May 22, 2004
Interview with Cardinals Radio Broadcaster Wayne Hagin
By Brian Walton
Everyone knows Wayne Hagin, the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals. Or, at least we know of him. We instantly recognize his smooth call of the game as we listen in on one of the over 100 network stations in 11 states or from anywhere in the world over the internet. Maybe we recall that he came from Colorado a couple of years ago. But, after that it gets hazy, right? Well, there’s a lot more to the man than what is seen on the surface.
Wayne is a genuine nice guy in a business not necessarily known to have a lot of them. He is acutely aware of both the challenges and rewards of coming into the job he holds and prizes. Hagin gives back to the community, not because he has to, but because he wants to. He’s a dedicated family man, in a career that requires substantial travel. The voice you hear on the radio is the same one you’d hear if you met him on the street. No false pretensions or over-inflated ego.
Hagin’s professional credentials are broad and deep. The 48-year old has been in the broadcasting field for twenty-five years, starting out with ESPN in 1979. He covered ESPN college hoops, as well as the NBA Warriors, along with an MLB career that has taken him from Oakland in 1981 to San Francisco to Colorado in 1993 to the Redbirds last season.
Wayne was kind enough to sit down with me during one of his busy work days this week on the road in New York. He had just finishing interviewing Mets broadcaster Fran Healy when I asked him if he would mind manning the other side of the mike for a short while. As always, he was more than gracious and engaging, as you will see in the following.
Hagin is an enthusiastic student of the game and a detail-oriented person, which are two good characteristics to have in that line of work. Here’s an example.
I started right off by asking him about how his preparation differed in his second year.
Hagin explained a watershed event; how he gained credibility as knowing his “stuff” in the view of his partner, 33-year Cardinal broadcaster and icon Mike Shannon. It had happened at a most unexpected time, as Hagin recounted a detailed game situation involving Shannon’s former teammate and friend, the late Roger Maris, during the 1962 World Series.
“…I was only six years old at the time. I didn’t see the play. All I’ve done is research it and talk to people who were there, including Willie Mays, who hit the ball. It was on a rain-slickened turf at Candlestick with Alou at first - that would be Matty Alou. And he was able to advance only to third. The game was nothing-to-nothing at that time. Excuse me. It was one-to-nothing at that time, in the bottom of the ninth. And Mays had blooped a double and because of Maris’ defensive prowess, he stopped them in their tracks. And that’s when they pitched to Willie McCovey and he hit the line drive to Bobby Richardson. And that was the end of the World Series. Ralph Terry won it one-to-nothing and obviously, the Yankees won it.
“Well, when I started talking about the rain-soaked field, Maris’ defensive abilities; at the end of that is when Mike turned to me and said, “You know your stuff.” And that was important to me, because I’ve done this 22 years now. And you know what? You’re not there for all those games. But, your job is to ask about things like that. I found out some things today about Willie Mays that I never knew about. And, of course, I love Willie Mays, but there were some things I found out today from Fran Healy who played with him, that are very good and very good for air.”
How long into your time with Mike Shannon did that story happen? Was it the first week or the first month or what?
“No, it was actually … I picked my time to come in. I didn’t want to overdo it. Nobody wants to be in a broadcast booth where you’re looking over at your partner saying, “Do you have to talk again?” I never did that. In fact, I was more tentative last year than I am this year. This year, that’s what they have expressed. They want me to do more of that and I am willing to do it. And I won’t step on his toes, but I think it is important that we do have a conversation with style.
“Although, I’ll be honest with you. It hasn’t been as conversational as I thought it would be. We’ve kind of pretty much done our own thing as far as play-by-play is concerned. I’ll insert certain things. I’m always trying to help along the way in the broadcast itself … certain things that I see that … you know, it’s a different broadcast. And you have to be able to be adaptable to carry on your job. And you have to adapt in this business. One way or another, you have to adapt. You can’t be the same guy everyday, because I think that is a closed mind. And closed minds don’t go very far in this business.”
When you evaluated this opportunity, how did you balance the upside of such a prestigious job with the potential negative of replacing somebody who set the bar so high?
