Baseball has done its best this season to get back to normal, with a full schedule, full stadiums and even some in-person interaction between players and reporters.
But, writes Neil Best at Newsday, one part of the game remains stubbornly abnormal — radio and television announcers calling road games off monitors, usually while sitting in empty home ballparks.
Why has this situation persisted in New York, particularly when some radio announcers around the country are back on the road?
It’s complicated. Money concerns in the wake of the financial bath everyone took in 2020 are part of the mix, but not the biggest part.
A bigger one is logistics. Announcers are not permitted for now on team charters, which means they would have to fly to games on commercial flights.
A YES spokesman said in a statement, "This is a very fluid situation, especially as the Delta variant becomes more prominent and COVID rules and regulations become stricter. We continue to monitor the situation.
"Our decisions are based on number of factors including, first and foremost, the safety and health of our employees; nothing matters more. Also, there are travel restrictions, as well as different health protocols and logistical concerns in each road city."
SNY president Steve Raab told Newsday, "It's a simple question without a really simple answer. There are league protocols, every team has their protocols, ballparks, cities, municipalities. Not only do you have to address those, but I think for us there’s some degree certainly of the safety factor."
While Raab acknowledged the challenges remote telecasts present to announcers and crew, he said, "I think our guys have done an incredible job finding ways to continue to deliver live games at the level that I think is the best in baseball."
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