Harrisburg Senators Director, Broadcasting and Media Relations, Terry Byrom was kind enough to answer some questions for me on both himself and his experiences broadcasting Senators games over the past two seasons.
Nationals Farm Authority (NFA): Tell me something about your background. What exactly drew you to the booth?
Terry Byrom (TB): I grew up in Sacramento, about 90 miles east of San Francisco consequently I grew up a Giants fan. I spent countless hours listening to games on my little transistor radio before going to my first game in May 1971. I can recall listening to Lon Simmons describing where Willie Mays was playing in center field; or how Willie McCovey had drilled a pitch over the right field fence. I didn’t care about meeting players over the years, I wanted to meet Lon Simmons, he was the Giants to me. In my late teens the Giants hired Hank Greenwald and the way he kept me interested in each game, no matter how bad the Giants were, well that was something. So now I try to do the same thing, though I’m not nearly as successful at it as those gentlemen. My goal each night is to make the game and broadcast interesting regardless of the outcome, and that’s something that is still a big work in progress. The number one thing I want to improve upon each season is getting better at keeping fans interested in the game and improving upon my demeanor during the bad (and good) games.
NFA: You got a later start in the business than most, what led you to your decision?
TB: This is something that I’ve always wanted to do. In the spring of 2002 it was sort of now or never. I was turning 39 that summer and thought that if I was ever going to try, now is the time to try. I sent out some tapes and resumes (the tapes were from high school broadcasts), was hired by Ogden and here I am. I feel like I’ve been very fortunate to have gotten this far, especially as quickly as I made it here. There are a ton of really good broadcasters in rookie ball, low A and high A, and I just feel incredibly fortunate that I’ve been lucky enough to have been in the right place at the right time.
NFA: After Ogden, you spent two years in Fort Wayne before coming to Harrisburg, what did you take from your first two jobs that have helped in your current role?
TB: This is probably not going to sound right, but from a broadcasting point of view not a whole lot. I’ve learned so much from my partner Mark Mattern these past two seasons that I can’t even begin to describe. I hadn’t worked with anyone before with the type of experience he has, so just watching him get ready and hearing the stories about the past, and the things he talks about during the games, has helped me tremendously. Also, there are some very good broadcasters in this league. Of the other eleven teams, probably five or six of the guys could easily be broadcasting in the major leagues so I’ve learned a lot from them, watching preparation, talking about broadcasting etc. I also work for the team in the off-season doing various duties including selling advertising, and I learned a great deal about minor league baseball, the ins and outs, from my boss in Fort Wayne.
NFA: What is a typical day for you during the season? Is it different on the road than it is at home?
TB: My days are definitely different at home vs. being on the road. At home I’m normally at the ballpark between 11am and noon. The first thing I’ll get done at home once I get to work is work on my game notes. They are about ten pages long and updating them tends to take about an hour or so, depending on what happened in the previous night’s game. I usually get the visitors game notes between noon and 2pm, and once I get those I get them printed for the media, then I go over them. Things always come up during a day at home, whether dealing with the visiting team or our own team that make the day go much quicker than I’d like it to. At about 4pm I’ll get the lineups onto my scorecard so that no matter what, my scorecard is ready. I always try to set aside a little time to watch our batting practice on the field. I can get invaluable information while standing around the batting cage. After our batting practice I’ll interview whoever it is I’m going to interview for the evening. For a 6:35pm game I’ll be upstairs in the press box by 5:30pm usually to get ready for the game. On the road, I’ll get to the ballpark about three hours early. That gives me time to get things situated, get down to the field for our batting practice, and get the line ups in on my scorecard before the game.
NFA: You’ve been in Harrisburg for both MLB and Lerner ownership of the Nationals, have you noticed any difference in the interaction with the major league club? Is there more Nationals management around now than there were before?
TB: The people that I deal with the most are still in place with the Nationals. Of course there have been more minor league signings this off season and the changes in the draft philosophy, but as for us on a daily basis, no, it’s too soon to see too many changes.
NFA: How much interaction do you have with the players and coaches?
