SF Giants announcer calls Diamondbacks a 'bush league' organization

The Diamondbacks sent no P.R. info to the SF Giants for Sunday's split-squad game and Jon Miller did not mince words criticizing the organization.

Marc Delucchi | Mar 5, 2023

SF Giants announcer calls Diamondbacks a 'bush league' organization /

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The SF Giants lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Scottsdale Stadium on Sunday 9-5 in a split-squad game. The Giants side of the box score was highlighted by southpaw Alex Wood striking out five across two perfect innings of work alongside a leadoff home run from outfielder Michael Conforto. However, the most noteworthy clip from the Giants radio broadcast of the game had nothing to do with the action on the field. That came when Giants Hall of Fame broadcaster Jon Miller informed listeners that the Dbacks sent no public relations staff members or information along with the team prior to the game.

SF Giants announcer Jon Miller (left) is congratulated by son Alexander Miller (right) while being honored before a game. (2010)

"I have to guess the Dbacks decided 'Aw to heck with the big leagues. let's just not be a big-league team for the split-squad,'" Miller began his lambasting. "They have sent no public relations people over here no information about who the manager or anything at all about them. So if they don't want to be a big-league team we'll just treat them like a sandlot team. They gave us no information about anything so one of those guys in a red shirt manager and a right hander, one of their right-handers on the mound."

Miller broke up his criticism with his excellent play-by-play commentary. But he reiterated that the Diamondbacks did nothing to aid the quality of the broadcast.

"I mean there's certain things that go along with being a big-league team like trying to act like a big-league team," Miller said. "See I even had names. Did a little homework on what little we have, which is nothing whatsoever from the bush league Dbacks."

While it is only spring training, Miller is one of the most experienced broadcasters in MLB. He has decades of experience to pull from regarding common practice for broadcasts. Moreover, the Diamondbacks are the only team based where spring training is taking place, making it even more confusing that no member of their staff accompanied the team to the game.

Published Mar 5, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).