It didn’t take Jon “Boog” Sciambi long to crack his first joke.
In the first inning of his first regular broadcast as the Cubs’ TV voice, Boog listed the offensive categories in which the Pirates ranked last or a similar rank in 2020.
“That’s not very good, Boog,” said analyst Jim Deshaies matter-of-factly.
Deadpanned Boog: “More from JD comes in the third.”
Imagine Harry Doyle speaking to Monte in the movie Major League.
That quick wit and dry sense of humor will keep Marquee Sports Network viewers laughing all season. But Boog’s shows are much more than comedy, and he showed it all Thursday from the Wrigley Field booth.
After the game, I asked Boog how he felt despite the Cubs 5-3 defeat.
“I’m freezing!” he said. “It was cold.”
Anyway – the temperature was in his 30s – Boog said he was feeling fine.
“It was cool. It was baseball,” he said. “It would certainly be more fun and memorable if they won. If the home team are playing well, you can call big games and the crowd is getting in. It just shouldn’t be. “
His preparation was evident in the personal and statistical nuggets he shared about the boys and pirates. He said pirate mug Steven Brault was hiding in pitching coach Oscar Marin’s office to surprise his teammate and close friend Chad Kuhl when Kuhl learned he’d formed the team. He said Cub’s left fielder Joc Pederson was a sneakerhead and had his daughter Poppy’s name on the heels of his cleats.
Boog can also talk to the best about baseball, from analysis to basics to player habits. Remember, he has been calling Major League Baseball since 1997 and has built relationships with countless players. He talked about how keeping players throwing hands warm on cold days isn’t the problem. It is the glove hand because the glove can become stiff.
He also had great exchanges with Deshaies.
“JD is such a professional and so good at working and listening so well,” said Boog. “Our crew is really good. These guys follow me in different things. We have supported in places with graphics and videos; we didn’t overdo it. “
Boog’s sense of humor, self-loathing, and pop culture references will be big hits with viewers.
When he tried to pronounce the name of the pirate starter Kuhl in one sentence, he turned himself into the film “Broadcast News” in Albert Brooks in 1987 and said, “Much alliteration of fearful anchors in powerful posts!”
When he asked for the pitch number to appear and then disappear in the point error, he said, “It’s a bit like the clapper, only with the point error and the pitch number.”
When Deshaies jokingly asked if Boog wanted french fries before reminding himself he wasn’t eating them, Boog pointed to the burly coat he was wearing and said, “We’re covering fat. Now I’m just a little fat. “
When Boog was telling the story of the 1985 April Fool’s joke article in Sports Illustrated about the fictional pitcher Sidd Finch trying to turn the Mets into a dynasty with a fastball at 250 mph, he broke out a thick, funny New York accent to crack to share what He heard from Mets fans who grew up.
And there is more to come on Saturday.
“I know the fans were excited to be back at the stadium, but I’ve spent my entire year last year calling games remotely,” said Boog. “So for me, to look at the field and be there and call the game and have my partner right next to me, I had a great time.”
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