| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 04-14-2011 |
It was April of 1999 when the Tacoma Rainiers brought in Mike Curto to handle the play-by-play duties on the radio. We could stop there and render a "and the rest, as they say, is history," but that wouldn't be original. And unoriginal wouldn't describe Mr. Curto in the slightest.My first memory of listening to Curto goes back to 2001 during the club's run to the Pacific Coast League title series, one that was never played due to the events of 9-11. It wasn't long after that until Curto's voice came through as loud and clear – and as often -- as those of Dave Niehaus and Rick Rizzs of the big-league club, at least through my car stereo and eventually over the internet.
Curto has a little bit of a different style. It's direct and somewhat simple, but not without flavor, style and even some panache when the game calls for it. But none are the attribute that makes Curto the unique asset he is on the air.
Not many broadcasters change with the times. Generally, even the great ones, the legends, stick with what they knew when they broke into the business. Batting averages, runs batted in and earned run average will forever be utilized over the airwaves of even the better play-by-play men in the business. And while Curto can be heard referring to these terms on occasion -- after all, they do tell us something -- the story being told during each Rainiers game is not built around archaic beliefs.
Curto understands the new, advanced statistics that are accepted as the valued formulas to evaluate performance. And even without citing them during the broadcasts offers a more intelligent description of the game in front of him as a result.
"I don't use sabermetrics a whole lot on the air," Curto said, "but there are times when I'll use them to explain why a player is performing better than some of his other statistics say he is."
If one tunes into a random broadcast, major or minor league, the chances the broadcaster is teaching you something while still fulfilling his job of describing the game to the listener are not very good. Generally, even the big networks require analysts to accomplish that. But things are different in Tacoma, and it's not just about the new manner in which to quantify players' performances.
On back-to-back broadcasts in the middle of the 2009 season, Curto noted catcher Adam Moore's defensive technique and "pop" times as something the prospect needed to work on in order to break through to the big leagues. While not entirely unheard of, the usage of such terms on the air is rare.
To compare, during the MLB playoffs last October, an "analyst" on TBS described the same aspects of catching as "the stuff that doesn't show up in the box score," and left it at that. Twice.
Curto, who is a graduate of Cal Berkley and started his professional broadcasting career in Lafayette, Indiana in an Independent league, can often be heard discussing scouting and player development scenarios -- and here's the kicker -- it's natural for him; it doesn't sound as if he's repeating someone else's words -- because he isn't -- and it's clear he understands the process. He's even questioned my own opinions, and how dare anyone do that, right?
He's entering season No. 13 with Tacoma and grew up listening to the likes of Hank Greenwald, who was the play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants from 1979-86 and again from 1989 until the mid-90s. Greenwald's replacement, Jon Miller, is also a voice admired by Curto, as are Vin Scully, Niehaus and Jon Sciambi.
And if you listen consistently, you can hear a little of each in every Tacoma broadcast ... but he’s doing it all with his own chic.
"Yes, Mike Curto is a true original," opined Johnny Doskow, the play-by-play man for the rival Sacramento Rivercats. "The great thing about Mike is he has no clue as to how good he is as a baseball announcer. He has a conversational style that I like to call 'easy listening.' He is egoless and that comes across over the air. He not only knows the game, but his dry wit can come through on the air when you least expect it."
He's also very prepared. Curto can be found hours before the day's game checking game notes, reading that day's news links -- although probably right out of the newspaper itself in his own old-school way -- to make sure he's ready to go on the air.
For me, one of the basic positives about a play-by-play announcer is not forgetting to set up the action. Curto does that, and will reset during pitching changes, long at-bats and other delays, reminisce of the late Niehaus.
One thing Curto doesn't do is miss things. He doesn't get excited and let his voice raise several octaves on a routine fly ball to left field in the third inning, his instincts apparently won't allow it. When a ball is torched, he knows it. When it's not squared up, he sees and hears that, too.
"I try to stay on my toes," Curto said, "I do try to speak to the listener and consider the audience."
I have often spoke of front office management allowing the baseball people make the baseball decisions, and having that is a great advantage versus clubs that have lawyers, stock brokers and investors meddle in personnel dealings. The same plays true when you go to flip on the old radio and catch a ball game the way it was originally transmitted, at least in the 253.
There are some pretty good radio broadcasters in the business, but Curto is a baseball guy.
A true original.
Check out Curto on the call by clicking here! (a new window will open up)
Jason A. Churchill is Executive Editor at Prospect Insider, founded in 2006, and has covered scouting and player development since 2003, writing for publications such as InsidethePark.com, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The News Tribune. You can follow Jason on Twitter @ProspectInsider, as well as @ESPN_MLBDraft, and contact him via email at Churchill@ProspectInsider.com.
mike-curto:-a-true-original
Comments
The following 12 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: Chris Crawford on 04-14-2011 21:39:25 Well done. |
| 2. By: rocketdawg31 on 04-14-2011 22:03:48 I admit, before my better brains about the matter kicked in...I was thinking a little that Curto would be a fine, fine voice to have in the Mariners booth. Love listening to the guy. |
| 3. By: randallball on 04-15-2011 11:29:01 Nice piece, Jason. Curto is an awesome announcer and fans of the Rainiers and Mariners are lucky to have had him here for so long...and hopefully will have him around for a long time still to come. |
| 4. By: rjfrik on 04-15-2011 11:31:08 Here is an interesting snipit. A rival GM says he’d trade Felix Hernandez to the Yankees for Ivan Nova, Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos and Jesus Montero if he were running the Mariners. Question is would you guys do it? Montero would become our 4 hitter, although he would be a DH. But still we finally would get a legit cleanup hitter. And then I guess you could fill out the rotation with the rest. I would also ask for Austin Romaine or Gary Sanchez in this deal as well just because of Betances health history. So would you trade Felix for a: Clean up hitter. Starting catcher with a solid bat. 2 #2 caliber pitchers #4 caliber pitcher |
| 5. By: maqman on 04-15-2011 11:48:22 No. |
| 6. By: Adam P. Boyd on 04-15-2011 12:37:05 Hypothetically, yes I would. The problem is, those players you mentioned do not fill any of those roles you mentioned. You are merely naming potential peak values for each guy. They could ALL fail to stick in pro ball. If you trade Felix you would HAVE to get back some young, proven talent. In this case I would not even pick up the phone from Cashman unless his call began with the name "Cano". |
| 7. By: bunvt on 04-15-2011 13:31:17 For me, to even get the convo started, it would have to start with Cano + Montero + one of the pitching prospects... |
| 8. By: PositivePaul on 04-15-2011 14:14:25 Wait - you guys are seriously turning one of Jason's best pieces in a long time into a discussion about trading Felix? I've still got the ability to insert random 80's Boy Band lyrics here ya know... |
| 9. By: Adam P. Boyd on 04-15-2011 15:04:08 You're right Paul. It is a fantastic piece Jason. I hope the Mariners realize what they have so close to home and Curto gets the call to the show that has been a long time coming. |
| 10. By: rjfrik on 04-15-2011 15:58:37 LOL. Paul. Too funny. It is a great piece. Sorry to hijack the thread. I just read that snipit from another site and thought it was an interesting statement and would promote some discussion. |
| 11. By: Puyallup Pete on 04-15-2011 16:32:26 Fantastic story Jason. I too was hoping that Mr. Curto would be considered for Dave's position. Perhaps after the season is over and enough time has passed, the M's will feel it's OK to quietly make a permanent change. |
| 12. By: Jason A. Churchill on 04-15-2011 19:32:49 Curto says he would not trade Felix to any team for prospects. See? He's smart. |
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