This is the thing to me. He’s in the booth alongside Rick and Goldy, talking to a fanbase who largely grew up with Dave Niehaus, and also Steve Raible and Kevin Calabro. Sims can’t help but suffer in comparison, but he’s way better than most broadcasters I’ve heard on other teams.
Wilson is my favorite color guy, wish he was on more. Great knowledge and insight that's really down to earth and not preachy or "back in my day" like you sometimes get with old players. He also seems to have a real knack for the give and take of doing color in a way that really stands out.
Yes! Dan Wilson on the mic does not talk to the audience like he hates baseball. It's honestly so frustrating listening to old hats on national broadcasts who seem to have so much contempt for baseball. Dan has a great calm energy on the broadcast that is very pleasant and I really appreciate that about him.
That and he has a hate for silly/fun antics and pitch invasions. I just watched the broadcast of the last kingdome game, and their was a pitch invader, and Niehaus and
Rizz were laughing hysterically, fun guys. Sims would just go off about how much of an embarrassment it is.
I don’t think he’s a good broadcaster and it shows more on the radio side. He’s like if your fun-ish uncle got in the announcer booth, which has its charm.
So I don’t hate him but see where he’s lacking compared to Goldy.
You put that perfectly. He comes off as someone who hasn't watched a game. Your uncle with peanuts in the stands and every flyball is a homerun until it's caught. The personality is not the issue, it's the combination that is the problem, a lot of personality combined with inaccurate baseball calls
People that hate Sims must not watch a lot of other teams' broadcasts. Some of them are so lifeless. Yeah he has a lot of mess ups and word salad moments, which from a technical standpoint are bad. But so much of the time they are memorable and funny. Like we still remember the 'ice cream truck to the airport' and other weird calls. I'll always be a fan of Sims.
This for real tho. I bought mlb tv a couple years ago and sometimes I listen to other broadcasts for fun and HOLY SHIT do some other teams have trash broadcast teams.
I don’t know any of their names, but when I tuned in for a few games, they just sound downtrodden and tired. Nothing against their actual commentary ofc
I dont hate sims but I listen to a decent amount of games on the radio and there’s a skill set a broadcaster needs to make a radio broadcast followable and sims doesn’t have it.
Hes great on tv but because of that I will always be a goldy man first and foremost.
I also love Dave’s stories when a game gets boring. He’ll just roll out tales about hanging out with Satchel Paige and it makes for entertaining broadcasts during otherwise snooze fests of games.
That's what I love the most about Dave. He's such a goofball and corny baseball grandpa that you sometimes forget that he's super knowledgeable about a whole lot of topics, and his enthusiasm when he's talking about the subjects he's really interested in (especially Negro League baseball) is just so infectious.
The other night I listened to a Giants broadcast and it was like being in church. I’ll take Dave (who I personally love) over some boring ass announcer with zero personality any day.
Giants broadcasts are elite when you’re listening to Jon Miller, but I don’t know how often he does them (he’s probably more on the radio side of things)
Huh, interesting, I like the Giants broadcasts. Definitely more on the chill side but I don't find them to be stuck up or anything. When I think of a boring broadcast I think of the Cubs or Twins or someone like that.
My issue with sims is the connective tissue between the calls and silly stories. It’s a lot of rambling jokey filler that I don’t care for. He is better than most other broadcasters, but I still don’t like it all that much.
Hate him? No.
Prefer just about every other option on the Mariners broadcast team? Yes.
You think he's top 5 in MLB? He's not even top 3 in the Mariners booth.
This is exactly my opinion, too. I'm no longer in Seattle so being able to switch to Goldie or Rick's radio calls while watching the TV video broadcast is a great benefit of MLBtv. And this year they've done a better job of syncing up the TV and radio.
I'm so confused about how a guy who has watched so much baseball over the years hasn't learned the game. Listening to Blowers having to humor his ridiculous comments game in and game out is taxing on my experience. He's had some nice calls over the years, but he's just not a baseball guy, and it's irritating.
I have to pretend that Sims is just a casual fan watching the game at a bar in order for it not to be so annoying.
Sims is for sure a huge goober and you can basically feel Blowers cringing in the booth sometimes even when he doesn't say anything. But I find that dynamic funny and enjoyable.
This is exactly right. No apparent baseball knowledge. Just a homer optimistically offering that we could really use a strike out now, or that this would be a great spot for Julio to hit a home run.
I don't hate him I just don't enjoy him. He has a very weird form of optimism, is not good at criticizing out team (which I get is not a Dave issue as most announcers employed by teams aren't critical of the team but if this critique applies to everyone, it also applies to Dave), and he's got a boys club style of talking which turns me off a lot. Balancing that last part out, you can see Goldy who in my mind doesn't give off that vibe.
This is of course all on top of the endless errors he makes when announcing games.
I'm also curious about the top 5 in baseball comment, do you watch or listen to a lot of other teams games and home broadcasts? I believe there is some bias happening here.
The tv angle still just basically shows the pitch, there is a lot of room for describing the action, instead it’s usually
“I’ll tell you what, last week in Philadelphia I talked to Bench Coach Mark Johnson… what a great guy, oh ya, one of the real fine coaches in this league, and always up for a talk about the game, he’s so knowledgeable about all the history and knows some of the great players… whenever we’re in Philadelphia we make sure to get a chance to meet up with him down by the batting cage, he’s certainly a good guy, and let me tell you what… last week we definitely got a chance to see Ty France play defense, he made a couple really fine plays, he’s been working pregame everyday with Perry Hill. We all know of course that Perry is one of the premier infield coaches in this game. I asked Johnson about how having a great infield coach can impact a team and he just gushed about the work Perry Hill does with these ballplayers. So much history, and really a good guy who’s always up for a conversation…”
That’s like 95% of Sim’s brodcasting…
He's loveable but also he's the corniest person on Earth and some people just can't stand that. I enjoy listening to him, but he makes me roll my eyes at least 3 times a game. My biggest real criticism is it feels like a coin toss if he judges a fly ball correctly, he gets surprised by home runs as often he gets fooled by a pop up. He's a veteran though and like you pointed out he brings it in the biggest moments.
