# Why do Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver still have jobs? or the best/worst announcers in sports. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240 "2010-04-15T18:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/81 "2010-04-19T15:44:49Z")
Who said anything about the primary problem with Morgan being that he doesn’t understand advanced statistics? Other than you, in the course of gratuitously insulting us all, that is. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/82 "2010-04-19T15:47:03Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > Who said anything about the primary problem with Morgan being that he doesn’t understand advanced statistics? Other than you, in the course of gratuitously insulting us all, that is. Gratuitously? Practically the entire web site “Fire Joe Morgan” was devoted to mocking Joe for his utter lack of understanding of stats. That ignorance is a BIG part of the reason Morgan is mocked in forums like this. Obviously, people can hate him for different reasons, too. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/83 "2010-04-19T16:01:34Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Now, I happen to AGREE that Joe’s ignorance of the new stats is appalling. But you know what? 90% of the audience doesn’t know or care what “WHIP” or “VORP” are. Your overall point about Morgan may be valid, but this is a bad made up number. If 65-year-old Peter Gammons can talk about WHIP all the time and elementary school kids can use WHIP in fantasy leagues, we can assume that a large portion of baseball fans know what that is. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/84 "2010-04-19T16:17:23Z")
Sorta surprised to see the love for Joe Angel here. He was quite unpopular with the Giants fanbase a few years back and there was no sadness when he left town after a couple years of work. Maybe he sounds better when he doesn’t have to measure up against Miller, Krukow, and Kuiper. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/85 "2010-04-19T16:55:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Gratuitously? Practically the entire web site “Fire Joe Morgan” was devoted to mocking Joe for his utter lack of understanding of stats. That ignorance is a BIG part of the reason Morgan is mocked in forums like this. This is a forum like this, and I would like you to show me where the people who object to Morgan’s style are citing his lack of statistical acumen as the primary reason. Should be easy pickings. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/86 "2010-04-19T17:09:47Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Now, I happen to AGREE that Joe’s ignorance of the new stats is appalling. But you know what? 90% of the audience doesn’t know or care what “WHIP” or “VORP” are. The great majority of baseball fans are perfectly content with a color man who speaks in cliches and a play-by-play man who tells them nothing that isn’t already obvious. I’m sure Joe Morgan hasn’t even heard of WHIP or VORP - he sneers at _on base percentage_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/87 "2010-04-19T19:56:14Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I’m sure Joe Morgan hasn’t even heard of WHIP or VORP - he sneers at _on base percentage_. Quite true, which is strange, because that was one of Morgan’s greatest strengths as a player! It’s really odd that Joe the broadcaster wouldn’t have appreciated Joe the player. Drawing walks was one of Joe Morgan’s greatest talents, but Joe the broadcaster would look at Joe Morgan the player and sneer, “SWING at the ball! They’re not paying you to draw walks and clog up the basepaths.” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/88 "2010-04-19T20:06:05Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Joe the broadcaster would look at Joe Morgan the player and sneer, “SWING at the ball! They’re not paying you to draw walks and clog up the basepaths.” Not really - Joe Morgan had 689 career stolen bases. To Joe, the only reason anyone should take a walk is if he can steal at will or score from first on a sharply hit infield grounder. Man - the dude had ONE season where he had fewer walks than strikeouts. And that was in 1964 when he had 43 plate appearances! I wonder if he was so talented that he had no idea how good he was, and just thought all second basemen should put up a .327/.466/.508 line every year. (Not that he has any idea what those last two numbers are, of course…) ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/89 "2010-04-19T20:07:16Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Quite true, which is strange, because that was one of Morgan’s greatest strengths as a player! > > It’s really odd that Joe the broadcaster wouldn’t have appreciated Joe the player. Drawing walks was one of Joe Morgan’s greatest talents, but Joe the broadcaster would look at Joe Morgan the player and sneer, “SWING at the ball! They’re not paying you to draw walks and clog up the basepaths.” Better a slow runner clogging up the bases than a fast runner clogging up the dugout. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/90 "2010-04-19T21:27:43Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > I’m sure Joe Morgan hasn’t even heard of WHIP or VORP - he sneers at _on base percentage_. Yeah. Forget about understanding the new stats, he can’t even figure our what traditional stats are important. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240/91 "2010-04-20T06:16:37Z")
Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton do an excellent job calling the Florida Marlins games on Fox Sports. But the best announcer for my money is Doc Emrick. He does fantastic play by play and he gets excited at all the right moments. Too bad he announces hockey, a sport that I don’t watch very often. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-joe-morgan-or-tim-mccarver-still-have-jobs-or-the-best-worst-announcers-in-sports/536240.md?page=4)