Everyone Has a Team
Choosing my favorite MLB team was easy as a kid. I grew up in Cincinnati, my family members were all Reds fans, and the ballpark was just thirty minutes away. More than that, I had a transistor radio to listen to all of the Reds games. I loved hearing the words “Marty and Joe are on the air” on WLW-Radio before each broadcast. Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Dave “Yiddy” Armbruster, who for 37 seasons has been the producer of Reds on Radio games and the host/contributor of Reds pre-game and post-game shows. Join us for a fun interview.
What is your favorite memory of working with the late Reds broadcaster, Joe Nuxhall? No matter where he was, in the Reds clubhouse, on the air, or just out and about, he talked about pitching. Nolan Ryan even learned a circle changeup from Nuxie.
Background: Nolan Ryan pitched for 27 years spanning four decades (1966-1993). He holds MLB career records for strikeouts (5,714), batting average allowed (.204), no-hitters (7), and one-hitters (12, tied with Bob Feller). Ryan was known for an overpowering fastball (clocked at 100+ mph) and a wicked curveball. Put those together with Nuxie’s circle change (a changeup you throw by forming a circle with your thumb and forefinger off the seams of the baseball) and you have a Hall of Fame career.
What stands out to you about retired Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman? He never backed down from anyone. Marty loved a good confrontation, and he was most always right.
Background: Marty Brennaman was the play-by-play voice of the Reds Radio Network from 1974 to 2019. Marty captured Reds fans with his engaging personality and often opinionated style. The latter got him into some trouble at times. NL President Bart Giamatti called Brennaman to the league office for inciting the Cincinnati crowd to cause a delay in a 1988 game after an altercation between home plate umpire Dave Pallone and Reds manager Pete Rose. In 2008 during a game at Wrigley Field, Marty made disparaging comments about Cubs fans, creating ill will that Chicago would never forget.
What was the best interview the Radio Team did? There were many memorable Star of the Game post-game shows, but I would choose a pre-game interview with Michael Jordan.
Background: The 1994-1995 MLB strike was the eighth work stoppage in baseball history. During the strike the Reds Radio Network sought ways to fill its airwaves and began to broadcast some minor league games. It just so happened that 1994 was also the year that NBA legend Michael Jordan took some time off his Hall of Fame basketball career to dabble into professional baseball. Jordan played for the White Sox Double A affiliate, Birmingham Barons, an opponent of the Reds’ Double A team, the Chattanooga Lookouts. Nuxhall called one of Jordan’s three home runs that year in a game between the Barons and the Lookouts. Prior to the next game, Michael entertained the Reds radio listening audience.
Do you have a fun story about traveling with Marty and Joe? The night we broke into a minor league ballpark in Birmingham and couldn’t find a way out. Joe got stuck hopping the fence.
Background: At age 15, Joe Nuxhall was the youngest player ever to appear in an MLB game. Called upon to play on June 10, 1944, due to a World War II player shortage, he pitched 2/3 of an inning in a Reds game. Immediately following the game, Nuxhall was assigned to the Birmingham Barons in the Southern League (at the time a Reds’ affiliate). At age 23, Joe returned to the Reds’ mound as a starting pitcher, appearing in two NL All-Star games in a storied career. Nuxhall had fond memories of his stay in Birmingham, so in 1994 when the Radio Team visited there Joe brought along Marty and Yiddy for an impromptu tour of the ballpark.
How does the Radio Team tackle rain delays? I actually despise them.
Background: I recall fondly sitting on the front porch with my Dad in the 1960s and 1970s during rain delays of Reds games. Together, we listened to Nuxhall regale the radio audience with tales of the past. The Reds took rain delays to the next level in the 1990s by introducing the “Banana Phone” where Reds fans could call into the radio station and get on the air with comments about the team. During this era the Reds were the only team in baseball taking calls from their fans during rain delays. Sometimes the calls got a little rude, ending the tradition a few years ago.
Who has been the Radio Team’s favorite Reds manager? Marty and Joe loved Lou Piniella. He was such a good guy.
Background: Lou Piniella, an outfielder for 16 MLB seasons with four teams, was a baseball lifer, also managing five teams during a 25-year managerial career. Nicknamed “Sweet Lou” not only for his batting swing but also sarcastically for his demeanor as a player and manager, he was a big part of winning baseball. As a Yankee outfielder, he won two World Series championships in 1977 and 1978. He managed the Reds to its 1990 world championship, the Cubs to two division titles in 2007 and 2008, and the Seattle Mariners to four postseason appearances. Lou was a dream interview for radio fans, describing play on the field and his team in a very transparent fashion.
Which Reds player is most memorable to you? Eric Davis. For a couple years he might have been the best player ever.
Background: In an injury-shortened career, Eric Davis spent eight seasons with the Reds (1984-1991, 1996) and a handful of others with the Dodgers and Tigers. Davis was one of those rare five tool players – speed, fielding, batting average, slugging power, and throwing accuracy. In 1987, he became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 30 HRs and steal 50 bases in the same season. From 1986 to 1990 he averaged 30 HRs and 40 SBs. In the underdog Reds four game sweep of powerhouse Oakland in the 1990 World Series, Davis got it all started in the first inning of Game 1 with a home run off A’s ace, Dave Stewart. The Reds never looked back.
What has been your favorite Reds moment since you’ve been a producer on the Radio Team? Tom Browning’s perfect game. There was a two hour rain delay before the game, and not a huge crowd stayed to see it. It was amazing.
Background: Tom Browning pitched the 12th perfect game in MLB history on September 16, 1988, a rainy Friday night at Riverfront Stadium. He threw 70 strikes out of 102 pitches that night, and crazily did not run the count to three balls on any hitter. Browning was a standout starter for the Reds, compiling 123 wins in 11 seasons. Although his perfect game was an absolute gem, he might be better known for two other incidents. In the 1990 World Series, he left his Reds team in the late innings of Game 2 to attend to his pregnant wife in the hospital. He was called back to the game via the Reds Radio Network, but stayed with his wife. In 1993, he also left the Reds dugout during a game without permission, this time to visit a rooftop across the street from Wrigley Field.
This has been a difficult year for Reds fans as Cincinnati has spent the season in last place in the NL Central. Yiddy closed the interview with these words: “Everything is better when the Reds are winning.” While Armbruster continues each day to produce the best radio broadcasts as possible, I check the scores each night with the hope that the Reds will turn it around. You see, everyone has a team.
Until next Monday,
your Baseball Bench Coach
P.S. A special thanks for arranging this interview goes out to Bob D’Agnillo, my buddy on the wiffle ball fields of my old neighborhood and friend for over 50 years.