Commentator evaluation: Joe Buck

Rate Joe Buck as a play-by-play commentator:

  • 5 stars - the best (or jointly the best) in the business at what he does

    Votes: 6 5.3%
  • 4.5 stars

    Votes: 15 13.3%
  • 4 stars - very good at what he does, but a notch below the very best

    Votes: 35 31.0%
  • 3.5 stars

    Votes: 17 15.0%
  • 3 stars - about average; competent, but not much more than that

    Votes: 12 10.6%
  • 2.5 stars

    Votes: 11 9.7%
  • 2 stars - substandard; lucky to still be making a living at this

    Votes: 10 8.8%
  • 1.5 stars

    Votes: 3 2.7%
  • 1 star - should be fired tomorrow for gross incompetence

    Votes: 4 3.5%
  • No opinion (don't know him or his work)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    113
So, as a Christmas Eve morsel of entertainment, let's put Fox's #1 football, baseball and now golf announcer next on the chopping block. (I'll stipulate that you don't necessarily need to factor his golf commentating into your rating of him, given how minor that responsibility is in his portfolio.) I don't think his work really needs any further introduction than that - what say you all?
 

luckiestman

Son of the Harpy
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
32,621
3. have a personal distaste for him but does a decent job and has a decent voice.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,766
Pittsburgh, PA
Gave him 2.5. Got the job because of his dad. Does not appear to value it. Has no instinctual feel for the thrill or importance of a moment and kinda acts like a robot would imagine a sports announcer ought to act. Nowhere is this more readily apparent than in his intro segments at the start of a broadcast, where he knows he has to smile, knows he has to throw out some pleasantries about the competitors involved, gives your standard "ya know <color guy>, we were talking earlier about <story>" but everything just looks and feels forced.

While he can perform the duties of the job, everything requiring judgment with him seems to go awry. I'm not sure he should be fired tomorrow, but I dearly wish he'd stop getting the plumb assignments on the back of his name / brand. He's no better than the 4th or 5th best NFL PBP guy (Ian Eagle would lead my list), his baseball delivery is grating amid many finer talents, and he's just never clever or humorous or whimsical or anything that adds real enjoyment to a broadcast. The best you can say about him is that he doesn't totally screw things up very often.
 

johnmd20

mad dog
Lifetime Member
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Dec 30, 2003
61,996
New York City
Literally my favorite announcer. I think he's awesome, and I love hearing him on Sunday afternoons during football season when it's dark out and you hear the crowd and Buck. He's legit. I know people hate him but I think he's the pinnacle of the profession.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
I like Buck lately because I feel like he's in on the joke. He has a good voice but doesn't take the whole thing too seriously. I guess sometimes he can feel detached, but I'll take that over phony enthusiasm any day. If I'm watching a game, it's because I like the product. I don't need the play by play guy to make me feel psyched about something. Buck never takes away from the game, whereas Nantz and Tessitore and others actively annoy me during broadcasts.
 

Mugsy's Jock

Eli apologist
Lifetime Member
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Dec 28, 2000
15,069
UWS, NYC
Never understood the hate. Has a good voice, is accurate, never strikes me as taking sides...even for the benefit of a more competitive/dramatic game, and has something of a sense of humor. 4.5.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

critical thinker
SoSH Member
Dec 19, 2009
9,386
Gave him 2.5. Got the job because of his dad. Does not appear to value it. Has no instinctual feel for the thrill or importance of a moment and kinda acts like a robot would imagine a sports announcer ought to act. Nowhere is this more readily apparent than in his intro segments at the start of a broadcast, where he knows he has to smile, knows he has to throw out some pleasantries about the competitors involved, gives your standard "ya know <color guy>, we were talking earlier about <story>" but everything just looks and feels forced.

While he can perform the duties of the job, everything requiring judgment with him seems to go awry. I'm not sure he should be fired tomorrow, but I dearly wish he'd stop getting the plumb assignments on the back of his name / brand. He's no better than the 4th or 5th best NFL PBP guy (Ian Eagle would lead my list), his baseball delivery is grating amid many finer talents, and he's just never clever or humorous or whimsical or anything that adds real enjoyment to a broadcast. The best you can say about him is that he doesn't totally screw things up very often.
THAT IS A DISGUSTING ACT!

I'll go 3. He's pretty good but not great. His bias is always on display (see above quote) but he seems like he might be an alright guy once the red light is off.
 

