Fox announcer talks state of baseball on PodcastOne Sports

Fox announcer Kevin Burkhardt grew up cheering for every home run Darryl Strawberry hit for his beloved New York Mets. But Burkhardt tells PodcastOne Sports Now that there are so many home runs in baseball today that they are not so special anymore.

Burkhardt tells co-hosts Jim Litke and Tim Dahlberg that the game has shifted in direction and he is confident it will likely shift back as it always has. But he said that there are challenges with the way the game is being played.

“I know the young fans love the home run. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Burkhardt said. “But I think it kind of spoils it when there’s six or seven a game.”

Burkhardt, in Cleveland to work the All-Star game, said the biggest problem in baseball probably is that there are wide gaps in action during a game. That’s especially true now that strikeouts are exceeding hits in Major League Baseball.

“It’s changed in ways that are good. And I think there are some ways that aren’t good,” Burkhardt said. “And I do think that it will come back a little bit cause I think right now we’re at the extreme.”

Also on the podcast, the hosts discuss earthquakes they’ve been in — including the 1989 World Series earthquake in San Francisco — and Dahlberg talks about the one that rocked his house over the Fourth of July weekend. There’s food talk, too, including what to do with pickles and onions when everyone at a party just wants to eat brisket.