Rockies Announcer Ready For Sophomore Season
DENVER (CBS4) - Colorado Rockies public address announcer Reed Saunders is looking forward to another amazing season for the team. 2007 was his rookie year as the team's announcer. The 27 year old is one of the youngest announcers in the league.
He won the job through a contest the Rockies put on last year and sat down to talk about the experience with CBS4's Brooke Wagner.
"It was pretty crazy. Everyone got out the vote, my parents and fiancé were gathering the troops and I had people who knew people who knew people around the world," said Saunders.
Saunders got his start announcing as a student at Colorado State University. He does triple duty announcing for the Rockies and the Colorado Eagles hockey team, as well as working full time in outdoor advertising. The six-foot-five announcer tries to stay low key.
"I'm not here to be super famous," said Saunders. "I'm just happy to be where I am and have the job that I do."
A life-long Rockies fan, Saunders has always looked up to legendary announcer Alan Roach, who was a tough act to follow.
"I was at Rockies games when I was a kid and cheering along with all the names that Alan Roach used to do like Larry Walker ... just how he was able to make it fun," Saunders said.
Saunders joined the Rockies at an incredible time for the team. He says the off-season felt long even though it was the shortest on record for the team.
"I have a lot of baseball fan friends who email me with, 'Are there any more beautiful words than "pitchers and catchers report today?"' Saunders said. "The brown dirt, the green grass and everyone getting their peanuts and popcorn ... the organ playing. You know, it's baseball. It's still the game."
Saunders says he'd like to stay with the Rockies as long as they'll have him. Though, he remembers having a hard time staying calm during some of the more exciting games last season.
"If something like that happens to your hometown team, it doesn't matter if you're an announcer or an owner. Everyone, at that point, becomes a fan," Saunders said.