JMDurron

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
5,127
Never understood the hate. Has a good voice, is accurate, never strikes me as taking sides...even for the benefit of a more competitive/dramatic game, and has something of a sense of humor. 4.5.
I'm with you on the analysis of his strengths, but give him a 4.0 instead of a 4.5. He just doesn't seem as invested in his baseball announcing as he is in the football broadcasts, and I get far more exposure to his MLB work.
 

fiskful of dollars

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Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
2,874
Charlottesville, VA
I went 4. His biases bug me occasionally but I think his delivery, timing and voice are rock solid. He's the voice of October baseball which has a special correlation for me.... I expect most of SOSH too
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
SoSH Member
Nov 4, 2007
62,312
The only time I don’t like him is in really big moments. Like he did the Red Sox first win, right? Stabbed by Foulke? That was pretty tame for how momentous the win was. He seems to try to keep his hipster cool through and through. As much as I like that from play to play, it’s cool when these guys let loose every now and then.
 

Catcher Block

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 7, 2006
5,825
St. Louis
4.5 for me. I like when he calls games I'm watching, he gets out of the way and appreciates the moment, and he knows his stuff. He occasionally drops in on a local St. Louis broadcasts--Blues or Cardinals--and showcases a different side of him without the Big Fox reins. I think I'd love it if he were my local guy, but while he's doing the biggest games, he's the best outside of the SNF crew.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,090
Tuukka's refugee camp
Literally my favorite announcer. I think he's awesome, and I love hearing him on Sunday afternoons during football season when it's dark out and you hear the crowd and Buck. He's legit. I know people hate him but I think he's the pinnacle of the profession.
Yeah this is where I’m at. Has gotten appreciably better over the years. Doesn’t take himself too seriously. And if he’s calling it, you know it’s a big game.
 

Dotrat

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Jul 11, 2002
2,135
Morris County NJ
4.5 for me. I hated his ridiculous pearl clutching over the Moss moon, but he's been growing on me over the last decade or so. I also think he's gotten better and better at getting the best out of his color analysts. I think he and Aikman have developed an especially good give and take rhythm over the years.
 
100 percent agree that Buck has gotten significantly better over time. Which is really rare, I think - he got to the pinnacle of his profession, and then worked hard to improve himself. I don't think he deserved to have advanced nearly as far so quickly as a commentator as he did, but now I think he is where he is on merit (golf notwithstanding). He also has a really good sense of humor, I think, although YMMV.
 

Vinho Tinto

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 9, 2003
7,047
Auburn, MA
My biggest issue with Buck is the same I have with most national lead guys - they get over exposed. He’s their lead announcer for NFL, MLB, and the US Open. From roughly June until February I get way too much Joe Buck. Thankfully, FOX has yet to try to shoehorn him into their college broadcasts.

He’s fine as announcer, but I don’t understand why FOX views him as so irreplaceable.

To his credit, he did a very good job of calling the final outs of the ‘04 and ‘13 World Series.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
The only time I don’t like him is in really big moments. Like he did the Red Sox first win, right? Stabbed by Foulke? That was pretty tame for how momentous the win was. He seems to try to keep his hipster cool through and through. As much as I like that from play to play, it’s cool when these guys let loose every now and then.
“Stabbed by Foulke” was Castig. Buck’s call was “Back to Foulke....Red Sox fans have longed to hear it...The Boston Red Sox are World Champions.” I actually thought it was good call, and he let the moment breathe and didn’t talk over it trying to get some pre-written hokey diatribe. He had some memorable calls in the ALCS that year too. “We’ll see you later tonight!” And “He can keep on running to New York!” Maybe it’s just the moments that were so unforgettable but I thought they were good calls. Football wise, I thought he was excellent in the SB51 comeback. The final call was a bit shreakish but otherwise he was solid with the right amount of excitement as things were unfolding.

I’m pro-Buck. I give him a 4, only Michaels is better for me. I hate Nantz with the fire of a thousand burning suns so that may factor into my Buck rating.
 

reej

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 30, 2006
214
cape cod
I don't know for sure obviously but I think when he almost lost his voice in 2011 he took that as an opportunity to become more animated with his calls because he's been one of the best since 2013.

