Jon Miller

Jon Wesley Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997 he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball announcer for ESPN from 1990 to 2010. Miller received the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.[3]

For other people named Jon Miller, see Jon Miller (disambiguation).
Jon Miller
Miller in August 2008
San Francisco Giants
Broadcaster
Born: (1951-10-11) October 11, 1951
Novato, California[1][2]
Teams
As Broadcaster
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Jon Miller was born on Hamilton Air Force Base[1][2] and grew up in Hayward, California, listening to Giants announcers Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons on the radio.[4] He attended his first baseball game in 1962, a 19–8 Giants' victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Candlestick Park.[5] As a teenager, Miller played Strat-O-Matic and recorded his own play-by-play into a tape recorder, adding his own crowd noise, vendors, and commercials.[4][6][7]

After graduating from Hayward High School in 1969, Miller took broadcasting classes at the College of San Mateo.[4] He began his broadcasting career at the college's FM radio station (KCSM-FM) and UHF/PBS TV station (KCSM-TV), which reached much of the Bay Area. His first baseball broadcasts were from CSM games.[8] At age 20, Miller joined KFTY-TV in Santa Rosa to work as their sports director.[9] During this period, he would sit in the press box at Candlestick Park and record play-by-play of an entire game on his tape recorder. Miller submitted one of these tapes to broadcaster Monte Moore, who helped Miller get his first baseball play-by play job in 1974, calling that year's World Series champion Oakland Athletics.[10] Miller was dismissed by the Athletics following the 1974 season.[11]

For a brief period in the 1970s, Miller broadcast for the California Golden Seals of the National Hockey League. He also spent the early part of his career announcing San Francisco Dons and Pacific Tigers men's college basketball (1976–1980), the Golden State Warriors (part-time, 1979–1982) and Washington Bullets (part-time, 1984–1985) of the NBA, and the original San Jose Earthquakes of the North American Soccer League. Jon Miller's first network exposure came in 1976, when he was selected by CBS-TV to broadcast the NASL Championship Game. From 1974–1976, Miller did play-by-play for the Washington Diplomats of the NASL. He also announced the Soccer Game of the Week for nationally syndicated TVS from 1977–1978.[12]

Career

Miller was hired by the Texas Rangers shortly before the 1978 season to replace the ill Dick Risenhoover after the Rangers were unable to lure Fred White from Kansas City.[13] After two seasons with Texas (1978–79), he was hired by the Boston Red Sox (1980–82). "The lure of doing baseball in Boston was too much to pass up," Miller recalled.[13] In 1983, he was hired by Baltimore's WFBR Radio, which at the time served as the flagship station for the Baltimore Orioles.[10]

Baltimore Orioles

After the 1982 season, Chuck Thompson moved from the radio booth to do TV broadcasts full-time, and WFBR's president Harry Shriver brought in Miller to handle radio play-by-play duties with fellow broadcaster Tom Marr. In his first year in Baltimore, Miller called the Orioles' World Series championship run, including the last out of Game 5:[14]

The cheering you hear is from Oriole fans. Everybody else is in muted silence. The pitch! Line drive! Ripken catches it at shortstop! And the Orioles are champions of the world!

He eventually signed a contract directly with the Orioles and, while the broadcast rights eventually moved to rival station WBAL, Miller remained their primary announcer through 1996.[15][16] At the end of that season, Orioles owner Peter Angelos, displeased with Miller's often candid commentary on the Orioles play, declined to renew his contract, citing a desire for a broadcaster who would "bleed more orange and black."[17][18] Miller returned to the Bay Area and joined his hometown Giants.[5]

San Francisco Giants

Since 1997,[19] Miller has been the primary play-by-play voice of the San Francisco Giants (replacing Hank Greenwald), calling games on KNBR radio as well as KTVU (1997–2007) and KNTV (2008–present) television. In February 2007, he signed a six-year extension to remain the voice of the Giants through the 2012 season.[20] On July 16, 2010, the Giants organization, including fellow broadcaster Dave Flemming, honored Miller at AT&T Park in a pregame ceremony about one week before Miller received the Ford C. Frick Award.[21] Before the game started, Miller threw out the ceremonial first pitch.[22] On September 4, 2010, Miller called his first game for CSN Bay Area as a substitute for Dave Flemming, who was broadcasting a Stanford football game on the radio.[23]

On May 27, 2003, during a game between the Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, Miller called a play involving two defensive errors by the Diamondbacks and at least three separate baserunning mistakes by Giants outfielder Rubén Rivera. When Rivera was finally thrown out at home plate trying to score what would have been the winning run, Miller declared,[24][25]

That was the worst base running in the history of the game!

