see them play baseball here on the field, that’s something we missed for a whole year and we didn’t know exactly when it was going to come back. I think for a lot of folks, even the families that come to Canal Park just once or twice a season, this is one of the highlights of summer. So that is very special to see. I think that over the course of the pandemic there’s been a sense that we’re all going through this, and maybe that’s taken different forms, but I think it’s great to be able to get together and celebrate how special that is. I’ve talked to groups that haven’t even come back into the office after a year away, but they want their people to be able to reconnect in person. They’re looking for a safe and fun way to show their appreciation of their people and it’s a great feeling to be able to say, we’d love to be the host for that event.

We called a couple of games last summer – at one point I didn’t think that I was going to call any baseball last year – but we were able to host some high school teams that didn’t get to play their season at all in 2020, and they came out and played one game so their seniors could have one last baseball game. We carried those games on the radio, and that was really cool, because only so many people could come to the ballpark – only so many people felt safe coming to the ballpark – and we were able to give them that experience on-air. It was a good reminder that radio broadcasts, and sports broadcasts, in general, are sort of the virtual event experience, and we are able to bring people to the ballpark each night through the broadcast. For a while, folks didn’t have that. It was unprecedented, but I think we now have a renewed appreciation.

I am grateful that I still am here. The sports landscape has been hard. There weren’t games, so there wasn’t that work for people to do. In some cases, some of my counterparts in other areas of baseball and sports broadcasting, they weren’t able to continue, whether it was with their team or just in their career, in general. So I feel very fortunate to be where I am and to be with an organization like the RubberDucks that has valued all of its staff and done a great job of leading us to where we are now.

Although your broadcasting career has mostly focused on baseball (MLB, MiLB, college), you have covered other sports too, including basketball, football and soccer. How does the broadcasting work vary from sport to sport and from the collegiate to professional leagues?

Each sport is distinctly different. There’s a difference in pace, what you have to pay attention to, how much you fill in stories or background information. Baseball is very different from football and basketball and soccer, all of which I’ve called on a broadcast before. I think doing different sports makes me a better broadcaster because I have to adjust to different paces and become familiar with players and rosters and storylines. It’s fun to develop that variety.

As to the professional and college differences, there’s the day to day of the professional baseball world – baseball as a business, so to speak – that’s very different for the players. Their job is centered around the ballpark. And when we’re working at the ballpark, there’s a focus on, this as our business, and we’re not part of another school or university. But doing the collegiate and high school athletics is a lot of fun, too. What’s unique about those is that you’ve got families and alumni – the school is a unique community as well. So the way that people follow and are passionate about that sport, that team, those players, there’s a different energy there. For some college athletics and high school athletics they come to the field or the arena or the ballpark and there’s really a focus on school pride and wanting to win. In pro baseball, of course, they want to win. But from where we are in the professional baseball scene – we’re not the major league team – the focus for the team on the field is to develop the players. The focus for us, the ballpark staff, is to create a memorable experience for guests. The sense of pride comes from, this being Akron, this is my hometown, or this is my community. People also come out for the fun promotions and because it’s affordable family fun. That’s what got my family into baseball years ago and that’s how we spent time in the summers. And it’s connecting back to some of those memories for people who go for generations – who remember going to baseball games with their parents or grandparents or good friends. To be in that place in people’s lives is very special. So there are some differences in what excites the fans and their sense of connection.

Is there a sport that you haven’t called that you would really like to?

There have been some challenging ones. I’ve done some public address announcing, which is a little bit easier because you’re not claiming so much to understand the rules and the strategy and all of that, like you might be if you’re calling a game on a TV or radio broadcast. I’ve done public address for volleyball and lacrosse, and of the sports I’ve worked, those are the two where I have the least familiarity in explaining the rules and knowing all the vocabulary. I also covered – over a decade ago – a state swimming and diving meet for my hometown newspaper. I don’t know a whole lot about that sport, but I learned enough to write the recap and story. Those are three sports I’ve seen in different ways, and it would be a unique challenge to get to a knowledge level that I could call those. I think I would really appreciate one of the color analysts being a former athlete. I’ve appreciated that on some basketball and soccer broadcasts – that they could fill in that expertise. And there’s someone to play off of, too. The other one would be hockey. I’m from Minnesota where people love hockey. I didn’t play it as a kid, I know that’s hard to believe. But it is so fast-paced, and I’m impressed by those who can call hockey well. So that would be another fun challenge.

After broadcasting sports for so many seasons, is there a specific play or game that stands out as especially memorable?

I’ve seen quite a few strange things in baseball. I’ve seen a game delayed by a swarm of bees. I’ve seen a couple of triple plays. I’ve seen a few no hitters, a couple of cycles, and inside-the-park home runs. So I’ve checked those things off the baseball list. The classic answer, I guess – and it was memorable – is calling a championship. I was very fortunate. There are broadcasters who never get to call a championship. The team that I was with in Iowa, the Quad Cities River Bandits, were a Houston Astros affiliate, when the Astros had a lot of prospects. In 2013 they won the Class A Midwest League Championship. They swept that championship series. There were multiple major league all-stars on that team. I remember that post-season run quite well, and we won the championship at home. That was really cool, and I narrated it. I felt a little bit of pressure at 24 years old calling a professional championship. But what a thrill, and how much excitement to be close to that team that was very special and won it all!

Jim Clark, using the BPHS1 headset, calls the action at Canal Park. (Photo courtesy of Akron RubberDucks photographer Lexi Echelberry)

What is your best piece of advice for individuals who are looking to start a career in broadcasting?

I think there’s more opportunity in the broadcasting landscape with the technology and the streaming platforms. There’s no reason that someone who’s interested can’t get started, practicing themselves. Calling games off of a screen is something even the pros have done now. And that’s what I did a little bit with football games when I was in high school. I just had a recorder and tried to call the game off the TV. That gets you talking and learning how to phrase things. Public speaking – don’t shy away from that. And look for opportunities to help out and learn from pros who get to do it. Take those opportunities from an educational perspective, and, as much as you can, try to get a look at what that experience is like day to day, whether it’s shadowing people or trying some different behind-the-scenes aspects. Certainly, learning in the classroom is important, but going and doing it, having that outside-of-classroom experience, getting in this day-to-day world a little bit, that will tell you if you really do enjoy it. I was fortunate to have that opportunity to try the newspaper side, and the radio side, work for a research lab and do communications there, and then work for a baseball team. I was there day to day, saw the people who did it every day, and had a much better sense that this is what I wanted to do.

So that would be my recommendation: Look for hands-on experience and opportunity, and start practicing yourself. Learn to do interviews, ask people questions. There’s good material out there that lets you study the work of others. And pay attention to people who do it at the highest level. There’s a reason that the announcers who have done it for years at the highest level and for the championship sports keep coming back. So listen and watch and appreciate the way that they do it. Don’t try to be them – you have to be yourself – but study what they do well. You can do that now, too.

How can fans keep up with you and the RubberDucks?

Our games are carried on an iHeartRadio station. On the iHeartRadio app you can find an Akron RubberDucks podcast. Our station home is AM 640 WHLO in Northeast Ohio. They can also get it on their mobile platforms and apps. Our website is akronrubberducks.com, with a link to listen. You can watch on a platform called Minor League Baseball TV (MiLB.TV), and our call is on there for the home games, as they take the home-team feed. You can look up the Akron RubberDucks on Facebook and Twitter. I’m on Twitter @lanavemarco. If you’re in Northeast Ohio, come out to Canal Park and experience it for yourself – you don’t need to make every event virtual.