Of all the underperforming dolts riding the airwaves today, the worst has to be the one who sounds as if he’s on a constant dose of NyQuil but still gets the call every MLB postseason: Joe Buck.
His calls are dry and lacking in variety, and his bias shines through in a position where he must be impartial. And to top it all off, he’s nothing but a Fox Sports placeholder taking the airtime away from many fans’ preferred announcers.
Buck’s lack of enthusiasm was evident in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, when the St. Louis Cardinals walked off against the Texas Rangers in the 11th inning to force a decisive Game 7. Buck sounded like he just woke up from a nap, and it detracted from the rush of the moment.
The same thing happened again in the 2018 NFL playoffs, when Buck called the Minnesota Miracle.
Although it seems like he's gotten better, you can hear the strains in his voice to even try and shout. Yet his lacking enthusiasm can be credited to a vocal cord issue as a result of anesthesia used in multiple hair-replacement surgeries.
While we can make sense of Buck's lack of enthusiasm, his biases still hazard plenty of issues. As a national announcer, Buck should try his best to be unbiased toward both teams at play. Alas, that isn’t the case. His bias and favoritism towards certain teams and players do often peek through. Cleveland Indians fans said he was in love with Kyle Schwarber, even going so far as to create a fake wedding registry for the two during the 2016 World Series.
Fox Sports owns the broadcast rights to the playoffs for both the MLB and NFL, sidelining hometown announcers like a one-legged punter in favor of Buck, a corporate placemat blander than vanilla ice cream. Buck only gets picked due his position with a national network, unlike the regional hosts that most fans are accustomed to. Since he hasn’t announced for one single team in over 20 years, Buck is bound to be less favored by sports fans than announcers like, for example, Matt Underwood or Chris Welsh.
Buck’s play-by-play calling skills are is some of the worst — perhaps the worst period — in professional sports broadcasting. From his vocal issues to his evident favoritism, there are far better options than the broadcaster who gets placed on national television just because of his bogus contract with Fox.
Jack Gleckler is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you hate Joe Buck, or do you love his broadcasting? Tell Jack by tweeting him at @thejackgleckler.
