I Don't Get Why Baseball Fans Hate Michael Kay

The other night, just for shits and giggles, I listed the local broadcasting crews across Major League Baseball (TV only) that I felt were the best in the sport. As always, the list was entirely subjective. Nothing frustrates me more than when people say, "your list is wrong." It isn't wrong, and it isn't right. You can make your list. But that's beside the point.

In general, people agreed with the top three. It's hard to argue against the Mets, Giants, and Dodgers crew, but every bit of criticism I received from my list stems from the fact that people just don't seem to like Michael Kay and the New York Yankees crew. That was very surprising to me.

Michael Kay is an institution in New York. He's been around forever, TV games on TV for a long time. I'm not going to claim to know his ins and outs as a person or a broadcaster. I've never met him, and I don't know anything about his reputation other than the Yankees broadcast and the show he does with Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg. I've always respected that Michael Kay, a New York Yankees broadcaster, can criticize the Yankees on his radio show and then call a game later that night at Yankee Stadium. I appreciate that because I know that's something that would never happen in Michigan. I respect that he doesn't strike me as an ass kisser. I think his show is good. While La Greca is the heart and soul of the program, I like Michael Kay's opinions. I think he's an outstanding broadcaster, but most people seem to disagree with me, and I'm curious as to why.

I attempted to do a deep dive into Michael Kay's reputation as a broadcaster to see if there was some past scandal that I hadn't recognized, but as far as I know, I couldn't find anything. It's true that for the better part of two decades, his show was second-fiddle to Mike Francesa. But having listened to both programs over the last seven years or so before Francesa decided to call it quits, the discrepancy in quality between those two programs was staggering. Few things in the world make me laugh harder than Mike Francesa prank calls, but that doesn't exactly equate to having a good show.

The general belief seems Kay has a bit of an ego. Of course. Welcome to the world of broadcasting. Not everybody can be Ernie Harwell. But even beyond what he does on his own, I like the crew that he has around him during the Yankees games. I like David Cone and Paul O'Neill. And yeah, I like "There it goooooes SEE YA!" I'd rather have that than cornball personalized home run calls for every player on the roster. Like any art form, it's all subjective. I'm not going to act like anyone is right or wrong for having an opinion, but I was surprised by the vitriolic reaction. I like how he calls games and think he's a good storyteller.

I tried to put the word out on Twitter, but outside of the general "He's a douche bag with a giant head" responses, I didn't get any concrete reason why people don't like him. I think I speak for most Detroit sports fans when I say I would take him as our broadcaster in a second. Again, maybe there's something I'm missing, but I like him. I think he's a good broadcaster, and I'm happy to include that crew in my top five.