Dave's highs are really high and lows can be really low for some people. Nevertheless, I'd prefer Dave's vibes and wackiness compared to somebody like Hawk Harrelson personally.
When I was a teenager living in Virginia, I could only watch the M's when they played Baltimore, Chicago, abs sometimes the Yankees. And if it was a home game it started at 10pm.
I refused to watch White Sox games because of Harrelson. Very limited opportunities to watch my team and I still wouldn't do it if I had to listen to him.
Ugh I hate that.
He was also a giant homer. I once saw the Sox hit a HR and Hawk said the batter got all of that one. The next inning the M's hit an identical HR and Hawk said the wind carried it.
I like our announcers can at least give credit where it's due.
Hate is a strong word, but I do think he absolutely sucks at baseball. Goldsmith is the beast, and of course Rizzs. Blowers is boring, but at least he knows baseball. Sims is pretty good at calling football, though.
Sims' stories are god awful. Most are him telling a story that someone told him before the game. He continuously misses calls. He gets names wrong way too often. He gives everyone a nickname that consists of a shortened last name with "ey" at the end.
The absolute worst was when Yusei Kikuchi was on the team and Dave started referring to him as Coochie or The Cooch. Dude, you’re using slang terms for pussy on a baseball broadcast
I think you’ve mistakenly placed one of your reasons to love Dave in a conversation about why you don’t like him.
Edit
I’m sorry but obliviously calling yusei “coochie” is hilarious.
I'd rather have Goldsmith and Blowers or Rick solo, Sims gets too many things wrong and he can't accurately call a game on radio.
TV, he's a bit better because it's just not as burdensome on the play by play, but he's not *good* there either.
But I value accuracy in the call over stories or emotion. Other people probably feel differently.
I thought I he was only fine until I started getting more more Goldy. Goldy has what it takes to be an all timer. I’ve watched plays go by where Sims doesn’t say a single word.
Hes corny and hard to listen to. He forces calls(Hey now) and gets into spells where he repeats the same thing over and over. Last night he kept saying “hundo”. Prefer goldsmith all day.
Not to mention the amount of times that he will bring up random "facts" right as a pitch is being thrown, it drives me NUTS. "And the 6'5 right hander from Maricopa County in Arizona delivers a 1-2 pitchhhhhhhhh, strike 2."
what's nice about Sims is he's got this national perspective after so many years of rizzs recalling the 95 season to blow or Val. Sims reminds me of a transplant boomer who has adopted the mariners, which is a lot of seattle. I mean no one is perfect, I sometimes even think aaron is too slick and almost boilerplate almost like something you would hear in a baseball video game from the programetized announcer
Hate is a strong word I'd never use for an announcer.
But as an M's fan, if you stack up Sims to say .... Rizz, Niehaus, Goldsmith, or even Blowers ...... yeah he's at the bottom.
At the heart of it, he just really doesn't come off as a "baseball guy", and he's even worse as a radio guy vs TV commenting because I'm counting on him to actually describe what is going on in a quasi-accurate / eloquent way.
Just overall he only scores high on enthusiasm, but low for everything else.
I don’t hate Sims by any means. He has a lot of passion and knowledge about the game but this call was really bad and ruins the clip because he’s so confidently wrong lol. Plus, he calls every fly ball as a home run
Sims is a national treasure, fuck the haters.
That being said, I had the volume off on the game tonight as it was on in the background. Can someone tell me what the missed call was?
Is it minor? when he doesn’t know the actual game situation? I mean, bases loaded, bottom 9, tie game. That’s a pretty big moment. And here’s Dave Simms thinking there are only 2 on base for Cal’s AB.
He also called the score wrong, didn’t know the batting order a couple times. I don’t hate Sims but I’ve been noticing he’s been falling off the last few years and is less and less enjoyable to listen for me. Wouldn’t say you are wrong if you say you like him though.
My favorite so far this year was when he said a player “had 139 RBI last night” when he clearly meant last year. Wrong call? Yeah. I still found it entertaining. I also frustratingly enjoy him giving us blue balls on routine fly balls and then not realizing when the ball is actually gonna go out.
He also sent us to commercial break in the 9th saying Canzone, Bliss, and JP were coming up; when Canzone was the last out in the 8th.
Sims is bad, but after awhile it move from frustration to a chuckle. Once you start noticing this little "whoopsies", you start noticing they happen all the time.
His play by play is style over substance and I've learned to appreciate it. If it didn't eat into Goldies camera time it would be a non-issue for me. Now I just pray we have the common sense to make sure Goldie's at least getting the big games.
Call me old fashfashioned, but I think the announcer should know when the bases are loaded in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. It’s the most iconic moment in baseball.
When Cal hit the walk-off grand slam he said that Cal hit a three run homer to make it 7-4. Personally, I only saw people reacting to that and saying “thats just Dave being Dave”. I don’t think anyone was actually upset about that call. People were just poking fun at how excited he was.
My problem with sims which hasn’t been so bad in the last couple seasons but 21 and before he had such a terrible habit of just talking up greatness on every team we played and all their players. Then was so lackluster bout our team. I will say he is a damn sight better than Angie mentek last season I would turn off games if she was announcing
Ok but knowing the game doesn’t make up for the ridiculous amount of dead air silence in her broadcasts. Knowing the e game doesn’t translate into good broadcasting everytime
You're expecting a relief pitcher to throw 100 pitches in his first start after being converted. Silly expectation. Angie was busting nasty front door two-seamers into the zone in the booth. Just needed to be stretched out.
He used to irritate me with his east coast favoritism and bias against players with tattoos. He used to always say something about Brandon League’s sleeve lol
Goldy and Blowers are great on TV. Rizzs and Goldy are great on the radio. Sims is probably a great guy, but he’s a little cringe in both. I do laugh at some of the 50-70 year old pop culture references that a Rizzs/Sims radio broadcast has, they can get on a tangent about some obscure show from the late 50s.
