Chris Mehring wasn’t trying to set a historic broadcasting streak. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers’ play-by-play announcer and director of media relations just kept showing up to work every day.
But last month, after over 20 years calling minor league baseball on the radio, he surpassed 3,000 consecutive games broadcast.
That’s over 27,000 innings and 81,000 outs, not including games that went beyond regulation.
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Mehring’s gotten the chance to work with a lot of big-name players over his career.
“But then there’s also some names out there that people might not remember that never made it to the big leagues,” he said.
Names like outfielder Omar Garcia, who made an incredible catch in 2014.
“It was the top play on SportsCenter for a couple of days when they did the SportsCenter Top 10, and my call was on that,” Mehring said. “I was actually pretty proud of that one. I don’t say that much about my own stuff, but just seeing plays and players come through in big moments are really special.”
He admitted he’s “frazzled” by all the attention the streak has received, and he simply sees himself as a guy doing his job.
Mehring joined WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” to share what he’s done to keep the streak going and how he’s fueled by his passion for minor league baseball.
The following interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
Rob Ferrett: What do you love about doing play-by-play for the Timber Rattlers?
Chris Mehring: Every day is different and I never know what I’m going to see when I get to the ballpark and start calling the games. For example, the Brewers sent (up) their top two prospects in Jesús Made and Luis Peña. They’re both 18 years old, and Jesus made a 111-mile-an-hour home run to right (field) for his first Midwest League home run last week, and it was amazing. I was actually taken aback for words, which probably is a little odd for what I do for a living.
I’ve seen no-hitters. I’ve seen walk-off grand slams. I’ve seen walk-off, three-run strikeouts, which is still one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Plus, there’s heartbreak, too. The Rattlers lost the championship game in Game 3 last year in Lake County, and that bus ride home was bad. But I couldn’t wait for the next season to start, because I couldn’t wait to get back behind the mic and see what was next.
RF: During a 3,000-game streak, you must have had some times when you were sick and struggling to call games, right?
CM: Yes. There was a time back in 2011 when my voice was absolutely shot. I was walking around for staff meetings with a legal pad and a Sharpie, basically writing out my answers to people or telling them what I needed, to save my voice. The games were kind of a whisper.
I remember T.J. Mittelstaedt hit a home run for the Timber Rattlers late in a ball game, and I think there’s still video of it out there somewhere, of my voice just absolutely cracking while on the home run call. The games were basically done in a low whisper, maybe along the lines of Liam Neeson in one of the “Taken” movies. I hope that I sounded that cool, but I probably didn’t.
RF: Who were some of your favorite baseball broadcasters you grew up listening to?
CM: Obviously Bob Uecker. I grew up in Waterford, Wisconsin, and Bob Uecker on the radio was my summer. I was very fortunate because the Cubs played in the afternoon. So I would listen to Vince Lloyd and Lou Boudreau and Jack Brickhouse on either WGN-TV or radio. And then you would listen to Bob Uecker and Merle Harmon at night on WTMJ.
I literally was the kid with the transistor radio under my pillow trying to pick up, like, Ernie Harwell on WJR or Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman on WLW in Cincinnati. Or if you were really lucky, and the atmosphere was just right, you could pick up a Yankees game on WABC on a little transistor radio. That was just magic to me, listening to all of those legends call games.
RF: What are some of your best memories and moments from the 3,000-plus games you’ve called?
CM: I remember in 2000, my first year, the Timber Rattlers won on a walk-off grand slam. And I thought, “Well, this is going to happen all the time.” Then it happened again in 2001, and I’m like, “This is great. This is going to happen at least once a year.” And we have not had a walk-off grand slam since 2001.
But then there’s other memories, too. I got a chance to work with (Brewers pitcher) Brandon Woodruff when he’s come up and done rehab assignments with the Timber Rattlers, and what a professional, what a great guy (he is). Seeing him succeed at the big league level now, after what he’s gone through the last couple of years, that’s a great memory.
And then last year, we had a player by the name of Luke Adams. He was a master at getting hit by pitches. He got hit by over 40 pitches last year. And he would always come up to me and ask what the record was going into it. I would tell him, and then I’m like, “Hey, stop getting hit. Start hitting home runs.” But (it’s about) the relationships with the players and the managers and the coaches and the fans.