“Well, Jack Buck, I had met when I was 19. And I express this to every St. Louis Cardinal fan I could ever speak to whether it be on radio, on television or in person. And I have done a lot of speaking engagements, so I’ve had an awful lot of practice in telling the people that I understood where they were coming from. I let them know that I loved Jack Buck, the person. I had never heard Jack do much work, except national work. I didn’t hear him in St. Louis. I didn’t grow up there. So, I didn’t hear him. But, my point was that I got to meet the man long before the broadcaster. I got to know the man, because he was always so nice to me, so clever, so great with that dry sense of humor. His wit was uncanny and so when I got to know him in that sense, I let St Louis know that the reason I came …
“I didn’t want to come initially. I didn’t want to leave Colorado. Jack had a lot to do with it and Vin Scully. Those are my two mentors. Those were the two guys I asked. I had four job offers in December of 1992; one of which was the Boston Red Sox. And, I turned down the Red Sox. I turned down the Angels and I turned down the Orioles to go to Denver. And I remember Jack saying, “Hey, kid. You’ve gotta’ go you Denver. You’ll be the first one to put the initial footprints in the broadcast sand out there.” And, he was talking about longevity. I remember he signed a ball and I pulled it out in August last year, my first year with the Cardinals. I’d found it in a box and it says, “To Wayne. Here’s to 40 years in Denver - Jack Buck, July 1993”. It was ’93, that first year of Rockies baseball. And when I looked at that ball, I said, “How much has changed.”
“So, I wasn’t afraid to follow him because I understood and if you have fear, that tells you, you don’t have any confidence in your own abilities. So, the best part was, I knew I could tell the fans that I’m not coming in to be Jack Buck, Jr. I am coming in to be the best Wayne Hagin I can be. And that was my only defense and my only offense. I just had to be me. And I was old enough and mature enough and had a few years under my belt that I could come in and do that. And I feel like they have accepted me. They’ve been very kind to me and I’m trying to do as good of a job as I can on the air but also trying to do a lot of things in the community; things that Jack did.
“But, you’re right. The bar is high. There is nothing wrong with somebody motivating you by raising that bar to make you a better broadcaster. And that is exactly where I sit.”
How well has St. Louis accepted you? In the past, I’ve seen reluctance by some to embrace those felt to be outsiders. Have you experienced that at all?
“They were very warm to me. The first month, it was, like, “Oh, you’ve got big shoes to fill.” And I would say, “Yes I do.” Then, about another month went by and then I started to get the “We’re glad you picked us.” Because, the story got out. The Cardinals made sure that everybody knew that they went after me. They wanted me to be there. And that was important; very important. It was an honor to take that job. It’s a real blessing. It’s a privilege. It’s not a right. It’s a privilege. You know, I made the biggest decision of my life. And it was a big decision with my family. I’ve got two boys, 13 and 10, Austin and Taylor. And I’ve got a wife, Valerie, and everybody had a vote. And it was 4-0, all unanimous. And they left a place that they absolutely loved in Colorado.”
So, you’ve bought a home and are getting active in the area?
“Live in Chesterfield and did 35 speaking engagements last year and I’ll probably double that this year. Started a program with schools, where in elementary schools alone, I am going to reach over 4200 kids. I’ve spoken at Southwest Missouri State, where 1600 kids came out to hear me talk. I’m a motivator. I like to tell kids to live your dreams, because I am living proof you can. I knew I wanted to be in the major leagues as a player and then as a broadcaster. My playing days ended early with a knee injury in college. But, I got to the major leagues at age 24, when I told everybody at 18 that I was going to be there at 24. I made it by 16 days. So, you’re looking at a guy who is blessed and feels he can motivate kids to live their dreams. And that’s something that’s going to be my primary concern of my speaking engagements in St. Louis. I’m going to do the Student Achievement Awards Luncheon. I was the keynote speaker last year and they’ve asked me to come back and do it again at the Adam’s Mark on this next homestand. So, I am looking forward to that, too. It’s a real honor when you get called back to do the keynote speech. So, that’s going to be my primary center of attention.”
Some folks might think that you just show up at the ballpark, slide into your chair ten minutes before game time and turn it on. What’s a typical day like in terms of your preparation?
“Well, I’m going to do a sportscasting camp with kids coming up in July. They’re going to meet me at 11:30 at Washington University. And we’re going to go into the computer lab and prepare for that day’s game. They’re going to go on sportspages.com and they’re going to go on all the websites for the teams. They’re going to do things like that, just like I do. And, then we’re going to have lunch and we’re going to have a half-hour motivational speech and then, I am going to take them over to the ballpark. And, they’re going to be on the field when I do my pre-game show, so they can see that. They’re all going to have radios that night. They all have seats for the game. And I am doing a minimum of four of those, with the intent of doing much more. Those kids are hand-selected and they’re going to get an idea of what it’s like and then they’ll know how I do prepare. And, it isn’t that you just sit in the seat. It’s what you do before you ever sit down.”
What part of the job do you like the least? Is there anything?
“When I have to say goodbye to my family. It’s especially tough with the kids 10 and 13, especially the 13-year-old. I think he probably needs his dad there a little bit more now than he ever did. My wife’s very strong. She knows what we both got into in this business. But, that’s the toughest part. But, there’s so many good things in this job; so many things that I could never have a negative about.”
Alright, I know you’ve got to get into the booth now and call today’s game. Thanks for your time.
“You bet!”