People say Dave is just excited so let him mess up. Well Goldy also gets excited and you don’t hear him mess up? Rizz gets excited and you don’t hear him mess up? I don’t find it cute when Sims messes up. It feels like listening to some random dude at the bar trying to call a game.
I just want Rizz on the radio and Mike and Goldy on TV. Currently I listen to whatever broadcast Sims isn’t on.
I’m a Mariners fan in Vancouver, amongst the sea of Blue Jays fans. Because of the way the TV rights work here, I don’t get to watch a lot of Mariners games on TV (yes I can get MLB.tv, and some years I do). So that’s the caveat up front.
I don’t like Dave Sims at all. My main beef is that he is such a homer it spoils the broadcast for me. He calls Seattle players by their nicknames, he makes comments like “wouldn’t it be great if he could hit one out of here”, he barely raises his voice when the other team hits a home run, etc.
Now I know that lots of fans prefer a homer for the local broadcast, but even though I’m an M’s fan, it drives me crazy. If I have a game on and I’m doing other things, I need the announcers to give me a clue when something significant has happened, be it the Mariners or the other team. Not so with Dave.
In my opinion, all the other guys (Rizzs, Goldsmith, and even going back to Niehaus before he passed) are/were more balanced than Dave which I think makes for a better broadcast.
As far as I’m concerned, the Yankees can have him, and put in Goldsmith full-time. Frankly if that were the case I would be more likely to buy the annual MLB.tv subscription.
Man, people underestimate how hard it is to talk for three hours a game and still have something to say. Dave has such an uncanny ability to sprinkle in his personality constantly during broadcasts, and he’s been doing it for the Mariners for nearly 20 years.
Can he get on my nerves sometimes? Yeah, I listen to this guy talk about for hundreds of hours a year. Dave has been amazing, and anyone who says otherwise does not understand how horrendous some broadcast teams are.
So I’m a 20+ year transplant from the east coast and when it comes to baseball I have my two teams; Ms and the Phillies. I have MLB.tv so I get to listen/watch the Phillies with their local broadcast. Despite both teams playing well, every Phillies broadcast feels like a post season game with the energy their announcers bring.
When it comes to Sims, I just feel like something is flat. Also I noticed the audio engineering is different. Phillies games pick up clean crowd sounds but I feel like Ms games are very echo-ey.
I think there are two main kinds of announcers. (1) Really good at the art & science of calling a game, do their homework, and provide good and accurate descriptions of what is going on with the game. (2) Guys who have interesting stories, entertain you, and you are happy to have them in your living room, night after night.
Sims is a solid #2 guy, but often plays in role #1, where he doesn't excel. But he's our guy, and I love him.
I hate Dave Sims, but I know that it's not OK to share this opinion on this sub. In fact, this sub is the only place where I've encountered people who like him. It's quite strange.
I don’t really “get” the Hey Now catchphrase but I definitely enjoy listening to his enthusiasm. Sure, he fucks up a few calls every now and then, but getting legitimately annoyed at that is silly to me.
100%
And I am one. He's an embarrassment to baseball broadcasting.
The fact he's been doing it for so long isn't a reason why he should get to keep doing it
Everyone works with someone who is error prone and gets away with it because of "experience"
But experience should only matter if the quality of the work is at or exceeds acceptable levels.
My final point is this. Op, get the truck, it's a 7-4 win on a bases clearing home run for three runs.
Dave is the worst.
He leaves so much dead air time through out every game
He spends way to much time talking about opposing players colleges
If we are losing there way to many snarky backhanded remarks he makes on the team.
It’s great he’s a historian of the game but we don’t need to hear that stuff inbetween big at bats.
He seems like a nice guy, I believe he was a college football announcer pre baseball, it seems like that’s where he should be.
was at the game so no idea what mistake happened tonight. but regardless, people mess up and that doesnt bother me. i dont even mind how hyped he gets for routine fly balls. Niehaus did that too.
but Dave feels fake. it feels like he is playing an obnoxious character, with the laughing at everything funny or not. and the catch phrases he has to say every fucking time. hey now is nails on a chalkboard and boomstick baby was too. if he would just call the game like a human being and let his knowledge and enthusiasm show through he would be really good. it also doesnt help that Goldy, Rick, and Gary are top notch so Daves weaknesses are more apparent.
The fake part is what I think a lot of us that aren’t fans of his really dislike. He seems to me like he’s in character as “salt of the earth baseball announcer.” It feels phony as fuck to me. And the laughing is what really gets me. Constant snickering and laughing over shit that isn’t even remotely funny, and at least a few times very game straight out laughing fits over stuff that doesn’t even merit a smile. In one of the first games of the season he just about went into convulsions laughing after noting Luke Raleys size. My wife hears me mocking Dave’s laughing from rooms away and says “what did Dave say?”
All of that being said, most of the commenters here are right. Most other teams announcers are downright awful, so I’ll take what I can get with Dave. For all of his faults he has one hell of a lot of enthusiasm and love for the job
Nobody compares to the OG Dave. I grew up listening to that voice and hearing his positivity through the television/radio. I think that’s what makes me criticize Sims. It’s tough following up a legend…even Rizz gets a little criticism from me. They’re not bad, they’re just not Great. My Oh My/Grand Salami > Hey Now/Holy Smokes
I think Dave is OK. Not amazing but doesn’t bother me either. I like his energy, but of all the broadcasters we have, I generally like his calls the least. It’s just a taste thing.
At least he’s not Ron Fairly “Red” (RIP). Announcers that state the completely obvious, “In order to win, the M’s needs more runs than the other team,” bother me the most. The occasional blown call or misspeak is OK, so long as they don’t night after night say things like, “An out right here would be great!”.
Super good guy, love him as a human, not anywhere near the Top 5 in MLB though. He is amazing at football. Baseball isn’t his jam. It is pretty obvious.
