Photo Courtesy: Steve Trapani
Much excitement has surrounded the onset of the Phillies new television broadcast team. Tom McCarthy, Matt Stairs, Jamie Moyer, and even Mike Schmidt himself will split some time in the booth this season. Thus far, the trio of T-Mac, Stairs, and Moyer has received many good reviews, though, not everyone is quite on the boat just yet. No one expected perfection right out of the gate, but the three seem to have already grown a respectable bond. It is the first time either Stairs or Moyer are getting a broadcast opportunity in front of such a large viewing audience. However, a recent report suggests that this wasn't Stairs first option in from of a major league fan base.
According to canadianbaseballnetwork.com, the Blue Jays had originally offered their former player an chance to take a seat in their booth. The main article details Roy Halladay's trip to Florida to help celebrate the life and career of Jim Fregosi, but a section later on entitled "Don't Take The Stairs" mentions the rather intriguing news. Jack Morris, who worked radio and television broadcast for Toronto last season, had made the decision to move on to work with the Minnesota Twins. Stairs was offered the opportunity to take Morris' spot and work a full 162 game schedule.
We've learned recently that Matt and Jamie will split upwards of 100 games this season, with McCarthy being on board for all of them. Stairs' deal comes out to 108 games, perhaps the reason he was so enticed to work for the Phillies instead. He turned down the Blue Jays' offer reportedly because of the rigorous full-season slate. It doesn't seem Stairs prefers Philadelphia over Toronto, especially considering he is a native of Canada (although, he does have a ring here). More than likely, family time is the reason for Stairs choice. Whatever the reasoning, I'm very much looking forward to hearing him call games.
