Baseball in Fort Wayne

If you check the front office page of the Fort Wayne TinCaps website, you’ll see that there are many new names and faces. One of them is Dan Watson, who joined the team as the Radio Broadcast Manager in November.

He’s wasted little time in getting to work, having put together his own blog, The Watson Files, where he dishes on pretty much everything. He recently was kind enough to answer my 3 Strikes.

Here goes:

STRIKE 1: This is your first season In Fort Wayne. Tell us a little about yourself and your experiences in professional baseball so far.

Well, I’m 24 years old, originally from northeast Ohio in a small town called Conneaut. I went to school at Otterbein College near Columbus, OH. During college I was the sports director of the campus radio station, the lead broadcaster for a wood-bat summer collegiate league team (the Delaware Cows) and a news/sports reporter/anchor for a commercial radio station in Columbus. This will be my third year in professional baseball; in 2007 I was with the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League and last season I called games for the Harrisburg Senators in the Eastern League, alongside former Wizards broadcaster Terry Byrom.

STRIKE 2: You’ll be the lead radio announcer in the upcoming season, what might we expect from you and your crew when we listen in?

Good question… This is my first time being the lead broadcaster for a 140-game schedule, so your guess is as good as mine! Seriously, a night of baseball is fun and (usually) exciting and I hope people will be able to feel that enthusiasm when they listen to TinCaps games. I grew up listening to Tom Hamilton on Cleveland Indians broadcasts and his energy, ability to “see everything” and storytelling ability are things I try to emulate. Last year in Harrisburg, we had a player who grew up around the corner from Burl Ives and another who had his father-in-law as his field manager earlier in the year (luckily for him they were on good terms!). Not every game is going to be a nailbiter and not everybody is a die-hard baseball fan, but most people I know will stick around for a good story.

STRIKE 3: You recently started a blog, The Watson Files. How’s the fan repsonse been so far? 

I’ve gotten a few e-mails here and there, mostly people welcoming me to town. I think it takes a little while for the general public to realize it’s there and that it’s worth taking a few minutes to read. We’re looking at doing some podcasts as the season gets closer. My hope is that it gets people excited about Parkview Field and baseball in general.

Photo courtesy of the Fort Wayne Tincaps.