The Voice of the Minnesota Twins - Dick Bremer
Posted by Steve Frazier
Our Program on January 25th was a talk by Dick Bremer, the voice of the Minnesota Twins. After his introduction by Tim Litfin, Dick gave us a short personal biography. He was born and raised in Dumont MN. (population 122), got his primary education in a one-room school house (a total of eight students in 8 grades), finished high school in Staples MN., and graduated from St Cloud State in 1978. He worked at a number of local stations and came to the Twin Cities to work for channel 11. He began as the television voice of the Twins in 1983, and is in his 28th year at the job. He currently is teamed with Bert Blyleven for the games telecast by Fox Sports North (FSN). Dick is a resident of St Michael, MN.
The broadcast routine that he and Bert have is to get to the ballpark 3 to 4 hours before gametime, visit with the teams and managers, review the recent news items, and then prepare for the game. They may have 100 to 150 items that they can present during a game, but the flow of that information is dependent on the flow of the game. Some games, they may only cover ten of the items they have prepared.
He gave away no secrets about the team, but he did comment about what this year's lineup would be, and cast an optimistic vision of the team. He said that the owners have followed their business plan, and not made any panic moves, and that that stability has helped the players and managers field consistently good teams. The Yankees jinx is the thing to beat this season, especially in the extra games at the end of the year. He predicted the Twins will make the playoffs, and could go all the way.
He is impressed with Ron Gardenhire as the manager. Ron stands behind his players, and develops a type of "team spirit" unusual to pro sports. The whole management team has been in place for a long time, and that stability helps the team.
The new ballpark got favorable comment from Dick, too. He complimented Mortenson Construction Company and the Twins management for the way the structure turned out. He feels it is one of if not the best in the world. He said they built a 14 acre facility in an 8 acre space, and made it seem very spacious. When he asked our club for a show of hands of those who had been in the park, I think he was a bit surprised when almost every hand in the room was raised.
Currently, the team is doing the winter tours around the area visiting in all of the towns to encourage support. He was in Ely, Hibbing and Eveleth last week meeting with the local fans; he is looking forward to spring training; as he said, "Baseball is right around the corner". (Story by Tad Shaw and photo and posting by Steve Frazier)
The broadcast routine that he and Bert have is to get to the ballpark 3 to 4 hours before gametime, visit with the teams and managers, review the recent news items, and then prepare for the game. They may have 100 to 150 items that they can present during a game, but the flow of that information is dependent on the flow of the game. Some games, they may only cover ten of the items they have prepared.
He gave away no secrets about the team, but he did comment about what this year's lineup would be, and cast an optimistic vision of the team. He said that the owners have followed their business plan, and not made any panic moves, and that that stability has helped the players and managers field consistently good teams. The Yankees jinx is the thing to beat this season, especially in the extra games at the end of the year. He predicted the Twins will make the playoffs, and could go all the way.
He is impressed with Ron Gardenhire as the manager. Ron stands behind his players, and develops a type of "team spirit" unusual to pro sports. The whole management team has been in place for a long time, and that stability helps the team.
The new ballpark got favorable comment from Dick, too. He complimented Mortenson Construction Company and the Twins management for the way the structure turned out. He feels it is one of if not the best in the world. He said they built a 14 acre facility in an 8 acre space, and made it seem very spacious. When he asked our club for a show of hands of those who had been in the park, I think he was a bit surprised when almost every hand in the room was raised.
Currently, the team is doing the winter tours around the area visiting in all of the towns to encourage support. He was in Ely, Hibbing and Eveleth last week meeting with the local fans; he is looking forward to spring training; as he said, "Baseball is right around the corner". (Story by Tad Shaw and photo and posting by Steve Frazier)