Al Trautwig: An Underrated Treasure

The best baseball announcers are an integral part of a whole and do not draw attention to themselves. The worst baseball announcers think they are the reason fans turned on the game and that they are more important than what is happening on the field. Yankees' sportscaster Al Trautwig is one of the best, most pleasant, self-effacing broadcasters on the air today. Trautwig describes what he sees and minimizes the importance of his own opinions. He is concerned with the game, players, and events, not with himself. To say that is unusual in today’s broadcasting environment is an understatement.

When I first began listening to Trautwig, I was upset by his lack of a deep knowledge of baseball, but as I listened to him over a period of time, I noted how often he would ask fellow Yankees broadcasters Jim Katt and Ken Singleton extremely perceptive questions. He didn’t attempt to create answers that might seem reasonable but that could be misleading. Trautwig acknowledged that there were nuances to the game that Katt or Singleton understood and could explain better than he could. His ego is small enough for him to defer to their experience as former players.

Trautwig makes no pretense to be a baseball expert, and that is so refreshing. He is a fan who loves the game and who has the ability to ask those who played the game questions fans would ask if they had the opportunity. And he accomplishes it with humor and without insulting the viewers’ intelligence.

Chuck Knoblauch goes through a ritual awaiting each pitch. It has been described as an extensive obsessive-compulsive routine that is quite time consuming. Trautwig, in his own inimitable style, without demeaning the importance of the steps Knoblauch had to take, simply reacted by stating, “Any day now.” (www.tomatonation.com)

Another time a Yankees pitcher was getting shelled. The Yankees braintrust (manager Joe Torre and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre) made no attempt to lift him. Trautwig, completely exasperated, said, “Mel. Hook the guy. Please.” (http://www.tomatonation.com)

The significance of Trautwig’s statement is the way it was said. He was speaking as fan, not as an expert who tried to give the impression that he was more knowledgeable than Yankees’ manager Joe Torre or pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. His intonation indicated he wasn’t sure if he were right and that Mel Stottlemyre and Joe Torre knew things he did not, which might have been why they had not yet removed the pitcher.

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