In a previous blog I wrote about dealing with a slump as a baseball broadcaster.  It happens in the booth just as it does on the field. When you find that your broadcasts are in a funk, it’s time to reset and get your performance back on track. 

There are many reasons why you may be making mistakes during your broadcasts. Fatigue is probably at the top of the list. The grind of a baseball schedule is a major challenge.  Mental fatigue leads to mistakes on the air. Fixing it is not as simple as simply getting more rest.  Adjusting your mindset is the quickest way to get things turned around. 

Here are three things you can do to reset your broadcast and get back to finding consistency. 

 1.  Get back to the basics.  The best way to get back the consistency that has abandoned you is to just concentrate on the basics.  Don’t get fancy. Spend a game just using basic terminology to make your calls. This is probably not the time to break out new phrasing and and get fancy with your inflections and pacing. Think of it as a player trying to break out of a slump. Don’t swing for the fence, instead settle for a few singles to get the feel back and concentrate on making the simple call to get back to the basics. 

2.  Realize it’s part of the business.  Every announcer has gone through the same thing.  Every announcer that follows you will experience it too.  The volume of games on the schedule means that you will invariably go through some ups and downs.  Understanding that rough patches are natural will help to keep you from overreacting.  Ride it out and before long you’ll get back on track.  Don’t go into a broadcast putting extra pressure on yourself thinking you have to be perfect, because you won’t.

3.  Don’t clutter your scorecard with stats and notes.  One of the things I would do when I was struggling was to broadcast a game or two with very little prep on my scorecard.  I would also shut down my computer or only check for scores of other games.  This forced me to just see the game and keep my eyes on the field instead of cluttering my mind searching for the next story or stat written on my card.  It all gets back to keeping the broadcast basic.