Jim Hunter officially gone

[accinfo]

47 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Maybe they hadn't made a final decision and were waiting to see what the schedule looked like this year. There are so many factors with COVID potentially affected the schedule and travel that maybe they just didn't make a final decision?

 

Or maybe his contract ran through the end of January 2021.  He got a paycheck through now and they just didn't renew it.  

[wildcard]

I like listening to Gary and Ben.  Arnold is growing on me.

[OFFNY]

2 hours ago, eddie83 said:

 

No surprise. He was already cut back last year, and then he was never used during the shorter season. 
 

I really don’t get why the Orioles took this long to let him know. Seems to be consistent for them. 

 

o

 

He had the same last name as Billy Hunter, who was an excellent man/3rd base coach in the Orioles' organization from 1964 through 1977, and who did a great job of managing the Rangers in the final 90 games of 1977 and the entire 1978 season ...... I knew that I could think of something nice to say about him.

 

o

[scOtt]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I think Hunter was the rare combo of not being that great but also underrated by Os fans.

I personally didn’t like his homerism.  He was very over the top.
 

That being said, I think he’s a better PBP guy than Thorne.  He didn’t get players names wrong, was sober and didn’t have numerous other screw ups.  He was also a more excitable guy for homers and things like that.

Thorne is more reserved when it comes to that stuff.

Now, I also think Thorne was more honest about the team and where it was, so that I like a lot more.

Thorne is also MUCH more honest about the other team too. If a guy does something great on the field Gary will talk it up, which is exactly what a broadcaster should do. Celebrate the game, not just the home team.

 

I'm a huge Thorne fan. I hope he's still around for a long time.

[weams]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

Ben McDonald

SEC is BACK!

[murph]

Hunter definitely seemed like a good guy and he did bleed Orange and Black (yes too much homerism). 

I agree with others, more Ben sounds great, really enjoy listening to Big Ben.  If they bring in someone new, I do want a good baseball guy before an Orioles guy, if that makes sense. 

[Explosivo]

Geoff Arnold is a class act and we are lucky to have him. Ben and Kevin were fun because the two couldn’t be more opposite and you could tell they really hated each other when doing broadcasts. It added an extra dimension to the game when Kevin would artfully call Ben a moron over and over. Geoff is special though and I think it was odd we didn’t see Geoff and Kevin work together more. Those two would be quite the dynamic duo.

[baloriole4]

5 minutes ago, Explosivo said:

Geoff Arnold is a class act and we are lucky to have him. Ben and Kevin were fun because the two couldn’t be more opposite and you could tell they really hated each other when doing broadcasts. It added an extra dimension to the game when Kevin would artfully call Ben a moron over and over. Geoff is special though and I think it was odd we didn’t see Geoff and Kevin work together more. Those two would be quite the dynamic duo.

Your opinion.  My opinion (and the opinion I heard from many others) was that Arnold was awful.  I couldn't stand listening to him as I thought he sounded like a bad 1950s DJ.   Overpronunciates.    I'm sorry for my opinion if you are related to him.   Kevin Brown is the most decent one on the broadcasters.   The rest are very low end, minor league.  As they say in life -- you get what you pay for.  The Orioles are going cheap in getting rid of the professional veteran broadcasters like Gary Thorne, Joe Angel, Hunter, Manfra, and it very much led to a cheap sounding broadcast.   Remember, this is the same team that got rid of the pitching coach who finally led his Orioles pitching staff to a decent season because he was making too much money, and now are fighting with Santander over $300,000 and might trade him because of that.  So so cheap

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, accinfo said:

Or maybe his contract ran through the end of January 2021.  He got a paycheck through now and they just didn't renew it.  

Yep, good point.

[SteveA]

25 minutes ago, baloriole4 said:

Your opinion.  My opinion (and the opinion I heard from many others) was that Arnold was awful.  I couldn't stand listening to him as I thought he sounded like a bad 1950s DJ.   Overpronunciates.    I'm sorry for my opinion if you are related to him.   Kevin Brown is the most decent one on the broadcasters.   The rest are very low end, minor league.  As they say in life -- you get what you pay for.  The Orioles are going cheap in getting rid of the professional veteran broadcasters like Gary Thorne, Joe Angel, Hunter, Manfra, and it very much led to a cheap sounding broadcast.   Remember, this is the same team that got rid of the pitching coach who finally led his Orioles pitching staff to a decent season because he was making too much money, and now are fighting with Santander over $300,000 and might trade him because of that.  So so cheap

I can understand your reasons for feeling this way but Thorne, Angel, and Manfra are all well over 70 and that means there was going to be a signifiant overhaul anyway.   Manfra retired, the Orioles didn't "get rid" of him.   And no, I don't think he was pushed in any way.   He was 70+ years old and I think had some health issues and chose to retire.   I don't think they pushed Angel out either, he retired.   Trying to lump them into your narrative to prove that the Orioles are purging people for $$$ reasons just weakens your argument.

Now the Orioles mayve have made a decision to get rid of Hunter, and may be in the process of doing the same ot Gary, we will know in a month or two.   And money could be part of the Thorne decision (I would guess that he is the highest paid guy left).

But when four of your core guys are 70+, which is the situation we have faced in recent years, as your top color commentator is too, you have to start planning for the future.   The travel involved in MLB broadcasting is not tough on someone that age.    The Orioles bit the bullet last year and brought in a bunch of younger people they hoped would be candidates for long term.   Time will tell if any of these "minor leaguers" turn out to be good in the long run, but they had to do something.  

Actually, we probably should have traded Gary Thorne a few years ago when he was at peak value.   

[Ripken]

3 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

I think you got it backwards, his spin rate wasn't high enough.

Different spin rate.  

[O's84]

6 hours ago, Ripken said:

His spin rate was too high.

I tip my cap to you sir.

[linedrive]

Personally, I liked Hunter and will miss him. I was pretty upset when we lost Jon Miller, but even though Hunter wasn't nearly as good, I enjoyed listening to him.

On a side note, I know a number of Yankee fans who couldn't stand him (or Joe Angel) and would trash him to no end, and that would make me laugh... maybe that has something to do with it too, lol.

[MurphDogg]

Good voice, mediocre announcer. I liked him in the emcee roles, not nearly as much when he was behind a mic while there was a game being played.

[Number5]

8 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

He didn’t get players names wrong, was sober and didn’t have numerous other screw ups.

Wait a minute.  Being sober is a requirement?  Holy cow!