The San Diego Tribune, August 3, 2004
Don’t adjust your set. Padres telecasts will have a different sound for
the next four weeks.
Matt Vasgersian, the team’s play-by-play voice on Channel 4 San Diego
for the last 2½ seasons, won’t call his next game until Aug. 31 in St.
Louis. But he has a good excuse.
He’s leaving tomorrow for Athens, where he will work the Summer Olympics
for NBC as the lead announcer on baseball and softball.
And, while he’s been eagerly awaiting the experience for several months,
Vasgersian leaves with a slight sense of regret, thanks to the success
the Padres have enjoyed this season.
“I kind of wish the Olympics had been in the summer of ’02 or the summer
of ’03,” Vasgersian said. “We all would have looked forward to missing
out on a month of that. But this year has been so much fun . . . For the
first time since I’ve been here, we’re thinking about right now instead
of, ‘This is going to be an OK player down the line.’ ”
Still, it’s not as if he thought about calling NBC and asking out of the
Olympics. He’s expecting an unforgettable experience and plans to keep
up with the games he’s going to miss via the Internet.
“It’s a great opportunity for Matt, and I wanted to be supportive of
him,” said Dan Novak, Channel 4 vice president of programming and
executive producer. “I’m confident we’ll still put a great telecast on
the air. I think it’s a good chance for Mark (Grant) to really refine
his skills as well.”
With Vasgersian gone for 22 telecasts starting with tonight’s home game
against Philadelphia, Grant will shift into the play-by-play role, one
he has filled occasionally the last few years. Rick Sutcliffe will be
the analyst for the next three weeks before former Padres player and
coach Tim Flannery takes over the week of Aug. 23.
“As much as I love to talk, I’m not going to talk too much,” Grant said.
“I’m looking forward to working with Sut and Flan; it will be a couple
of ballplayers just talking about the game. It’s going to be fun.
“Play-by-play is a totally different monster. I’ve learned some stuff
from Matt, but I’m not going to be Matt and I’m not going to be Vin
Scully or Jon Miller. I’ll try to be myself. I’m sure I’ll make a few
mistakes, maybe more. But having a long stretch like this hopefully will
enable me to get into a groove.”
Vasgersian has worked previously for NBC, most notably during the 2001
disaster known as the XFL. But he made a good impression, according to
David Neal, executive vice president, NBC Olympics.
“Through everything that he did with us with the XFL and other things,
he’s never been anything but an absolute pro,” Neal said. “He’s always
been loyal to us, and we try to keep people within the family.”
Vasgersian also has written one column for and said
he might file more from Athens, time permitting. He’s also expected to
do some satellite reports for the Padres’ pregame show on Channel 4.