I didn't mind him in the past except for things like the "disgusting act by Randy Moss", but around 2007-08 or so I thought he was awful. His call of the Tyree catch is probably the worst call I've heard for that big of a moment. Around the same time period his call for when the Red Sox beat the Rockies "Game over. Series over. And the Red Sox are World Champs again"
 

Wallball Tingle

union soap
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
2,518
Gave him a 4. His ALCS and WS '04 calls, his call of Ortiz's slam in ALCS '13. I think he's a solid announcer who is rarely sanctimonious and fills time pleasantly. Good at his job.
 

mauf

Anderson Cooper × Mr. Rogers
Moderator
SoSH Member
I was going to give Buck 2 or 2.5 stars, but I rated him 3 after reading the other comments, as I do agree he has improved over the years. If you pair him with a great color guy (such as Aikman), he doesn’t mess it up; if you pair him with a train wreck (say, late-career McCarver), he does nothing to mitigate the damage. That strikes me as the definition of average.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
“Stabbed by Foulke” was Castig. Buck’s call was “Back to Foulke....Red Sox fans have longed to hear it...The Boston Red Sox are World Champions.” I actually thought it was good call, and he let the moment breathe and didn’t talk over it trying to get some pre-written hokey diatribe. He had some memorable calls in the ALCS that year too. “We’ll see you later tonight!” And “He can keep on running to New York!” Maybe it’s just the moments that were so unforgettable but I thought they were good calls. Football wise, I thought he was excellent in the SB51 comeback. The final call was a bit shreakish but otherwise he was solid with the right amount of excitement as things were unfolding.

I’m pro-Buck. I give him a 4, only Michaels is better for me. I hate Nantz with the fire of a thousand burning suns so that may factor into my Buck rating.
Just check post 9, it's been my sig file here for 15 years now
 

hellborn

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
265
Some people look cool with a beard, but whenever Joe Buck tries it he looks between jobs, or like he’s been cast in a movie where his character is coming off a three day bender. I kind of like this about him, so I’ll rate him higher than I would otherwise. 3.
 

Reverend

for king and country
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Jan 20, 2007
64,042
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=muDrK8DlQ84

Edit: in 2004, I found I could buy the final call of the World Series and I set it as my ring tone. It was so grating, that I don’t think I lasted a day before I switched it back to my old ring tone, “The Imperial March,” which was more fun anyway, as it invited participation in cider houses and other public places when my phone went off; people loved it.

Figure if I’m going to annoy people by taking my calls, I might as well entertain.
 
Last edited:

Humphrey

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 3, 2010
3,163
Buck came to mind on Christmas Eve when my family and I were watching The Polar Express.

Fox (most of them intro'd by Buck) seemingly ran a commercial an inning for that movie during the 2004 Series. Just like in 1975 it when it was Ricardo Montalban hawking Chrysler Cordobas.
 

ifmanis5

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2007
63,758
Rotten Apple
Buck was murdered by this man about 10 years ago...

27737

I find Buck to be the typical cookie cutter corporate broadcaster that he is- competent and banal, sucks up to the right people and teams. I do hear his passion with his hometown Cardinals and not much else. When he leaves the stage no one will much miss him.
 

HriniakPosterChild

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 6, 2006
14,841
500 feet above Lake Sammammish
Never understood the hate. Has a good voice, is accurate, never strikes me as taking sides...even for the benefit of a more competitive/dramatic game, and has something of a sense of humor. 4.5.
You must have repressed the pre-04 Red Sox / NYY broadcasts, which featured his explanations of the history of The I Curse.

It probably wasn’t his idea to make that the hook on which to hang the show, but the words did come out of his mouth. Presumably no one held a gun to his head to make him say them, and Lincoln, as they say, had already freed the slaves.
 

The Social Chair

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 17, 2010
6,082
Buck and Aikman's call of the Pats-Falcons game was my favorite of the six Pats win.

"That's incredible!"

"Best ever??" "Best in my book."

"What a throooow, Amendola!"
 

Reverend

for king and country
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Jan 20, 2007
64,042
‘Oh my god!!’

You rarely hear a guy like Aikman become an unfiltered fan in a game of that magnitude.
Airman actually likes the game.

That’s why he sounds so different from Buck. My opinion, anyway.
 

Reverend

for king and country
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Jan 20, 2007
64,042
It seems I missed that call. I actually fell asleep, to be honest (Don’t tell anyone; it’s kinda embarrassing). Maybe I’ll go look that up...
 

Nator

Member
SoSH Member
I'll give him a 4. He really stopped taking himself so seriously especially after coming clean about his hair plug situation that nearly ended his career. I think it was a good 'Oh Shit' moment that helped him realize how fortunate he is to be in the position he is in. Definitely loses points due to the nepotism thing (really common in broadcast media).

My favorite moment was from a live chat he did on Deadspin a few years ago. The link I found to the story no longer has any of the transcript available, which sucks. https://deadspin.com/ask-joe-buck-whatever-your-despicable-heart-desires-5958950

He was mostly getting destroyed by people writing in and he took it all in stride. My favorite recollection was,

DS Chat Participant, "Every time you respond in this chat just makes me hate you more."

