Significant changes are coming this year for the Mariners — not with the team itself, given the two unexciting offseason signings of infielders Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano.
They’re happening in the broadcast booth, following Dave Sims’ departure to become the Yankees’ play-by-play man, the initial move of many detailed in a Seattle Times story by Adam Jude.
Aaron Goldsmith will be the everyday lead announcer for ROOT Sports with Angie Mentink joining him as the main color analyst. Former Mariners Ryan Rowland-Smith, Dave Valle and Jay Buhner will also be on the telecasts from time to time as analysts.
On the radio side, Rick Rizzs remains as the play-by-play man, and Gary Hill will be his primary partner.
Mike Blowers, who had been part of the ROOT broadcasts for 17 years, will not return, rating as the biggest surprise in the shuffle. It’s unclear whether Blowers didn’t want to return or wasn’t asked to, and whether it was because of health reasons or something else.
Jen Mueller will be back for home games and Gatorade shower evasions during post-game interviews, and Brad Adam will cover most all of the road games, leaving the studio behind.,
For me, the biggest mistake was not retaining Bill Krueger for pre- and post-game analysis — he was the only one who was truly candid about the team, which is probably why he’s not returning. The Mariners prefer sugar-coating things and shilling for the team over being honest with what we’re actually seeing on the field.
Mentink’s move to the booth is a hot-button topic based on comments at the end of the Times story and elsewhere on social media. She filled in capably as a color analyst last year and figures to more than hold her own as an analyst.
I have a feeling she’ll be even better than that — in time, Goldsmith and Mentink could become one of the best broadcasting tandems in MLB. Their humor, chemistry and knowledge of the game should be a winning combination.
But she’s dropping into a so-called man’s world, unjustifiably facing a tougher crowd that will be more apt to nitpick than accept her as a gifted analyst. On top of that, there will be those who don’t think she can break down a game because she never played it at the highest level, which is total B.S., but that feeling exists. Never mind that Rizzs, Hill and Goldsmith didn’t either, or the fact that Mentink was a Husky Hall of Famer in softball and played professional baseball for the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s team in the 1990s.
Then there’s even another thing her critics mention. She talks too much. But I guarantee if she didn’t talk enough, critics would say she needs to talk more.
Among the comments I saw:
“She’s super annoying.”
“I will never be able to make it through one inning listening to her much less an entire game.”
“Mentink is awful. Producers need to talk into her earpiece and tell her to be quiet.”
“Please Angie please, not every single movement on the field needs to be analyzed to death.”
“There are an infinite number of more pleasant ways to spend the summer than listening to Angie.”
Granted, there were many comments from fans who wished her well and are thrilled about her promotion into an exclusive club where women are rarely found. But that’s changing — along with Mentink, Jenny Cavnar was hired to be the A’s play-by-play announcer last year, and recently the Tacoma Rainiers named Rylee Pay as their play-by-play announcer, replacing the retiring Mike Curto.
Imagine being Mentink, getting a dream job and dealing with nay-sayers before her first game.
She must be a mixture of nervous and confident, hoping to knock it out of the park but wondering if she will.
I just hope Mentink blocks out the negativity and shows up as herself and won’t try to be anyone she’s not, understanding that she won’t please everyone. No matter what, Mentink will not win over the women-don’t-belong-in-the-baseball-booth camp anyway.
In my mind, Mentink’s fun-loving personality is going to shine through and become an asset to the broadcasts, replacing any questions of “why did they hire her” with “I’m glad they did.”
Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. He appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. on Jason Puckett’s podcast at PuckSports.com. He writes a Substack blog at jimmoorethego2guy.substack.com. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @cougsgo.
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