I Had A Tremendous Time Doing P.A. For The Lugnuts!
Baseball is my favorite sport. I love playing and coaching the game. How lucky are we, as mid Michigan residents, to have the the High A Affiliate of the Oakland A's, the Lansing Lugnuts in our backyard?
I have worked on and off for the Lugnuts for many years. I was the on field emcee for the Lugnuts from 2000-2005. I was responsible for executing on field promotions in between innings and to get the crowd pumped up. I had a blast doing that, it was a lot of fun getting the crowd energized.
A Lugnuts baseball game is so much more than a baseball game. It's an entertainment experience. There is always something happening at Jackson Field from the time the gates open, until game time, in between innings, batters, pitching changes and post game.
Recently, I was the "fill in" public address announcer for the Lugnuts for three games against West Michigan. I have done the public address assignment in the past for Lugs and I had a blast doing it again. Although it has been a few years, it's like riding a bike. You get back on the mic and remember how it all clicks and flows.
Below you will see some pictures from the press box, the views etc. One might think that it's just a matter of turning on the mic and speaking. That's not the case, much like radio. There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes before, during and after the mic goes off until the mic is off.
The Lugnuts offer, in my opinion, one of the best experiences you will find in sports. They love their fans and have plenty of promotions to include Lugnuts fans so they can have fun and win prizes. It's a well oiled machine at Jackson Field. There are video personnel, digital board display personnel, the public address announcer and of course one person in the press box making the calls so the entire campaign is seamless.
Next time your at the Lugnuts' game, look up to the press box and you'll see the team hard at work.