16 illinoisentertainer . com march 2017
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tthe beginning of the 2016 season , Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper got some excellent advice .
“ One of my best friends is a non-fiction author and we talk about writing all the time . We met for breakfast last year just before spring training and he said ‘ You should keep a journal this year . It ’ ll be a fun project , and you just never know , it could end up being a very special season .’ I reluctantly agreed , and it turned out to be really cool .”
Though the final manuscript ended up being 70,000 words , most of those words will remain a personal reference point for Len . He ’ ll be posting some of his favorite moments via Twitter , but he decided that adding the title “ author ” to his business card wasn ’ t necessary . He already has it pretty good working as the Cubs announcer . He has to be prodded to mention any potential downsides .
“ There ’ s a bit of a Groundhog Day nature to what we do ,” he admits , “ and it can be a grind at times . Anyone who has been in this business who travels full time will tell you it ’ s not easy to get in at six in the morning , which we did three times in October . I was pulling into the driveway as my son was going to school at 7:45 in the morning . There is a mental and physical fatigue that comes along with this job . You can get a perfect night ' s sleep for weeks or months , but just one of those 6AM adventures will throw off your body clock for weeks . It ’ s amazing the guys on the team could overcome it and win the World Series the way they did .”
As a family man , that constant travel can be even more difficult than it is for some of the younger guys . “ I ’ m used to it because I ’ ve done it for fifteen years full-time , but I would say that it never gets easier . It ’ s one of the reasons why I insist on not taking on anything else during the off-season – so I can be there and experience as much as I can at home , to be available whenever I ’ m needed to help make up for the time I ’ m not around during the season .”
Other announcers also cite research as one of the downsides of the job , but Kasper disagrees . “ I ’ ve streamlined my prep a lot over the years . I do keep notes every day , but I ’ ve also learned not to jam it all into the game unless it fits . When you do it every day and you do it for a long time you realize that providing the material at the right moment is the most important thing . You need to empty your brain before a broadcast . You can ’ t allow the prep to make you miss what ’ s happening in the game at that time . I never want to miss something that ’ s really important on the field . Approaching it that way has worked for me . You prepare but you leave your canvas wide open .”
That ’ s one of the reasons Cubs broadcasts appear to be spontaneous and
By Rick Kaempfer
THEY CALL HIM LEN KASPER
Len Kasper
entertaining . Another reason is that they often veer into non-baseball land .“ I just try to stay as worldly as possible ,” Len says , “ and I think my partner Jim Deshaies is the same way . We NEVER talk about what we ’ re going to say before a game because it ’ s always better the first time . Jim is the perfect partner in that way . He ’ s not afraid to say ‘ I don ’ t know ’, he ’ s not afraid to be put on the spot , and believe me – not all analysts are like that . He and I have a different relationship in that regard . We stay away from a lot of things we ’ ll be talking about in a broadcast when we have lunch
together every day , just to make it as organic as we can for the listeners .”
Kasper also stays in constant contact with the listeners during the broadcast via social media . “ I check it during breaks . Even five years ago it would take afew weeks to get feedback about whatever it was that spurred a letter from someone . Now you get the feedback in three seconds . I don ’ t ever want to feel like I ’ m the old fuddy duddy broadcaster who doesn ’ t know what social media is . It ’ s important to stay current and in the mainstream . I always have my computer nearby . I keep score on my laptop now . I love ( the website ) Baseball- Reference . com . It has revolutionized baseball information on the internet . Every memory I have as a child of any baseball game can be found in a box score form in five seconds on Baseball-Reference . I think it ’ s the greatest website ever .”
What about the product on the field this coming season ? Can the Cubs repeat ? “ This season has a chance to be as good or better as 2016 . Certainly position player wise , the nucleus is going to get even better – which is scary if you think about it . The big challenge will be to put together a pitching staff that can match it . The main reason the Cubs went as far as they did last year was their starting rotation . I don ’ t think we ’ ll ever see a five man rotation stay as healthy and be as dominating as that group was . They were the only team in the postseason who didn ’ t have to bring someone back on short rest . My guess is the pitching won ’ t be quite as good , and we ’ ll have to score a few more runs , but this offense is more than capable of doing that .”