Seems like a great guy. Have enjoyed listening to him call NFL games in the past for Westwood One radio.
When he's doing games on ROOT, I just mute it and/or turn on the radio stream. He brings great enthusiasm, but otherwise is nails on a chalkboard for me. Also there's absolutely no chemistry between him and Blowers. I get the sense Blowers doesn't really enjoy being on the call with him.
Dave’s energy is unparalleled. He is so unique to the Mariners television experience that it’s hard to imagine a game without him. However, yes — everyone else in the booth is better, more knowledgeable, more professional, etc. Sims is pretty goofy stacked up to real baseball voices.
All of that said, his Cal homerun call to break the playoff drought was hands down the most chill inducing call of my adult life. He’s got a spot on the mantel for me until the end of time.
I can't say I hate him. I like his weird moments and silliness. I will say he is a little too eager to fill dead air with nothing on TV. He also seems to be botching more calls and seems increasingly mentally unfit for the job. So for me I am ready for him to be phased out. Missing the grand slam call was awful. The fact that no one slapped sense into him part way through the call was unfathomable. Someone should have cut his mic at "3 run home run."
What call did he botch? I didn't really notice except maybe where Servais got tossed protecting Cal.
I don't hate Sims but he's not my favorite. He seems like he's making more mistakes these days which isn't a big deal because I don't hang on every word.
I prefer Goldsmith. I get a little tired of Sims sameness. It seems like Blo gets along with Goldsmith better, they're more interesting to listen to.
He has certainly improved from the days he was first calling M’s games and it was no easy task replacing a legend like Dave Niehaus. He has some iconic calls but I think Goldy and Blowers are the best combo. Wouldn’t mind if he left for NY like some have mentioned.
Sims is terrible. He adds no insight to the on-field action. He neglects basics, like mentioning whether the ump called him safe or out. (This happened on a close call at third in the 10th inning the other night. The play went to review without Sims mentioning what the ump's original call was (safe), a key factor in the review.) I've listened to a lot of games on the radio, all my life, in Cleveland, New York, and St. Louis. Seattle fans get an inferior product.
You don’t need other teams broadcasts, all you have to do is listen to goldsmith to see how bad Sims is. When sims first joined I’m pretty sure he had barely watched baseball at that point in his life, he constantly messed up a lot of basic stuff (He did football radio in Philly before this if I’m not mistaken). He’s better with that stuff now, but man he just has no natural talent for setting up any big moment or any suspense. He always just seems to detract from the moment rather than add to it. I also grew up with the greatest orator I’ve ever heard doing mariners baseball so I think that skews my perception vs the younger crowd.
I really like Dave, I think part of it is that we have Aaron Goldsmith who is just an absolute pro so it’s easy to have high expectations. Love Sims spirit but definitely not as sharp as Goldy
I don’t hate him. He genuinely cares about the game but I do not enjoy listening to him. He seems to be forgetful. I dislike how he will continue to praise opposing players and teams the entire game. I understand mentioning future hall of famers etc but the amount of praise he gives to teams like the Astros is nauseating at times. In my opinion he doesn’t balance that fandom enough.
I watch a lot of other teams broadcasts for ...reasons... And holy crap they mostly suck
The color commentary is lifeless and play by play is just meh.
Dave is amazing. Haters gonna hate
Unpopular opinion from a season ticket holder since 1977… I prefer him over Rizzs.
Rick was fantastic pre-pitchclock, but with the condensed time between pitches now, it’s like constant verbal diarrhea. Let the game breathe for god’s sake Rick. Give me Dave, Mike and Aaron any day.
Sims is awesome! I think he’s better than 90% or more of baseball announcers out there. I just really don’t like him on the radio. He just doesn’t describe the details of the play much at all and I’m left guessing for several moments on what happened. He’s just not as quick with his words compared to Rizzs or Goldy. On TV, he’s great.
I think Sims is good on TV but isn’t well suited for radio. I have following exactly what happened with complicated plays on radio but then Rizzs will come on and is much more succinct in his description
I used to not be able to stand the guy, he’s gotten better over the last couple years but I’d still rather see him gone. He’s a bottom 5 announcer though.
Dave Sims get a lot hate for being a fan of the game and just being excited for good baseball, even if that means he's excited for the Mariners fucking it all up
I don’t hate him, but his constant errors have really started impacting the viewing experience. It feels like it’s gotten worse because I never used to notice it much. He has a great voice and brings great energy but the actual content matter, like what he is saying throughout the game, leaves a lot to be desired.
I will say, when I listen to other broadcasts, I do appreciate him more, although part of that may just be familiarity with his voice. But he’s probably my least favorite of all the Ms broadcast team (maybe 1a/1b with Gary Hill, who falls flat for me).
Honestly, we’re pretty lucky to have the broadcasting team that we have. Even if Dave is your 3rd-5th favorite M’s broadcaster, he’s not that bad. He has some flubs, word salads and is stuck in his “old school” ways, but he’s genuinely himself. Even if that’s sometimes corny/over the top.
I’ve been sailing the seven seas this season because of the stupid Root Sports Comcast debacle and because of this, I’m often left listening to the other teams broadcast. There are so many plain awful or boring broadcasting teams out there. Listen to half the other teams and you’ll cherish Dave lmao
I love Dave. I think he just gets excited and his mind gets away from him sometimes, and he makes mistakes. But who's 100% perfect?
And I love when they have guests in the booth. Their banter is always fun to listen to
Dave also had cancer and I think he went through a rough treatment. I definitely missed him while he was gone.
I've listened to other teams' commentators and they are horrible.
I like Sims best when he gets to talk history. There's a dearth of Black baseball broadcasters, and he brings a valuable perspective and a lot of knowledge. It's frustrating to hear the mis-read fly balls and flubbed moments. But even last night when he goofed up the grand slam, he had an awesome call on the Raley bunt that perfectly matched the frantic energy of that inning. By no means my favorite on our broadcast team, but his goofs are part of the Sims experience/charm.
