I'm an elder statesman? Really?

It's not an article about me...thank, Carneal...but, this Q & A with Peoria Chiefs voice Nathan Baliva gets around to where I am on the tenure ladder of announcers in the MWL. But, that's not important right now.

If you did an article on any announcer in minor league baseball, the origin story would be pretty much the same. It's like radioactivity and superheroes.

Q: How did you get started?

A: How far back did you want me to go? In high school we had a TV station at (Chatham Glenwood) and they needed people to do it. I loved all sports and played soccer and tennis in high school. We had a SportsCenter type of show call Redskins Sports Highlights. We would interview coaches or players. When we got to basketball season they were going to do all the game live, play-by-play. We had to audition and I was one of the two guys picked my freshman year. I did a few football games, but we had to travel for soccer. My senior year I didn’t play so I did football. They had a Frontier League team, the Capitals, so I would sit and do that.

Q: Were there influences (on your style)? I imagine being from Springfield, the Bucks from St. Louis might have.

A: Yeah, from when I was 6 on, that was what was on every night in the house. Being with my grandparents during the day after school, my grandma — who to this day at 93 years old is a die-hard Cubs fan — and I would be in the house after school and we’d be watching Harry Caray. ... But Jack Buck by far is my No. 1. I know people go both ways with Joe (Buck), but I’m a pretty big fan of Joe. I did a project on him in (graduate school at) Florida. I sat in the booth an entire game with (Cardinals color commentator) Al Hrabosky and watched them work and did a paper on them.

This is not surprising.

Q: I’m sure you have some favorite cities in the Midwest League.

A: I’m a big fan of Grand Rapids. ... South Bend, I’m not a fan of Notre Dame, but I don’t know how you can’t appreciate it. We’ve been there every year, and every year we find a way to get on campus one way or another. Those are good cites. I’m a big fan of both the stadium and city of Appleton. ... There’s a huge mall there. It all comes down to, when you’re on a bus and don’t have a car, what is within walking distance. So anyplace that has a mall or a movie theater or a Buffalo Wild Wings where we can watch the game, it will be a fun city.

Go read the rest.