The phrase was repeated numerous times on sports radio and highlight shows such as SportsCenter, and quickly became one of the most famous calls of Miller's long career. He did a similar call on the radio during Game 3 of the 2004 World Series, when Jeff Suppan made a baserunning mistake.

On April 7, 2016, Miller accidentally called a grand slam by Hunter Pence for Buster Posey, but corrected himself mid-sentence:[26][27]

Swing and there's a high drive, deep into left-center field, it's on its way... adios pelota! A grand slam for Buster Posey...'s good friend, Hunter Pence.

Both Pence and Posey later referenced the call on their social media accounts,[28][29] and Miller himself used the phrase intentionally a week later when Pence hit another home run.[30]

His call of home run #756

On August 7, 2007, Miller made the call of Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run on KNBR. His call of the historic home run will likely go down in history as the voice of the moment:[31]

Three and two to Bonds. Everybody standing here at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. An armada of nautical craft gathered in McCovey Cove beyond the right field wall. Bonds one home run away from history. (crack of the bat) and he swings, and there's a long one into right center field, way back there, it's gone! A home run! Into the center field bleachers to the left of the 421 foot marker. An extraordinary shot to the deepest part of the yard! And Barry Bonds with 756 home runs, he has hit more home runs than anyone who has ever played the game!

2014 World Series call

On October 29, 2014, Miller made the radio call on KNBR of the final out of the 2014 World Series, the Giants' third title in five years. His call also mentions the pitching performance of Madison Bumgarner through the playoffs. Miller's call went like this:[32]

Madison Bumgarner trying to wrap up this World Series for the Giants. He's ready. He throws, swing and a POP-UP! Sandoval down the line in foul ground, he's got plenty of room, and he's got it! And the Giants have won; they have won the World Series for the third time in five years. And Madison Bumgarner has firmly etched his name on the all time World Series record books as one of the greatest World Series pitchers the game has ever seen!

National baseball work

From 1986–1989 Miller did backup play-by-play for NBC's Saturday Game of the Week telecasts, paired with either Tony Kubek or Joe Garagiola. He also called regional telecasts for The Baseball Network in 1994–1995.

From 1990–2010 Miller did national television and radio broadcasts of regular-season and postseason games for ESPN, most prominently alongside Hall of Famer Joe Morgan on the network's Sunday Night Baseball telecasts. Among his ESPN assignments, Miller called 13 World Series and 10 League Championship Series for ESPN Radio.[33] During Game 3 of the 2000 World Series, Miller was forced to leave the booth after the top of the first inning due to an upper respiratory infection.[34] Charley Steiner, serving as a field reporter for the network, filled in on play-by-play for the rest of the game; Miller resumed his duties in Game 4 of the Series. In November 2010, it was announced that Miller and Morgan would not be returning to the Sunday night telecasts for the 2011 season.[35] Miller was offered, but declined, a continued role with ESPN Radio.[36]

Other appearances

Miller's voice can be heard in the Season 1 Cheers episode "The Tortelli Tort", during a scene where the gang at the bar is watching a Red Sox game on the television. He also is briefly heard in the films 61* and Summer Catch and in the English release of the animated movie My Neighbors the Yamadas, and appears as himself in two episodes of the HBO series Arliss.[37]

In 1998, Miller wrote a book with Mark S. Hyman entitled Confessions of a Baseball Purist: What's Right—and Wrong—with Baseball, as Seen from the Best Seat in the House (ISBN 0-8018-6316-3), where he expounds on the current state of the sport.[38]

Miller guest-starred as Jordan in the episode "Little Octi Lost" of the 2016 reboot of the Cartoon Network original series The Powerpuff Girls.

