Phillies Voice: Never Been A Better Time To Enter Broadcasting

Tom McCarthy

There’s never been a better time to enter the field of broadcasting, Philadelphia Phillies television play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy told a group of Rider University students this week, reports News At Rider.

The same forces that wrought the digital revolution, causing considerable churn in the media industry, are beginning to create new jobs and empower people through social media, McCarthy said. To illustrate his point, he said that five years ago the Phillies employed not a single person to manager their social media accounts. A team of three now oversees the Phillies’ Facebook, Twitter, Snaphchat and several other official accounts.

“There are so many opportunities out there, and it’s going to grow exponentially,” said McCarthy. “I wouldn’t have said that 10 years ago, but there are jobs out there for all you if you’re interested in doing them.”

One of the keys to success is for students to embrace opportunity, even when it is not a one-to-one match with their ambition. “Don’t sell yourself short when it comes to opportunities,” McCarthy said. “They will lead you where you want to go.”

McCarthy’s career is a case in point. He started off as a biology major at Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) and took his first steps into the industry as a reporter for The Trenton Times, and by the time he switched his major to communications, he was broadcasting college football games. “I got bit by the bug of being behind the microphone,” he said.

After college, he joined the minor league Trenton Thunder in 1994 and served as the team’s radio voice, as well as its public relations manager. He was eventually offered a job as general manager of the Lakewood BlueClaws, and though the high-paying job would have precluded him from broadcasting, he initially accepted. “I did it for my family more than anything, but at the last minute I decided not to take it,” he said. “I couldn’t give up broadcasting.”

Although he had no way of knowing it at the time, it turned out to be the right decision. The Phillies hired him as its radio play-by-play announcer in 2001, and after a brief stint with the New York Mets, he replaced Harry Kalas, the legendary voice of Phillies baseball, in 2009. In addition to baseball, McCarthy has called games for college basketball and football and the NFL.