Angels hire Patrick O'Neal as secondary PBP announcer

[mmc]

 

[T.G.]

[Chuck]

BALLY SPORTS WEST AND LOS ANGELES ANGELS ANNOUNCE PATRICK O’NEAL TO JOIN 2022 GAME BROADCASTS

O’Neal Will Rotate with Matt Vasgersian to Call Games Alongside Mark Gubicza

LOS ANGELES, January 13, 2022 – Bally Sports West, in partnership with the Los Angeles Angels, today announced that Patrick O’Neal, a longtime fixture in Southern California sports, will join as the Club’s new play-by-play announcer on Angels telecasts. O’Neal will rotate with Matt Vasgersian, who returns for his second season as lead play-by-play announcer. Mark Gubizca returns for his 16^th season as Angels color commentator with the regional sports network.

“I am beyond thrilled to cover the Angels in 2022 alongside Mark Gubicza and our talented broadcast crew”, said O’Neal.  “I especially want to thank Arte and Carole Moreno, John Carpino and Rebecca Schulte for this incredible opportunity and I can’t wait to get to work!” 

O’Neal, who enters his ninth season covering Angels Baseball on Bally Sports West, most recently in 2021 called nine Angels games alongside Gubicza.

“Patrick has been deeply rooted in Southern California sports for over twenty years and we are pleased to welcome him to the Angels broadcast booth,” said Rebecca O’Sullivan-Schulte, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Bally Sports West. “He has displayed an incredible commitment to Angels Baseball and we are excited that he will continue to enrich the network’s coverage in this expanded role.”

“On behalf of the Angels Organization, we congratulate Patrick O’Neal on his expanded role in the Bally Sports West broadcast booth,” said Angels president John Carpino. “Patrick’s strong passion for the Angels and his long list of prior experience make him a great fit. We look forward to having play-by-play announcers Patrick O’Neal and Matt Vasgersian join analyst, Mark Gubicza, on the air throughout the 2022 Season.”

A Southern California native, O’Neal has been providing sports fans with in-depth coverage of their favorite teams for over 20 years. Throughout his career, O’Neal has been recognized with six LA Area Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Sports Reporting, taking home wins in 2018 and 2006. In 2018, O’Neal was also named by the SoCal Sports Broadcasters Association as the Top Pre- and Postgame Host, an award he has won five times.

Bally Sports West will announce its complete 2022 Angels schedule and coverage details in the coming weeks.

[Chuck]

I actually like Patrick O'Neal. Good move! 

[mmc]

Not a fan, he's not good for the role.  Should've kept Waltz.

[jsnpritchett]

8 minutes ago, mmc said:

Not a fan, he's not good for the role.  Should've kept Waltz.

Yeah, I was intrigued by the idea of O'Neal filling in until I actually watched one of the games he did last year.  Uh, not good. 

[Chuck]

4 minutes ago, jsnpritchett said:

Yeah, I was intrigued by the idea of O'Neal filling in until I actually watched one of the games he did last year.  Uh, not good. 

I disagree, I liked him. Kind of like Hudler who I know you hate and I loved. So I get it. 

Hope all is good and you've had a nice holiday season Jason. I'm finally getting settled in Tennessee.

[Lou]

[failos]

[Taylor]

One step better than Roger Lodge, I suppose.

[TurboFan]

I’m fine with it. I just want someone who is easy to listen to and doesn’t grate on me like Sutton, and therefore make me pine for Victor Rojas. I don’t even care what he has to say all that much. Just don’t annoy me and piss me off. Vasgersian has grown on me, I like him a lot. Most anyone in a secondary role will likely draw an unfavorable comparison to Vasgersian. From the Angels point of view, with Vasgersian doing more games, the secondary play-by-play guy’s load will be light and I’m guessing Patrick will save them some coin. Why pay top dollar for two top of the line guys and have them always compared and contrasted? Patrick hangs around and does double duty as the pre/post game guy so he is a good fit because he is already there. 

[jsnpritchett]

49 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I disagree, I liked him. Kind of like Hudler who I know you hate and I loved. So I get it. 

Hope all is good and you've had a nice holiday season Jason. I'm finally getting settled in Tennessee.

I didn't think he had the manic energy of Hud.  I just thought he didn't sound very knowledgeable and he sometimes came off as really awkward.

Glad you're settling in.  Holiday season was rocky on my end.  Was exposed to covid right before I was supposed to fly home to GA for the first time in three years, so I had to cancel.  I then tested positive Christmas day and was laid up dealing with it for several days after that.  I'm totally fine now, thankfully.

[Stradling]

It makes sense to hire him since it is for a part time role.  My opinion is they should just have him and Gubi (sorry yk) do every game and when Vasgergin makes it the it will be a 3 man booth.  That will create more consistency in my opinion.  

[ScottT]

Should have given Ty Buttrey a shot. 

[eligrba4ever]

Better the voice one knows than an import who turns out to be a bit self-absorbed. I was less irritated by Waltz than Sutton, but only "less irritated." Didn't care for either one's Oakland, Seattle or whatever memories.

[failos]

I’m feeling a little better about this.

[mmc]

1 minute ago, failos said:

I’m feeling a little better about this.

I'm not

[Angelsfan1984]

As long as they are winning, I really don’t give a shit about who calls the PBP. Fortunately if they suck again we won’t have to watch it anyway

[failos]

10 minutes ago, mmc said:

I'm not

At least it isn’t Kent French

[mmc]

So how long does he last before we move to secondary PBP #4?

[Angelsfan1984]

25 minutes ago, mmc said:

So how long does he last before we move to secondary PBP #4?

7 weeks

[Angelsfan1984]

25 minutes ago, mmc said:

So how long does he last before we move to secondary PBP #4?

He’ll announce road games played in the national league when the temperature is below 60 degrees.

[BTH]

I think this is the smart move, if Vasgersian is planning to call significantly more Angels games in 2022 (120-140?). If O'Neal is just doing like 20-40 broadcasts a year, I don't think it's that bad. It makes sense then to go with someone who is around the team anyway.

They are clearly committed to Vasgersian, and it'd be hard to attract a proven, high-quality announcer to be the #2 guy behind Vasgersian.

[halonatic13]

At least no Mota.  Anything is better than Mota.

[eligrba]

I think this guy has received a greater reaction than when Vernon Wells was acquired.

Midseason form. BSOHL AW version.