Awards and honors

Miller received numerous honors for his ESPN work, including six Cable ACE Award nominations (winning the award in 1991 and 1996) and several Emmy Award nominations.[19] The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1998, the Baseball Hall of Fame selected him for its Ford C. Frick Award in 2010, and the National Radio Hall of Fame inducted him in 2014.[19][39] Miller was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2010, with Dan Odum, his broadcasting professor from the College of San Mateo, serving as his presenter.[40]

Commentating style

Miller's delivery is notable for his easygoing, sometimes humorous manner and measured use of hyperbole, particularly in banter with his partner sportscasters. He livens up many broadcasts with a few Hawaiian and Japanese phrases spoken with impeccable pronunciation, and has been known to announce a half inning totally in Spanish. It is notable that Miller generally pronounces foreign language names with the source language pronunciation, in contrast with broadcasters who "Anglicize" foreign-named players.[41] Miller is also known for his meticulous scorekeeping, having scored over 5,500 games since he started broadcasting.[42]

Miller will occasionally quote lines from Shakespeare plays during radio broadcasts.[43] He is well known for his foul ball call, "That ball is fooooul", and his emphatic cries of "Safe!" on close plays and "Two!" for a successful double play.[44] He is also known for his unique pronunciation of the word safe, which sounds more like an umpire's call "hafe!", on plays where a baserunner attempts to slide into a base prior to being tagged out. Early in his career, Miller would punctuate home runs with the signature call, "Tell it goodbye!" (in emulation of longtime Giants announcer Lon Simmons), although he has eschewed this in recent years (although he continues to refer to a home run as a "big fly"). His home run call for Hispanic batters is now punctuated, "Adios, pelota!"[45][46]

Miller is noted in baseball circles for his impersonation of Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully.[47][48] Miller also imitates Harry Caray, Chuck Thompson, Jack Buck, Al Michaels, Babe Ruth, Bob Sheppard, and Harry Kalas, among others.[43][49][50] Asked how he got into broadcasting play by play of baseball games, he recalled being in stands at Candlestick Park as a child and looking into the broadcast booth. In the middle of the at-bat, he watched as the broadcaster consumed a handful of fries and a drink between pitches, thinking, "That is the life for me."[43][51]

While calling games on the radio for the Giants, Miller occasionally introduces himself and his fellow broadcaster(s), followed by the phrase, "your Giants broadcasters". The same is repeated when Miller is on TV, except he replaces the word "broadcasters" with "telecasters." (Miller is referred to by fellow Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow as "The Big Kahuna".) He would use similar terminology for his Sunday Night Baseball telecasts on ESPN ("your Sunday night telecasters") and his World Series broadcasts for ESPN Radio ("your World Series broadcasters").

Personal life

Miller was involved in a seven-year marriage with Roberta Creeron in the 1970s, which produced two daughters.[4] In 1986, he re-united with his childhood babysitter, Janine Allen, who had also married and divorced and had one daughter. The couple married in 1987 and have one son together.[4] The Millers reside in Moss Beach, California.[19] Jon's daughter Emilie Miller is an actress who appeared in a 2014 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[52][53]

