I’m going to try really hard to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one because circumstances dictate that things probably have to be different, but it’s hard to see the citing of COVID protocols as much more than a convenient excuse for Rogers to phase out dedicated baseball radio broadcasts and never bring them back. We’ve been in the Rogers and Bell own all of the sports and all of the stations era for so long now that I’m surprised that it hasn’t happened already, honestly. Neither company has seemingly ever met a cost it can’t cut, quality be damned.
In an effort to minimize travel and closely adhere to team, league, and government protocols related to the pandemic, Sportsnet will be streamlining production for the 2021 season by simulcasting TV broadcasts on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and across the Sportsnet Radio Network . Blue Jays fans can now enjoy the legendary voices of Buck Martinez, Dan Shulman, and Pat Tabler on both TV and radio. Ben Wagner remains part of the Blue Jays on Sportsnet broadcast team, joining Jamie Campbell, Joe Siddall, Hazel Mae, and Arash Madani in covering all the bases throughout the season.
At least they have the right person fronting the broadcast if the goal truly is to not have it sound like absolute shit. Dan Shulman has years and years of experience calling baseball for both radio and television, so if anyone can recognize that there are vastly different audiences to be served simultaneously and then successfully balance the needs of both of them, it’s him.
In the short-term, this will do. But I absolutely do not like where this is going.