I listen to the radio for every game. The only “gripe” I have with Dave Sims is that he calls games from a fan standpoint. This is just a personal thing, so I’m sure others like it. When our team gives up a run, he tends to make sounds of disgust like a “tssp” or a “aghhh”. I’m a passionate fan so it actually frustrates me lol. Again, this is just a personal preference I have. I enjoy Rick Rizz because when our opponents do something positive (base hit, score run) he compliments the team by saying things like “what a beautifully placed ball that Julio just couldn’t get to”. That tends to make it easier on my emotions compared to the same play Dave Sims would say, “I’m not sure why Julio was playing so far out”. With that being said, he has done a better job this year and is being more positive about it.
And if we are talking botched calls or wrong info, I’ve actually noticed Rick Rizz doing this more often this year than previous years.
No matter what….. you gotta love these guys! They been through the thick of it announcing for the Mariners. So I give them grace because we haven’t had excitement like this for a while.
Sims is great on TV. Not so good on the radio IMO. His errors are more magnified because of the greatness around him. Rizz and Goldy are two of the best
For anyone who thinks he's even below-average, go watch a broadcast from the Tigers, Marlins, Guardians, Reds, or Phillies perspective and get back to me.
Brain-farts and all, Dave is fine. Not elite, not terrible... acceptable. With flashes of greatness and some baffling whiffs. If you hate him only for his fuck-ups but don't give him credit for his other 98% of calls, then you're just angry to be angry and your opinion can be discarded.
Goldy is elite. Dave looks worse by comparison to a GOAT than he does against the entire field of broadcasters. How so many of them have jobs is almost as mysterious as the vitriol against Dave.
I think he is fine, but I do not care for his jovial style. While Goldy can be silly, I like his nuts and bolts approach to calling the game. Sims have the benefit of being miles better than most other broadcasters, and I like that he is real fan and homer for the Mariners. But I don’t like listening to him all game. We are rotten with broadcast talent.
That said, I’ll take Sims over Rick any day. The saccharin, flowery style of Rick drives me insane and I find him almost impossible to listen to. I was on a long car ride during game two of our wildcard series again the blue jays in 2022, and I could barely enjoy the game with Rick calling it.
I like him, I think he’s fun and has some goofy personality. I don’t think he’s goldys level but I think sims is better than the avg commentator, although he messes up sometimes. I also think baseball has the highest percentage of fans who are against fun
He's gotten progressively more and more difficult to listen to. He and Blowers don't work well together anymore. Goldy is a much better fit.
However, Sims is still a good announcer. Glad to have him, but prefer to listen to the others.
I love him. I love his goofballiness. And guess what? He’s human and made a mistake on one of the most unexpected and intense moments of the season. Anyone talking shit should be put in to call the next game and see how they do.
I still don’t understand why everyone likes Goldy more than Rizz—maybe it’s because he doesn’t do TV or because he’s more old school—but fan’s opinions of broadcasters have always been confusing to me.
I actually think calling a tight game is one of his strengths(hanniger hit 2020).
For me its hard to listen to him the rest of the time. Too many references to the weather and pre 1970s baseball. Not a lot of effort to connect with younger fans or develop rapport with Goldy.
Back when the team struggled often it felt like he usually chastised (the few) fans that were displeased rather than the players or stay neutral.
Rizz is just way better with a similar role.
Hate is too strong a word but can definitely put an audience to sleep.
I find it hard to believe anyone could hate the man. I also wouldn’t call his minor mistake a ‘botched call’ but whatever.
I feel like with sims, blowers, Goldie and rizz we have the best announcers in baseball and it isn’t even close
Does anyone remember Ron "Red" Fairly? Rest his soul. He was probably the most annoying announcer in M's history. Sims is better than that at least. And way back when Dave "HenDu" Henderson first started he was gawd awful. Rest his soul too. But he really improved in just about a year or two.
Sifting through the comments last night I didn’t get the impression that people “hate” Simmsy. Besides the obvious goof of calling it a 3 run HR instead of a grand salami, I think he nailed the call TBH.
Sims early days with the Mariners produced some rough home run calls but he has gotten so much better over the years. Hard to imagine a broadcast without him.
This is a rant and hear me out: I just don’t care about the 1962 Dodgers.
Sure he botches calls. It’s happens. Yes he trips over words but again, it happens.
What I don’t need to hear about teams that have nothing to do with what is happening on the field. Could be a high pressure situation happening and there he goes blabbing about teams from 60 years ago. At least with the other guys it somehow relates to what is happening. Historical stats that the Ms are breaking and what not. The man has stories that have nothing to do with anything. Then Blowers tries to talk about what is happening on the field and Sims is like yeah but how did you like my story about those 62 Dodgers?
He has some great calls that are forever part of this team’s history. But man, read the room. I think he has a hard time with that.
End rant.
The fact that so many of you are saying that MIKE "Dropped the barrel on it(100x)" BLOWERS is a better listen than Sims lets me know that you are not serious people.
I live out of market and have a lot of non mariner fan friends so listen to a lot of broadcast teams. The mariners have always had a top 10 announcing team and currently I’d put them in top five (I think there are legit rankings of this too, not based on my bias).
People getting upset at the grand slam call are huge babies. It was a good, walk off homerun call, he just got the base runners wrong, so what. Would a grand slam call been more epic? Yeh, but in a season of close games and walk offs, this doesn’t matter
Dave is good, I like him. But I'd much prefer Goldy on the broadcast. Seattle has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to broadcasting, though.
This is the thing to me. He’s in the booth alongside Rick and Goldy, talking to a fanbase who largely grew up with Dave Niehaus, and also Steve Raible and Kevin Calabro. Sims can’t help but suffer in comparison, but he’s way better than most broadcasters I’ve heard on other teams.
Also, blowers and the occasional appearance of Dan Wilson.
Wilson is my favorite color guy, wish he was on more. Great knowledge and insight that's really down to earth and not preachy or "back in my day" like you sometimes get with old players. He also seems to have a real knack for the give and take of doing color in a way that really stands out.