References
  1. Beitiks, Edvins (November 5, 1996). "Childhood dream fulfilled for Bay Area native Miller". San Francisco Examiner.
  2. Ainsworth, Brent (April 4, 2009). "Marin snapshot: Blind comedian can't wait to hear crack of the bat". Marin Independent Journal.
  3. Singer, Tom (February 1, 2010). "Giants' Miller honored with Frick award". MLB.com. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  4. Jenkins, Bruce (July 18, 2010). "Jon Miller's passion takes him to Hall of Fame". San Francisco Chronicle.
  5. Slusser, Susan (January 14, 1997). "ON THE AIR -- Giants' New Voice Steeped In Local Ties / Jon Miller moves home, surrounded by history". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. Ortiz, Jorge L. (July 21, 2010). "Radio made Jon Miller raconteur in TV booth". USA Today.
  7. Harrison, Craig. "In the Big Inning there was Story! Jon Miller interview on Storytelling". Expressions of Excellence.
  8. Newlands, Dave (November 3, 2014). "The golden years of broadcast: KCSM marks 50th anniversary as sale of TV station draws near". San Mateo Daily Journal. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  9. KFTY newscast from 1972 featuring a young Jon Miller on YouTube
  10. "Miller wins Ford C. Frick Award". ESPN.com. February 1, 2010.
  11. Hartlaub, Peter (July 13, 2012). "Jon Miller's tough rookie year (with 1974 photo!)". San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. Hadley, Mitchell (June 23, 2011). "Jon Miller, then and now". It's About TV.
  13. "Hot Air: Lure of 'baseball town' took broadcaster Jon Miller away from Rangers". The Dallas Morning News. June 1, 2010.
  14. Curt Smith (2012). Mercy!: A Celebration of Fenway Park's Centennial Told Through Red Sox Radio and TV. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-1-59797-936-8.
  15. Petrella, Steven (May 22, 2012). "Jon Miller hasn't given up his connection to Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun.
  16. Video of Miller during his time as Baltimore Orioles broadcaster on YouTube
  17. "Jon Miller Wows Hall of Fame Audience". Archived from the original on October 18, 2006.
  18. "Going, going, gone Broadcaster Jon Miller: Replacing 'voice of the Orioles' a tall order". The Baltimore Sun. November 11, 1996.
  19. "Broadcasters - San Francisco Giants". SFGiants.com.
  20. Schulman, Henry (February 10, 2007). "6-year extension for Giants' Miller". San Francisco Chronicle.
  21. "Giants pay tribute to broadcaster Miller". MLB.com. July 16, 2010.
  22. Giants honor broadcaster Miller. MLB Advanced Media (video). July 16, 2010.
  23. Guillen throws out Loney. MLB Advanced Media (video). September 4, 2010.
  24. Calcaterra, Craig (May 27, 2013). "Video of the Day: Happy 10th Anniversary Ruben Rivera baserunning blunder". NBC Sports.
  25. "Audio clip of Jon Miller's call of Ruben Rivera's infamous baserunning gaffe".
  26. Voice of Giants calls Pence's grand slam. MLB Advanced Media. April 7, 2016.
  27. "▶︎ Jon Miller relives creative Hunter Pence home run call". KNBR.com. April 9, 2016. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  28. "Hunter Pence changes Twitter bio after Jon Miller's home run call". KNBR.com. April 8, 2016. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  29. Bertha, Mike (April 8, 2016). "Hunter Pence changes Twitter bio to joke with Giants radio broadcaster Jon Miller over HR call". MLB.com.
  30. Bertha, Mike (April 13, 2016). "Giants broadcaster Jon Miller doubles down on Hunter Pence home run call mishap". MLB.com.
  31. "Barry Bonds 756 Home Run Radio Call - 8/7/07" (audio).
  32. 2014 World Series Final Call on KNBR.
  33. Gardner, Steve (November 1, 2010). "Giants' loss is national radio's gain with broadcaster Jon Miller". USA Today.
  34. Zipay, Steve (October 26, 2000). "SUBWAY SERIES/MEDIA/Going Yard, Off Guard". Newsday.
  35. Sandomir, Richard (November 8, 2010). "Miller and Morgan Done on Sunday Night". The New York Times.
  36. Sandomir, Richard (November 22, 2010). "Miller Declines ESPN's Radio Offer". The New York Times.
  37. "Jon Miller". IMDB.
  38. Jon W. Miller; Mark Hyman (2000). Confessions of a Baseball Purist: What's Right, and Wrong, with Baseball, as Seen from the Best Seat in the House. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-6316-5.
  39. "National Radio Hall of Fame announces class of 2014". National Radio Hall of Fame (Press release). MLB.com. June 5, 2014.
  40. "Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2010" (Press release).
  41. Steinberg, Dan (June 5, 2009). "Jon Miller on 300 Wins, Spanish Accents and FJM". SBNation.com.
  42. Regan, Becky (June 1, 2007). "Scorekeeping remains an art form". MLB.com.
  43. Lidz, Franz (July 22, 1991). "What Voice Through Yonder Mike Doth Speak?". Sports Illustrated.
  44. Davis, Joseph (August 5, 2010). "Jon Miller — To Cooperstown With Ya". ProSportsBlogging.com.
  45. Stark, Jayson (May 30, 2000). "Keep the homer calls coming". ESPN.com.
  46. Eskenazi, Joe (October 25, 2010). "World Series: Run Radio Through the TV -- Banish Joe Buck and Tim McCarver!". SF Weekly.
  47. Kuiper, Cole (July 22, 2012). Jon Miller's Vin Scully Impression (audio). YouTube.
  48. Murphy, Brian (October 30, 2001). "PROFILE / Jon miller / Giants' voice living a dream in booth / Voice of Giants can't get enough baseball". San Francisco Chronicle.
  49. Baarns, Donny. Jon Miller Impersonates Al Michaels and Harry Caray (audio). YouTube.
  50. Sportscaster Jon Miller Plays Not My Job. NPR. March 1, 2013.
  51. "ASA Board Member Jon Miller Receives Ford Frick Award". July 25, 2010.
  52. Miller, Emilie (April 7, 2012). "Ballpark Upbringing Creates Lifelong Fan". The New York Times.
  53. "Emilie Miller". IMDB.com.
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