Behind the Scenes at ESPN Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball
On Sunday, before, during and after the Cincinnati Reds versus San Francisco Giants game, I worked for two different shows simultaneously with ESPN, Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball. I love working live television.
Suzette and Karl Ravech
There is no room for error and there are no do over’s. (Yes that’s correct, NO mulligan’s!) You have to know what you are doing, where you should be, and do your job well in live television. Our ESPN hosts Sunday’s game were, Karl Ravech, Buster Olney, John Kruk, Barry Larkin, Wendy Nix, Orel Hershiser, Bobby Valentine and Dan Schulman. Eight people, two shows, three locations and one makeup artist for both, I definitely got my workout at the ballpark! I think Adidas should sponsor me! Although Jimmy Choo would be a good choice too!
Buster Olney and Suzette
With all that running around I ran into and old acquaintance on my way to the studio, Chris Singleton a former center fielder in the MLB, who is currently with ESPN radio. Working in the sports industry you realize that it is a small world and you see a lot of the same people. From a the crew aspect, many of us work baseball, football, hockey, golf, MotoGP and a ton of other mainstream sports and not so mainstream sports such as drift-racing and have a chance to meet alot of people and work in some interesting locations.
Our location was in front of the stadium, which was interesting, although difficult to navigate through when going back and forth between sets because of the crowd. But despite the people, this show was particularly fun, since I got a chance to talk with the hosts during the down moments between the air hits. Karl and John are super guys. I really got a chance to talk with them and listen to their insight about baseball and life outside the game. I met Karl and John before through ESPN and saw them when I worked the World Series, but it was my first time meeting Barry Larkin. Barry is a very nice guy and I enjoyed working with him. Wendy Nix was also a new person to work with, and she is splendid. Wendy is a genuinely nice person. I’m glad I had the pleasure to work with her and I look forward to working with her in the future as well.
Suzette and Barry Larkin
Bobby Valentine, Dan Schulman, Orel Hershiser
The guys in the booth, Bobby, Orel and Dan were tucked away upstairs in the stadium so I rarely was able to access them except during scheduled breaks. I worked with Bobby during the World Series and I worked with Orel in the previous season when he was hosting with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan. Dan Schulman is new and pleasant to work with. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to know him in a professional capacity.
Makeup Area at ESPN booth
Upstairs in the booth is my normal makeup studio area. Our booth is compact and fits everything needed for broadcast but can sometimes feel small when we have tons of visitors passing by trying to get a glimpse of the hosts while they are in town. The show comes back to SF in a couple of weeks and I will get a chance to catch up with more baseball info when they return. We do have longs hours at ESPN, which is typical of most networks but we have a great crew and a good time while working.
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