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Season 2: Episode 29 Description
Ten News Gets Extra: ⚾ Still thinking about baseball? We are! 🧢 Ten News correspondents Kenny Curtis and Nathalie Alonso are talkin' the behind-the-scenes of covering baseball. 🗞️ And Nathalie shares her experience as a reporter for MLB.com. 🍿 And test your baseball knowledge in today's Trivia on the Ten.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Bethany Van Delft 0:06
The World Series is over. The Atlanta Braves have won the 2021 World Series. But, are you still thinking about baseball? Well, we've got you covered. I'm Bethany Van Delft. It's Saturday, November 6th, and this is no ordinary episode of The Ten News. This is The Ten News Gets Extra.
Various Voices 0:25
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Bethany Van Delft 0:35
This year's World Series hit it out of the park. Have you ever wondered what it's like to cover the World Series as a reporter? Well, great news. Our very own correspondent Nathalie Alonzo does just that. She's a reporter for MLB and Espanol and sat down with our sports correspondent, Kenny Curtis, to discuss what it's like to cover baseball's big moment.
Kenny Curtis 1:04
Hi, it's me, Kenny Curtis, with another correspondent for The Ten News. Nathalie, Alonso, thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us about all things baseball, because in addition to being a correspondent for The Ten News, you also have a big career as a journalist in sports, specifically in baseball. Right?
Nathalie Alonso 1:25
Right. So, for the past 15 years, I've worked for mlb.com, which is Major League Baseball's official website, and specifically, I work with the Spanish team. So, I write both languages, and I translate a lot from English to Spanish.
Kenny Curtis 1:40
That's amazing. And so you've been to the World Series before? Have you covered the World Series before?
Nathalie Alonso 1:45
Yeah, I've actually covered two World Series. The first one was in 2016 and that was the Chicago Cubs who beat Cleveland.
Kenny Curtis 1:52
Yes, exactly. And that's awesome. Because, you know, it's always good to have a frame of reference with a little history behind the experience of being a journalist at these games. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Not specifically the cubs are Cleveland but also talking to you about what it's like to cover the World Series or the playoffs, instead of just actual normal baseball games. I mean, you know, like all baseball games are on TV and radio and stuff. But, it's a whole nother level. When you get to the World Series. What do you think are some of the most significant differences from a reporter's point of view when you cover a playoff game or the World Series?
Nathalie Alonso 2:30
I think that for me, that so there are some reporters who are known as B reporters, and they cover a specific team. That's not me, I cover pretty much, whoever's in the playoffs, whoever's in the World Series, that means that during the regular season, I usually have a little more time to think about my stories to come up with story ideas and to write them. In the World Series, you don't have that luxury, you have to write quickly, you have to come up with ideas on the fly. So, that's one of the biggest challenges.
Kenny Curtis 3:01
Yeah, that's a good point. There are so many stories in baseball in general that go beyond just the stats and the scores. But even that can be kind of challenging with the playoffs of the World Series because an MLB playoff matchup could be as short as four games or as long as seven. So, does that make it harder for you to prepare for?
Nathalie Alonso 3:21
It can and it makes it hard, you know, for travel. And that's one of the big differences between someone like me and a b reporter. If you're a b reporter, you know, you're going to be home for half the series covering your team, because you live in the same city as a team you cover. But for me, I live in New York, if there is no New York team in the World Series, that means that I'm going to be flying between two cities. And oftentimes, you don't always know what those two cities are going to be until the series starts based on the results of the previous series. So I've had to leave home to cover the playoffs, not just the World Series, but all three rounds. And I have left home not knowing if I'm going to make it home in between series, and what cities aren't going to pass through. So that means packing for 100-degree weather in LA. It was 100 degrees for game one of the 2017 world series that I covered. And then I may also have to pack for Minneapolis where it could be 30 degrees at the end of October.
Kenny Curtis 4:25
Wow, this is that's got you know, I never thought packing could be such a challenge. But yeah, I mean, I can't even fold a fitted sheet or you know, roll up my jeans without wrinkling them so I'm already challenged when it comes to that part. But that's really, it's the little things that I guess you don't think of. There are a lot of people who work really hard at coming up with different ways and doing different jobs to support the World Series. There are the reporters and obviously, there's the players and the teams and the umpires, but I'm wondering about like, from your perspective, who are some of the people we don't think about like there's probably some jobs out there for people that maybe the fans don't consider that might deserve some extra love around the world series time.
Nathalie Alonso 5:07
Yeah, there's a lot that goes into putting together a baseball game. You know that is the ground crew. Those are the folks that take care of the field and make sure you know that the field is in perfect playing condition and that can be tricky. You know, if it rains or depending on where you are, or if it snows at the end of October. And I would also say, you know, the entire experience of a game, right, the music that you hear, there are people doing all of those jobs, the organists who decide what music to play in between innings. You know, that's such a big part of experiencing a game. So it's not just what goes on on the field.
Kenny Curtis 5:44
And the bat kids. I love the bat kids, man, I've always wanted to run out and get the bat. I've always wanted to do that. But you know, they don't let 50-year-old men do that. And that's probably for the best actually. And one more question, and I know this is I'm gonna throw you a curveball here. No pun intended. But honestly,, who's your favorite baseball player that you've ever spoken to? Like, who is your favorite and most enjoyable conversation? And I know I'm putting you on the spot here. But, if you had to pick one.
Nathalie Alonso 6:13
You know, I've had many, many great interviews. With players, I would say my favorite person to talk to is Manny Sanguillén. Manny Sanguillén played for the 1970s Pirates and he was very close friends with my idol. And, so I love talking to Manny and hearing all of his stories about his friendship and his adventures with Roberto.
Kenny Curtis 6:42
Oh, that's amazing. That's really that's and he's probably got a really unique perspective and a lot of great stories, right?
Nathalie Alonso 6:47
He really does. Yes.
Kenny Curtis 6:49
That is so incredibly cool. Nathalie, it has been a delight talking to you. Thanks for giving us a little bit of a sneak peek behind the scenes at what it's like to actually cover the World Series.
Bethany Van Delft 7:11
Did you know that one of the most popular snacks at baseball games is popcorn? In a 2015 All-Star game, fans ate 1,026,000 pounds of popcorn. And once you eat the popcorn, you can use the empty bucket to catch fly balls cool. It's time for your trivia question of the day.
Various Voices 7:36
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 7:39
Trivia on The Ten. The World Series has been around for a long time since 1903. Only one World Series was interrupted by an earthquake. Can you guess which year that happens? Is it a) 1908 b) 1920 or c) 1989? Did you guess it? The answer is c) 1989. Just a few minutes before game three of the 1989 World Series, an earthquake hit the San Francisco Bay Area. And the teams playing were Oakland and San Francisco. That's incredible. The game was postponed and the World Series continued 11 days later. Time's up. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co-production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The Ten News creative team is Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, Adam Barnard, and Nathalie Alonso. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News.