TB: A lot. I’m on the field nearly everyday watching batting practice at least for a little while. I’ve gotten to know the three coaches that have been here the past two seasons (Frank Cacciatore, Mike Hart, and Rick Tomlin) and have enjoyed talking about baseball and things other than baseball with them. I don’t hang out with the players, but I certainly interact with them on a daily basis, some more than others.
NFA: You have worked with two managers there in Harrisburg, what kind of things have you learned from them?
TB: In my time here I’ve learned so much from all the coaches as I mentioned above. The two managers here, Keith Bodie in 2005 and John Stearns in 2006, were completely different. Watching any manager behind the scenes is amazing because of the amount paperwork they have to do that people don’t realize, and the organizational skills it takes to keep their days and times straight. It’s hard to imagine, but days really do just blend into one another once the season starts. One day it’s game 10 and the next day it’s game number 100, so being organized is critical. From a baseball perspective, John Stearns was a great asset because he was easy to speak with and he has so much knowledge from all of his years in the game.
NFA: Kory Casto spent the entirety of 2006 in Harrisburg, how do you think he’s going to do in 2007? What do the folks in Washington have to look forward to?
TB: That’s an interesting question, and I can only answer from what I saw here, but I think he’ll make an impact eventually. I’m not sure if it will be this year, but I could see him making the team out of spring training. I think it’s unrealistic to think he’s going to hit 25 home runs and drive in 100 runs this season. And unfortunately for him, or whoever plays left field this season, they are probably going to get compared to Soriano. Kory has a very good attitude, seems very relaxed yet intense, and seemed to get along with everyone in the clubhouse. If he can make the team without a lot of fanfare and expectations, I think he’ll do fine. And he’ll be fine in the outfield.
NFA: Who have been some of your favorite Senators you’ve spoken with/watched play?
TB: I really enjoyed watching Ryan Zimmerman while he was here. He made playing 3B look so easy and made it look like he was a veteran in the minors, but he wasn’t. You could tell he was going to be special. Dan Dement has been a pleasure to watch and speak with, he gives everything his all and them some. Melvin Dorta is another player that it has been a pleasure to get to know. I really enjoyed watching Darrell Rasner pitch and he was another guy that I enjoyed speaking with. Frank Diaz has been a joy to watch play center field, he makes every play look so easy.
NFA: Five highly regarded Nationals prospects, Collin Balester, Matt Chico, Garrett Mock, Shairon Martis, and Zech Zinicola, appeared in Harrisburg in 2007, what were your perceptions of them? Who appeared the most promising?
TB: I can’t really answer this question since I saw them all a combined total of about 20 times. Garrett Mock was probably not at his best form while here, but from what everyone has said he has an incredible upside. I was very impressed with Matt Chico’s demeanor on the mound. Talking with baseball people it seems that’s at least half the battle with starting pitchers, finding a guy that never gets rattled and stays with his game plan. Zech Zinicola settled down and in very well. He’s another guy with a great attitude on the mound and seems to be a perfect fit to eventually be an 8th inning guy or a closer. I really liked what I saw of Collin Balester. I know he didn’t have as good a year as everyone hoped in Potomac, but he looked good for us the last couple of weeks of the season. Shairon Martis made just one start so I’ll reserve judgment on him until I see him more.
NFA: What are you most looking forward to in 2007?
TB: The thing I look forward to every season is just having the opportunity to watch and broadcast baseball games. Being on the field at 5pm, watching batting practice, and then thinking about all the people in rush hour traffic going home makes me realize just how lucky I am to be doing this.
Seriously now, I’m looking forward to seeing the progress of the minor leagues. I know there won’t be that many changes yet, but the Nationals have made a lot of moves this off season to stock the minor leagues and I think there’s a lot to be excited about.
NFA: What are your long term goals? Do you want to remain in the broadcasting role or do you have interest in other aspects of baseball operations? Are the major leagues something you are interested in?
TB: Well having recently gotten married, my long term goals are to remain employed as a broadcaster! Haha… Okay, seriously, sure I’d love to be a major league broadcaster. I don’t think anyone that does this doesn’t have that thought in the back of their minds. But as difficult as it is for the players, there are 25 spots on every major league team for them and there’s only two or three for guys like me! I don’t really have any desire to get into management, prior to baseball I was in management in other walks of life and I quite like being a broadcaster.
Congratulations Terry on the marriage and thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions.