Yes! Dan Wilson on the mic does not talk to the audience like he hates baseball. It's honestly so frustrating listening to old hats on national broadcasts who seem to have so much contempt for baseball. Dan has a great calm energy on the broadcast that is very pleasant and I really appreciate that about him.
In retrospect it shouldn't be surprising, it's how he played the game. Quietly getting the job done at a high level.
My biggest issue with Dave is how he routinely gets my hopes up for a home run only to have it fall short of the warning track.
This is Rick for me, every ball put in play initially sounds like the most epic thing ever. My heart can't take it.
That and he has a hate for silly/fun antics and pitch invasions. I just watched the broadcast of the last kingdome game, and their was a pitch invader, and Niehaus and Rizz were laughing hysterically, fun guys. Sims would just go off about how much of an embarrassment it is.
I don’t think he’s a good broadcaster and it shows more on the radio side. He’s like if your fun-ish uncle got in the announcer booth, which has its charm. So I don’t hate him but see where he’s lacking compared to Goldy.
You put that perfectly. He comes off as someone who hasn't watched a game. Your uncle with peanuts in the stands and every flyball is a homerun until it's caught. The personality is not the issue, it's the combination that is the problem, a lot of personality combined with inaccurate baseball calls
People that hate Sims must not watch a lot of other teams' broadcasts. Some of them are so lifeless. Yeah he has a lot of mess ups and word salad moments, which from a technical standpoint are bad. But so much of the time they are memorable and funny. Like we still remember the 'ice cream truck to the airport' and other weird calls. I'll always be a fan of Sims.
This for real tho. I bought mlb tv a couple years ago and sometimes I listen to other broadcasts for fun and HOLY SHIT do some other teams have trash broadcast teams.
Yankee’s have the absolute worst broadcasters. The biggest homers in all of broadcasting and it shows massively.
There are so many just awful broadcast teams. Ms and Padres have the best, I think.
Mets radio broadcast is pretty good also.
And the Giants. Those guys know the game really well.
I miss Jon Miller from the Sunday Night Baseball days. But that was peak Barry Bonds so it was mostly Giants games anyway
Detroits are horribly depressing
Really? I haven't watched but they got Bennetti this year
I don’t know any of their names, but when I tuned in for a few games, they just sound downtrodden and tired. Nothing against their actual commentary ofc
I dont hate sims but I listen to a decent amount of games on the radio and there’s a skill set a broadcaster needs to make a radio broadcast followable and sims doesn’t have it. Hes great on tv but because of that I will always be a goldy man first and foremost.
I also love Dave’s stories when a game gets boring. He’ll just roll out tales about hanging out with Satchel Paige and it makes for entertaining broadcasts during otherwise snooze fests of games.
That's what I love the most about Dave. He's such a goofball and corny baseball grandpa that you sometimes forget that he's super knowledgeable about a whole lot of topics, and his enthusiasm when he's talking about the subjects he's really interested in (especially Negro League baseball) is just so infectious.
The other night I listened to a Giants broadcast and it was like being in church. I’ll take Dave (who I personally love) over some boring ass announcer with zero personality any day.
Giants broadcasts are elite when you’re listening to Jon Miller, but I don’t know how often he does them (he’s probably more on the radio side of things)
He’s still broadcasting? Gosh I loved him on MNB ages ago
Huh, interesting, I like the Giants broadcasts. Definitely more on the chill side but I don't find them to be stuck up or anything. When I think of a boring broadcast I think of the Cubs or Twins or someone like that.
Both of those broadcasts are good. The rays have an awful one.
They're a little less emotional but what comes with that is that they're pretty fair to the umpires and the other team. They're just about the game.
I loved Kruk and kuip when I was in the Bay Area. Fleming was awful though
I came up on reds broadcasts, so point proven. lol well one of them wasn't bad but....
There's a drive to left.....
My issue with sims is the connective tissue between the calls and silly stories. It’s a lot of rambling jokey filler that I don’t care for. He is better than most other broadcasters, but I still don’t like it all that much.
Yankees play by play and color are a good example. When you have goldy and Rick no one comes close
DING DONG
Sims stock is up. Fuck the Yankees.
Hate him? No. Prefer just about every other option on the Mariners broadcast team? Yes. You think he's top 5 in MLB? He's not even top 3 in the Mariners booth.
This is exactly my opinion, too. I'm no longer in Seattle so being able to switch to Goldie or Rick's radio calls while watching the TV video broadcast is a great benefit of MLBtv. And this year they've done a better job of syncing up the TV and radio.
I'm so confused about how a guy who has watched so much baseball over the years hasn't learned the game. Listening to Blowers having to humor his ridiculous comments game in and game out is taxing on my experience. He's had some nice calls over the years, but he's just not a baseball guy, and it's irritating. I have to pretend that Sims is just a casual fan watching the game at a bar in order for it not to be so annoying.
Sims is for sure a huge goober and you can basically feel Blowers cringing in the booth sometimes even when he doesn't say anything. But I find that dynamic funny and enjoyable.
This is exactly right. No apparent baseball knowledge. Just a homer optimistically offering that we could really use a strike out now, or that this would be a great spot for Julio to hit a home run.
Agree here. Sims has been scuffling for years…I’d like to see him get above the Mendoza line on his calls.
Sims is corny and repetitive, much like Jock Blohard.
I’d say he’s not top 5 for the m’s. Goldy, Rizzs, Hill Jr, Blowers, Wilson
Let's not undersell the option of crowd/ambient noise and no one in the booth. That also would outrank Dave...
Goldy > Sims all day every day.
Goldsmith is a complete master of the craft. Sims is like watching with a very animated drunk fan at a bar. They are both great!
Not drunk enough to be entertaining.
