John From Albany - Interview with Cyclones Announcer Keith Raad Part 1

Photo from https://www.keithraad.com/

Before the Brooklyn Cyclones took on the Hudson Valley Renegades on Saturday September 11^th, I had the opportunity to talk to Brooklyn Cyclones Broadcaster Keith Raad.  Keith provides a tremendous amount of information on the Brooklyn Cyclone players every broadcast.  Information that you can’t get anywhere else.  

If you want to really know the Mets minor league players, you need to listen to Keith and the other Mets minor league broadcasts.

John From Albany: After last year how great is it to just be broadcasting again?

Keith Raad: It has actually made this twenty games under .500 season enjoyable just doing this.  We were lucky. We got to come back even before the people in the offices.  It is amazing to even have crowds at all.  We helped out at the alternate site in Brooklyn last year with music and PAing in an empty stadium.  It was quietness…to have everyone back this year is the best.

JFA: What is your overall impression on the 6 game series, the change to High -A, how do you think that has gone?

Keith Raad: For the organization, for Brooklyn, it has been a big change.  They’ve been use to 76 games…I’ve been in full season leagues before…so I know it is a crazy grind.  Looking at the schedule this year, you’re looking at essentially 12 games in 13 days a few times, it’s  a lot for an organization to do.  It forces you to be very creative but we love the ability to present better players, more experienced players, fans are seeing more home runs than I’ve ever seen before.  

It’s just a different, better brand…but the 6 game series…the biggest thing I was concerned with was that we were going to have fights between these teams because they were at each other’s throats for so long. 

Amazingly it’s been pretty peaceful all year and they are bringing back the 6 game series next year.  Players actually love it, coaches like it, because you’re in one place.  You don’t have to travel as much.  It does get a little tiresome. Today we are getting ready for game 35 out of 36 against the same team…and you run out of things to say but for the most part it’s not as bad as it seems when we first saw it.

JFA: The 6 game season makes a lot of sense to cut down on travel costs but 36 times in a 120 game season, wow. 

Keith Raad: That’s just Hudson Valley, I think Wilmington is also 5 series, Jersey Shore is 5.  I think next year they are going to open the South Division to us a little bit more so we might have 30 games in our division but it’s still a lot of games…And the players have changed…we are playing the Yankees today and they have had three major callups so it’s a new team but it’s the same stadium, same hotels, 18 times on the road, it does get a little tiresome. 

JFA: It seems like the minor league broadcasters have been on the road with the teams whereas the major league broadcasters were all doing it from Citi Field and Yankee Stadium.  Has it been any different for you on the road this year?

Keith Raad: The way the season started, there was no radio travel at all.  They did however deem a covered individual. Teams were allowed up to four individuals and these people would be part of the team’s testing program and were allowed access to the clubhouse and to be around the team.  If you’re not covered, you couldn’t go near the clubhouse or players.  

So I was lucky enough to be deemed one of the covered - so I was able to travel with the team.  I would be stopping into places in June and July and people were going ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘How did you make this happen?’ But then as the year’s gone on, people have been vaccinated, numbers have gone down in certain places, so more and more people are traveling…I know Rob Adams from Hudson Valley came to us once…I know Brad from Jersey Shore usually travels with the team, he wasn’t all year, but he will be here two games next week.  Me and Sean Vernon of Bowling Green are the only two guys that are traveling to every game.   

This year with the covered individual thing - it made it difficult to get into that rhythm but we did it early so we were able to go on the road. It’s nice other people are happy to see us when we walk into the press box.  The fans see the fans.  The media in the press box, you get to know these people so they are happy when out of towners come in.

JFA: We appreciate the broadcasts on the road as not everyone is able to gives us those.  You’ve been there for three seasons, since 2018.  You’ve seen a lot of players from Alverez to Ezequiel Zabaleta.  Who is the one that has impressed you the most?

Keith Raad: Brett Baty comes to mind probably the most because at the time right now, he is one of the most seasoned professional hitters I’ve ever seen and he’s just getting started.  Watching him take pitches and know the strike zone, it sounds stupid, its sounds boring, but it’s actually genius when you watch him actually pick out a pitch he can do damage with and it doesn’t matter where it is in the zone, he can find it…and if he wants it low and away, he’s going to wait until it’s low and away.  He’s going to foul off pitches like a big leaguer would. So him, as just as having the complete package – power, average, everything…

And then Francisco’s raw power.  I’ve never seen anything like that.  And the kids shorter than I am and I’m 5’8” (Brooklyn Roster has Francisco listed at 5’10”).  He’s just an absolute man up there. He’s hitting balls 105 miles per hour up to 110, 112 off the bat and every single time he takes a swing – he swings with all his might, which is certainly going to go far no matter what and probably hit for his entire life. He’s probably the most impressive.  Those two guys.   

JFA: Speaking of Francisco Alverez.  It seems like he has got the arm, he does a good job with the base runners, the one area of the game that he still needs to work on is blocking the plate and balls in the dirt.  Have you seen an improvement in that area since the time he’s been in Brooklyn? 

Keith Raad: From watching him, it’s ok.  You wouldn’t really notice that this guy can’t catch back there, I think that’s really unfair to say.  He’s a year older than kids who just graduated High School would be so think about that way – he’s got a lot of room to grow and if that’s the only place he needs to grow, that’s not a bad thing.  

Yogi Berra was the worst catcher of all time until they fixed him one year in Spring Training and Alverez is certainly above and beyond that.  The thing is he will work at it.  He will get better at it.  I do talk to the pitchers, and the pitchers say that he is getting better at it because they would know first and foremost. They have to trust whoever is back there because their career is on the line every time they go out there too…so they want somebody they can trust back there and certainly say he’s getting better and better.  

I think that part of his game might be a reason why he comes back here next year just to start, just to start to continue working defensively because his bat is fully ready.  There is no doubt about that. 

For  more about Francisco Alvarez, hitting at the Cyclones home park, and the 2019 Brooklyn championship, catch part two of this interview.