SF Giants’ Austin Slater reflects on his experience in KNBR broadcast booth
LOS ANGELES — Injured? On the road? Nothing better to do? Why not hop in the broadcast booth?
That, essentially, is how Giants outfielder Austin Slater ended up providing color commentary on KNBR-680 alongside play-by-play man Dave Flemming for nearly the entirety of Monday night’s 7-4 win over the Dodgers.
“It was a lot of fun,” Slater said Tuesday, reflecting on the experience. “I’m glad I stuck with it for a little while. I felt like I got into a rhythm after the first couple innings.”
“I thought it was great,” said Gabe Kapler, who was busy managing the game and didn’t get a chance to tune in but heard the positive feedback. “I wouldn’t have expected it, honestly. He’s smart, so that’s helpful. … I think it’s nice that he had a good experience and great that he was able to do it with Dave because Dave is a star.”
About 45 minutes before first pitch, Giants traveling secretary Abe Silvestri was racing to find Slater to tell him that Kapler had signed off on him heading upstairs for a night. Slater, who was placed on the injured list earlier that day after receiving a second opinion on his dislocated pinky finger, was already in street clothes and would have watched the game from the clubhouse televisions, anyway.
Although he grew up watching Atlanta Braves games on TBS and tuned in to Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow calling Giants games while he was a student at Stanford, the microphone had never called to Slater.
“I was like, ‘Sure, I guess I’ll do it,’ ” Slater said.
The experience taught the athlete what it’s like on the other side of the camera.
First of all, those elevators and escalators up to the press box on the third level of Dodger Stadium get packed.
“I actually ended up walking all the way up to the third deck,” Slater said. “I probably asked like three people where it was.”
Slater said the three-hour, three-minute contest “flew by,” but he should know that’s not always the case up here.
Little did he know, we’re exposed to the elements (natural and man-made), too.
“It was just really hot in that room,” Slater said. “No A/C, crazy loud, too. Those speakers are just blaring straight in.”
Although he was a rookie in the radio booth, Slater understood rule No. 1: no stepping on home run calls. And his teammates gave him plenty of chances.
“Gotta know when to talk, when to shut up. Those aren’t my calls,” Slater said. “I might’ve been saying something in the background, like, ‘Let’s go!’ ”
Whether Slater has a future behind the microphone is a question that he and the rest of the Giants hope is a long ways down the road. For now, though, that was it for Slater on the radio: he’s on his way back to San Francisco, where he’ll continue to rehab his injured finger.
“Austin should not be thinking about transitioning,” Kapler said.
“Hopefully I can stick with this job for a little while,” Slater said.
As for other candidates, if Slater wasn’t the most natural option to Kapler?
“I think (John) Brebbia could light up the screen and make things really funny,” said Kapler, who briefly served as a color analyst between his playing and coaching career. “Funny’s good. And he’s smart, knows baseball well.”