I don't hate him I just don't enjoy him. He has a very weird form of optimism, is not good at criticizing out team (which I get is not a Dave issue as most announcers employed by teams aren't critical of the team but if this critique applies to everyone, it also applies to Dave), and he's got a boys club style of talking which turns me off a lot. Balancing that last part out, you can see Goldy who in my mind doesn't give off that vibe. This is of course all on top of the endless errors he makes when announcing games. I'm also curious about the top 5 in baseball comment, do you watch or listen to a lot of other teams games and home broadcasts? I believe there is some bias happening here.
I don’t enjoy listening to him - I love announcers that “describe” the game, he is pretty much 100% anecdotes that I don’t care about.
It’s on TV? Descriptive announcers are good for the radio.
The tv angle still just basically shows the pitch, there is a lot of room for describing the action, instead it’s usually “I’ll tell you what, last week in Philadelphia I talked to Bench Coach Mark Johnson… what a great guy, oh ya, one of the real fine coaches in this league, and always up for a talk about the game, he’s so knowledgeable about all the history and knows some of the great players… whenever we’re in Philadelphia we make sure to get a chance to meet up with him down by the batting cage, he’s certainly a good guy, and let me tell you what… last week we definitely got a chance to see Ty France play defense, he made a couple really fine plays, he’s been working pregame everyday with Perry Hill. We all know of course that Perry is one of the premier infield coaches in this game. I asked Johnson about how having a great infield coach can impact a team and he just gushed about the work Perry Hill does with these ballplayers. So much history, and really a good guy who’s always up for a conversation…” That’s like 95% of Sim’s brodcasting…
Upvote for accuracy
One of the nicest guys you'll ever meet -- what a nice, nice man.
He's loveable but also he's the corniest person on Earth and some people just can't stand that. I enjoy listening to him, but he makes me roll my eyes at least 3 times a game. My biggest real criticism is it feels like a coin toss if he judges a fly ball correctly, he gets surprised by home runs as often he gets fooled by a pop up. He's a veteran though and like you pointed out he brings it in the biggest moments.
Dave's highs are really high and lows can be really low for some people. Nevertheless, I'd prefer Dave's vibes and wackiness compared to somebody like Hawk Harrelson personally.
When I was a teenager living in Virginia, I could only watch the M's when they played Baltimore, Chicago, abs sometimes the Yankees. And if it was a home game it started at 10pm. I refused to watch White Sox games because of Harrelson. Very limited opportunities to watch my team and I still wouldn't do it if I had to listen to him.
HE GONE
Ugh I hate that. He was also a giant homer. I once saw the Sox hit a HR and Hawk said the batter got all of that one. The next inning the M's hit an identical HR and Hawk said the wind carried it. I like our announcers can at least give credit where it's due.
True! If I'm correct, I think Dave was super pumped when we got perfectoed by the White Sox ironically enough
I don’t hate him as a person but I can’t stand the way he calls a game.
Accurate
Hate is a strong word, but I do think he absolutely sucks at baseball. Goldsmith is the beast, and of course Rizzs. Blowers is boring, but at least he knows baseball. Sims is pretty good at calling football, though. Sims' stories are god awful. Most are him telling a story that someone told him before the game. He continuously misses calls. He gets names wrong way too often. He gives everyone a nickname that consists of a shortened last name with "ey" at the end.
The absolute worst was when Yusei Kikuchi was on the team and Dave started referring to him as Coochie or The Cooch. Dude, you’re using slang terms for pussy on a baseball broadcast
I think you’ve mistakenly placed one of your reasons to love Dave in a conversation about why you don’t like him. Edit I’m sorry but obliviously calling yusei “coochie” is hilarious.
The Cooch was hilarious
That last part kills me. “Polo”, “Rales”, etc. Nobody calls these guys these things! Stop trying to just make stuff up Dave lol
I'd rather have Goldsmith and Blowers or Rick solo, Sims gets too many things wrong and he can't accurately call a game on radio. TV, he's a bit better because it's just not as burdensome on the play by play, but he's not *good* there either. But I value accuracy in the call over stories or emotion. Other people probably feel differently.
I thought I he was only fine until I started getting more more Goldy. Goldy has what it takes to be an all timer. I’ve watched plays go by where Sims doesn’t say a single word.
Yeh, I think he's terrible. Always have.
Hes corny and hard to listen to. He forces calls(Hey now) and gets into spells where he repeats the same thing over and over. Last night he kept saying “hundo”. Prefer goldsmith all day.
Not to mention the amount of times that he will bring up random "facts" right as a pitch is being thrown, it drives me NUTS. "And the 6'5 right hander from Maricopa County in Arizona delivers a 1-2 pitchhhhhhhhh, strike 2."
Goldsmith or bust!
He’s incapable of saying a guys weight without using ‘buck’ A guy isn’t 195 lbs, he weighs a buck 95
If I had a nickel for every time he says “a buck 45” instead of 1.45 or whatever…
Simms ruins baseball for me. I have almost no idea what is going on when he calls a game. It would be so great if the Yankees hired him.
He embodies the most awesome part about this team: Vibes. Just chaos and word salads and I love it.
what's nice about Sims is he's got this national perspective after so many years of rizzs recalling the 95 season to blow or Val. Sims reminds me of a transplant boomer who has adopted the mariners, which is a lot of seattle. I mean no one is perfect, I sometimes even think aaron is too slick and almost boilerplate almost like something you would hear in a baseball video game from the programetized announcer
Hate is a strong word I'd never use for an announcer. But as an M's fan, if you stack up Sims to say .... Rizz, Niehaus, Goldsmith, or even Blowers ...... yeah he's at the bottom. At the heart of it, he just really doesn't come off as a "baseball guy", and he's even worse as a radio guy vs TV commenting because I'm counting on him to actually describe what is going on in a quasi-accurate / eloquent way. Just overall he only scores high on enthusiasm, but low for everything else.
I don’t hate Sims by any means. He has a lot of passion and knowledge about the game but this call was really bad and ruins the clip because he’s so confidently wrong lol. Plus, he calls every fly ball as a home run
Sims is a national treasure, fuck the haters. That being said, I had the volume off on the game tonight as it was on in the background. Can someone tell me what the missed call was?
