Born in Maryland, growing up a Baltimore Orioles fan, Andy Freed was certain of his future career; he wanted to be a broadcaster.
“This is always what I wanted to do with my life. A lot of kids want to be players; I wanted to be a broadcaster. People ask me, ‘how long have you known you wanted to do this’, and I go back to when I was eight years old,” Freed said.
Freed has been the radio broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays since 2005.
Although his current job, working for a Major League Baseball team is all that he has hoped for, Freed explained that it was not necessarily easy getting to where he is today.
“It’s interesting looking back. It all seems like ‘well, it worked out’; this seems like it would always happen, but it was a lot of years in the minor leagues, 11 years, traveling around, making no money, feeling like my life was just kind of in a stall position,” Freed said. “Knowing the ending, that I made it, is wonderful, but I didn’t know that for so many years, and I feel very fortunate that this opportunity came along.”
Freed got his start in broadcasting when he attended Towson State University.
The college specialized in broadcasting.
The school had a signal that reached across four states.
Freed got experience broadcasting for a variety of sports, all while receiving critiques on his performance in the booth.
Freed was never able to get the opportunity to broadcast baseball for his college, thus he was forced to look elsewhere.
He landed an internship with Jon Miller.
At the time Miller broadcasted play-by-play for the Orioles on their flagship radio station, WBAL.
Miller is also currently broadcasting for ESPN’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ telecasts.
Freed also worked for WBAL.
There he added knowledge and experience to his broadcasting resume.
Freed believes that broadcasting with every opportunity you get, just as he did in his college years, is essential to improve your on-air ability.
“I’ve always said for young people that want to do this as a career, if you want to be on the air, then get on the air, and figure out a way to stay on the air,” said Freed. “The only way to get better is to do it, and repetition just like a player, just like anything in life.”
In 1993, Freed started off his professional baseball broadcasting career calling games for the New York Mets single-A affiliate.
He then got a job in the Boston Red Sox organization.
He broadcasted for double-A Trenton program for five years before moving up to the triple-A Pawtucket affiliate.
He then moved into the position he is in today with the Rays.
Freed has dabbled in both radio and television broadcasting, but for now, he seems to appreciate the radio industry a little more.
“I love the simplicity. I love the fact that it’s basically just you and your voice, and your mind and creating word-pictures,” Freed said.
Freed feels that there is a common misconception about the technique involved in being a successful broadcaster.
“I think, actually, voice is overplayed. I think that’s way down on the list of important things for a radio broadcaster,” said Freed.
Though he says that you must have a “listenable” voice that sounds “pleasant”, Freed believes there are many other characteristics that make for an excellent broadcaster.
“I think it’s important to be able to be nimble on the air and to be able to capture something live. I think the ability to know grammar properly, to speak well, to have that word in your mind and access that word right when you need it [is important],” Freed said.“I think all those things are important, but to me, and it’s the most trite thing, you hear everyone say it, but just being yourself; find out what makes you unique.”
Although Freed may never have actually played the sport competitively, he takes pride in having what he calls an “umpire’s knowledge of the rules” in baseball.
He makes up for not having played by using his ability to communicate on-air as well as giving the listeners many different perspectives that a former player-turned analyst may not have.
He also spoke about other outlets for where he gets his knowledge and understanding of baseball.
“I think it’s very important to know the game and I think it’s important to have an inherent curiosity about it also the ability to ask questions and listen,” Freed said. “I’ve always been lucky; through my career, I’ve always been around people, whether it be managers, coaches, [or] people in the know- they’ve been willing to give me time and answer my questions,” Freed said.
As far as the Tampa Bay Rays are concerned, Freed has seen plenty of ups and downs as he has been with the team through first place, last place, and practically everywhere in between.
Freed expect the young Rays squad to put together a successful season.
“I expect big things,” Freed said. “I think we absolutely, without a doubt, have the tools to win the division and win the World Series.”
On top of his broadcasting work, Freed also dedicates his time to some organizations in the community.
He is involved in the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).
He volunteers and hosts events to help fight the disease.
Freed and his wife also lend their help to Jackson’s Hope, a foundation which raises money to find a cure for Batten’s Disease.
Freed is happy to be working within the local community of Tampa Bay.
“People assume that A, you want to get to TV, or B, you want to go national. If those things happen for me one day, then that’s the way it goes, but I’m not dying for that,” Freed admitted. “To me, I’ve always been much more interested in being a part of a local community and really sinking my roots into one area.”
Daniel Feingold can be reached at dfeingold@ut.edu.
enjoyed andy’s story