Joe Buck, "Awesome."

As far as the whole bias thing, it isn't there. Either he is neutral and unbiased, or he just hates every fan base with equal amounts of passion, which would also make him unbiased. I live out in the Chicago burbs, and at no point during their 2016 WS run did I ever think "Jesus, Joe really hates the Cubs." despite the insistence from family and friends out here that he did. During 2018 I asked my wife if she thought Joe was rooting against the Sox, and she said it didn't even cross her mind.

He was 2.5 pre-hairplug incident. 4.0 since he came clean about it.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,673
‘Oh my god!!’

You rarely hear a guy like Aikman become an unfiltered fan in a game of that magnitude.
I'll always remember Aikman in disbelief after the game was tied at 28 just going "I'll tell you what, you can never count Tom Brady out." When you get a QB that has won three Super Bowls to kind of shake is head and admit that he can't believe what he just saw...that is greatness.
 

CantKeepmedown

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
2,581
Portland, ME
‘Oh my god!!’

You rarely hear a guy like Aikman become an unfiltered fan in a game of that magnitude.
That was fantastic because he was seeing it at the same time the rest of the viewing audience was, and probably responding the same way. Right after Buck's "Oh that's a catch!" and almost laughing as he says it. Such a great call.

 

cromulence

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 25, 2009
6,707
I voted 4. I used to think he was an insufferable douche, but I actually like him now. I think I started coming around on him when I read this article about how the vocal issues he'd been having were caused by hair plugs (seriously). You could say that he's just saying the right things there, but I feel like he's been less self-important and more relatable in the years since. I also think that he's made an effort to seem less detached and get more excited in big moments, which was always my biggest gripe with him. Obviously, we've seen from Tessitore that taking that too far is a bad thing, but I think he's found a solid middle ground. I know this is dangerous to bring up around here, but as a Giants fan I would always go back to the Helmet Catch - his call just does not match up with the magnitude of the moment at all. I think he does a much better job on big plays now.
 

MiracleOfO2704

not AWOL
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
9,528
The Island
I went with 3.5 stars. He has had some pretty damn good calls over the years, but considering the fact that he calls 18-20 football games and ~40 baseball games a year, I can't help but feel I can almost run a Joe Buck HR/TD simulator for most of his scoring play calls.

To those that think he's lightened up lately, I think he may have always been there. It's long lost now, but once upon a time, MLB had either the entirety of Game 4 or 5 of the 2004 ALCS from those goofy embedded cameras by home plate. Because it was a raw feed, they paired it with the raw audio, which included him working on his pre-game intro and the outtakes within. At one point, someone, be it a producer or Leiter/McCarver must have said something to him, because he roared back in a joking tone, "I stink, you stink, we all stink!" It actually made him seem fun at a time when he appeared quite full of himself.
 

kenneycb

Hates Goose Island Beer; Loves Backdoor Play
SoSH Member
Dec 2, 2006
16,090
Tuukka's refugee camp
I'll give him a 4. He really stopped taking himself so seriously especially after coming clean about his hair plug situation that nearly ended his career. I think it was a good 'Oh Shit' moment that helped him realize how fortunate he is to be in the position he is in. Definitely loses points due to the nepotism thing (really common in broadcast media).

My favorite moment was from a live chat he did on Deadspin a few years ago. The link I found to the story no longer has any of the transcript available, which sucks. https://deadspin.com/ask-joe-buck-whatever-your-despicable-heart-desires-5958950

He was mostly getting destroyed by people writing in and he took it all in stride. My favorite recollection was,

DS Chat Participant, "Every time you respond in this chat just makes me hate you more."

Joe Buck, "Awesome."

As far as the whole bias thing, it isn't there. Either he is neutral and unbiased, or he just hates every fan base with equal amounts of passion, which would also make him unbiased. I live out in the Chicago burbs, and at no point during their 2016 WS run did I ever think "Jesus, Joe really hates the Cubs." despite the insistence from family and friends out here that he did. During 2018 I asked my wife if she thought Joe was rooting against the Sox, and she said it didn't even cross her mind.

He was 2.5 pre-hairplug incident. 4.0 since he came clean about it.
His PMT interviews show this side as well. Almost so much that it seems a bit phony but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s in DGAF mode at this point.
 

HowBoutDemSox

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2009
10,103
He’s at his best when he’s in on the joke. This is pretty hilarious:
View: https://youtu.be/lBJHBliMpKU


(I looked for but couldn’t find his commercial from circa 2004 where the bit was him trying to manufacture a hokey catchphrase and settling on slama-lama-ding-dong.)