The worst-kept secret in town was officially revealed when the Brewers introduced Brian Anderson as their new TV play by play man Wednesday afternoon at Miller Park.

"This is a huge opportunity for me," said Anderson, 35. "It's what I've always wanted to do."

When news of Anderson's hiring leaked last week, many Brewers fans were surprised to hear that Anderson had spent the past five years as a tournament and studio host for The Golf Channel and had worked eight seasons on pre- and post-game shows for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association.

"I always say I've been a mile wide and an inch deep in my career," Anderson said. "Now, I want to take it a mile deep and stay here."

Though he enjoyed working for The Golf Channel and the Spurs, Anderson never gave up his dream of announcing big-league baseball games. It was that dream that prevented him from pursuing a career out of college as a scout for the Cincinnati Reds. It was that dream that drove him to spend long, hot summers in the radio and TV booth for the minor-league San Antonio Missions and winters as a cameraman shooting boxing matches, high school, college and pro football as well as pro basketball.

"I actually got pretty good at it," Anderson said of his photography skills. "I was actually making three times as much doing camera as I did doing minor-league baseball. I did both for about seven years and I became a full-time announcer in '99, when I joined the Spurs."

While his wife, Michele, provided financial stability with her teacher's salary and benefits, Anderson picked up extra money working in the pro shop at a golf course, where he took tee times and folded shirts -- once while ESPN rebroadcast a game that he had called with analyst Tommy John.

"That's kind of how my life was," Anderson said. "People thought I was insane for doing what I did. I had to support a family. That's the way it was for me for a long time until I was able to be a full-time announcer."

Before the Spurs and The Golf Channel came around, no assignment was too small for Anderson made his way up the broadcasting ladder. For a time, he worked as a "runner" on "Monday Night Football," where his primary duty was procuring newspapers for lead announcer Al Michaels.

"I would go get nine different newspapers and I would bring them to Al's door and he would crack the door and I'd slip them in and he'd close it," said Anderson, who also dabbled in sports talk radio and worked in the Spurs scoreboard booth. "I was the guy who did the 'Let's Make Noise!' that you all hate," he said.

While working the Class AA Texas League, Anderson befriended a young El Paso announcer named Matt Vasgersian, who went on to make noise during a successful stop in the Brewers' booth.

"I knew Matt when he had a 'd' in his last name," Anderson said, smiling. "We were the guys throwing water balloons on the players during BP (batting practice). We had a lot of fun. Matt is one of my very best friends, but I can tell you, I'm nothing like Matt."

Asked to describe his broadcasting style and influences, Anderson tilted toward the "old school," and mentioned names like Mel Allen, Ernie Harwell and Vin Scully.

"I try to stick to the game," he said. "On television, I think the analyst is the star. The analyst needs to shine. I want to support him. You'll hear a lot of crowd noise. I like to lay out for big moments, home runs. I love the sounds of the game. I love the strike calls. I like to lay out and hear that."

Vasgersian, whose pop culture references and high energy made him a cult hero in town, was seldom subdued. Color analyst Bill Schroeder adapted to his style and doesn't anticipate a problem meshing with Anderson.

"It'll take two or three weeks to kind of anticipate how a guy is going to respond and react," said Schroeder, who has worked with Jim Paschke, Vasgersian and Daron Sutton since joining the broadcast team in 1995.

"I would imagine the first few weeks, we'll be talking over each other from time to time. I have to get to know his pace and his pattern. He's got to know my style and when I like to jump in. You get to a point with a partner where they know -- when you pause but you're not done yet -- just by looking at you. You really have to look at each other when you do this stuff."

Schroeder and Anderson can begin to build chemistry by calling spring training games on the Internet.

"That's a bit different, because it's radio, but it won't take long," Schroeder said. "I think Brian is going to be a lot like Matty (Vasgersian) in that he'll be a little self-deprecating. He's going to have some fun with it. I sat down with him (to do a practice broadcasts) and felt comfortable right away. I could tell he was a good guy, and Matty called me a couple times to say how much he likes him. I respect Matt's opinion. Look where he's gone."

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4 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by sandstorm on Jan. 11, 2007 at 9:43 p.m. (report)

larry harris? the guy is a dead ringer for mark loretta.

Posted by Jon D. on Jan. 11, 2007 at 1:58 p.m. (report)

Not much of a "buckethead" on him. He kind of looks like Larry Harris.

Posted by Brewers Fanatic on Jan. 11, 2007 at 12:32 p.m. (report)

I was kinda skeptical about this guy, but he sounds pretty cool. Still, the bar was set very high by Vasgersian (and subsequently lowered by Sutton). Time will tell. In the meantime, I'll keep it tuned to Jim and Bob.

Posted by jgeiger on Jan. 11, 2007 at 10:42 a.m. (report)

I hope he's good, but I think the Brewers have had a fairly good track record. They do all look kinda similar though, don't they?