If you ask Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, the well-known voice of the Lansing Lugnuts, a baseball broadcast done well isn’t a result of natural talent, but rather a culmination of a lifetime of absorbing baseball knowledge.
“I don’t believe anything is purely innate – I believe you learn everything,” said Goldberg-Strassler. “The way we discuss baseball is something we pick up from hearing others talk about it.”
Goldberg-Strassler grew up in Maryland in a household filled with baseball enthusiasts. From a young age, whenever there was a baseball game on TV or the radio, Jesse was there, absorbing it all. After finishing high school, Goldberg-Strassler knew he wanted a career that involved writing and hoped to find a college where he could pursue sports broadcasting. However, during that time, it was more challenging to find opportunities in the broadcasting field compared to today. His home state University of Maryland didn’t have a broadcasting program, and gaining experience at broadcasting powerhouse Syracuse was typically reserved for upperclassmen. Eventually, Goldberg-Strassler found his place at Ithaca College in South Hill, New York.
“I went to Ithaca, and they said, ‘You can get on air your first week,'” Goldberg-Strassler recalled. “I needed that opportunity because I had never done it before – and broadcasting is genuinely difficult.”
During his time in college, Goldberg-Strassler had plenty of on-air experience. However, in his first job after graduating, interning with the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am league in 2005, he found himself involved in various tasks around the ballpark. While he gained skills that would benefit his career, such as creating game notes and hosting call-in shows before and after games, he also spent more time as the team’s mascot than behind the microphone calling play-by-play.
His first significant opportunity to call games came when he became the second broadcaster for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, followed by two seasons as the primary broadcaster for the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League. At each stop, Goldberg-Strassler focused on soaking in the unique experiences offered and didn’t rush ahead.
“I’ve always been aware of my own limitations,” Goldberg-Strassler admitted. “When I got to Montgomery, I understood that I needed to work on my vocal stamina and learn how to use Dreamweaver for website work (…) and then I started getting more play-by-play reps. I was consistently calling innings and play, and all of that pushed me to ask myself what more I could do and what more I could learn.”
In 2009, Goldberg-Strassler arrived in Lansing, where he would eventually spend over a decade as the Lugnuts’ broadcaster. Although he didn’t know at the time that he would stay in Lansing for that long, from day one, he approached the job as if it were his long-term home.
“I believe that if you don’t treat each stop as your home right away, people will see through it,” Goldberg-Strassler explained. “The fans, the family members, the players, and the coaches – they all need to feel that you genuinely care.”
As the 2024 season begins, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler is entering his 15th year of calling Lugnuts games, continuously refining his craft by immersing himself in baseball conversations and actively listening.
In the most recent episode of ‘From Phenom to the Farm,’ Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, the longstanding broadcaster for the Lansing Lugnuts, delves into his life behind the microphone in Minor League Baseball. He discusses the steps he took to secure a play-by-play job, developing his broadcasting style, his first experience in the major leagues, and witnessing future all-stars pass through the Midwest League.
According to the Source baseballamerica.com