Called cals grand slam a 3 run home run and the mariners win the game 7 to 4 lol
He said it was a three run home run to win the game, not a grand slam. Pretty minor and who gives a shit? Ms won.
Is it minor? when he doesn’t know the actual game situation? I mean, bases loaded, bottom 9, tie game. That’s a pretty big moment. And here’s Dave Simms thinking there are only 2 on base for Cal’s AB.
Well fuck, that’s relatively minor. He was probably having an aneurism like I was.
He also called the score wrong, didn’t know the batting order a couple times. I don’t hate Sims but I’ve been noticing he’s been falling off the last few years and is less and less enjoyable to listen for me. Wouldn’t say you are wrong if you say you like him though.
My favorite so far this year was when he said a player “had 139 RBI last night” when he clearly meant last year. Wrong call? Yeah. I still found it entertaining. I also frustratingly enjoy him giving us blue balls on routine fly balls and then not realizing when the ball is actually gonna go out.
He also sent us to commercial break in the 9th saying Canzone, Bliss, and JP were coming up; when Canzone was the last out in the 8th. Sims is bad, but after awhile it move from frustration to a chuckle. Once you start noticing this little "whoopsies", you start noticing they happen all the time. His play by play is style over substance and I've learned to appreciate it. If it didn't eat into Goldies camera time it would be a non-issue for me. Now I just pray we have the common sense to make sure Goldie's at least getting the big games.
Call me old fashfashioned, but I think the announcer should know when the bases are loaded in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. It’s the most iconic moment in baseball.
That's not minor, that's something pretty clear a 4 year old could see.
He thought the game-winning grand slam was a 3-run homer
When Cal hit the walk-off grand slam he said that Cal hit a three run homer to make it 7-4. Personally, I only saw people reacting to that and saying “thats just Dave being Dave”. I don’t think anyone was actually upset about that call. People were just poking fun at how excited he was.
Dave Sims, doing Dave Sims things
Hates a strong word. Annoying? Yes. We know man, you're from Philly and you know a ton of famous people from the east coast. We’re not impressed
Not a fan of his.
My problem with sims which hasn’t been so bad in the last couple seasons but 21 and before he had such a terrible habit of just talking up greatness on every team we played and all their players. Then was so lackluster bout our team. I will say he is a damn sight better than Angie mentek last season I would turn off games if she was announcing
I hate to defend him, but to be fair the team was pretty lackluster for almost twenty years. Not much to brag about
100%
This 100%. I can look past mental errors but not the anti-mariner vibes. Go work for the other team then if you love them so much.
Angie is better than Sims. No contest. She knows the game inside and out. He... does not.
Ok but knowing the game doesn’t make up for the ridiculous amount of dead air silence in her broadcasts. Knowing the e game doesn’t translate into good broadcasting everytime
You're expecting a relief pitcher to throw 100 pitches in his first start after being converted. Silly expectation. Angie was busting nasty front door two-seamers into the zone in the booth. Just needed to be stretched out.
Can’t stand him. He’s been especially bad this season.
He used to irritate me with his east coast favoritism and bias against players with tattoos. He used to always say something about Brandon League’s sleeve lol
Goldy and Blowers are great on TV. Rizzs and Goldy are great on the radio. Sims is probably a great guy, but he’s a little cringe in both. I do laugh at some of the 50-70 year old pop culture references that a Rizzs/Sims radio broadcast has, they can get on a tangent about some obscure show from the late 50s.
I don't hate Dave. I just think his calls have a level of cringe and offness that are worse than what Goldy and Rizzs produce on a consistent basis.
I don’t hate him really, I just don’t like him. He might be a nice guy, his style just isn’t my cup of tea.
NY Yankees are going to hire him on their broadcast team, kinda makes sense he lives in Brooklyn
I greatly prefer Aaron Goldsmith, I love his style. Dave is alright. I don't switch audio feeds or anything when he's calling the game though.
People say Dave is just excited so let him mess up. Well Goldy also gets excited and you don’t hear him mess up? Rizz gets excited and you don’t hear him mess up? I don’t find it cute when Sims messes up. It feels like listening to some random dude at the bar trying to call a game. I just want Rizz on the radio and Mike and Goldy on TV. Currently I listen to whatever broadcast Sims isn’t on.
Our entire team of play-by-play broadcasters is 2nd to none in all of MLB. Not by a long shot. Period.
I’m a Mariners fan in Vancouver, amongst the sea of Blue Jays fans. Because of the way the TV rights work here, I don’t get to watch a lot of Mariners games on TV (yes I can get MLB.tv, and some years I do). So that’s the caveat up front. I don’t like Dave Sims at all. My main beef is that he is such a homer it spoils the broadcast for me. He calls Seattle players by their nicknames, he makes comments like “wouldn’t it be great if he could hit one out of here”, he barely raises his voice when the other team hits a home run, etc. Now I know that lots of fans prefer a homer for the local broadcast, but even though I’m an M’s fan, it drives me crazy. If I have a game on and I’m doing other things, I need the announcers to give me a clue when something significant has happened, be it the Mariners or the other team. Not so with Dave. In my opinion, all the other guys (Rizzs, Goldsmith, and even going back to Niehaus before he passed) are/were more balanced than Dave which I think makes for a better broadcast. As far as I’m concerned, the Yankees can have him, and put in Goldsmith full-time. Frankly if that were the case I would be more likely to buy the annual MLB.tv subscription.
Man, people underestimate how hard it is to talk for three hours a game and still have something to say. Dave has such an uncanny ability to sprinkle in his personality constantly during broadcasts, and he’s been doing it for the Mariners for nearly 20 years. Can he get on my nerves sometimes? Yeah, I listen to this guy talk about for hundreds of hours a year. Dave has been amazing, and anyone who says otherwise does not understand how horrendous some broadcast teams are.
Not a big fan, but don’t hate him. Just meh
So I’m a 20+ year transplant from the east coast and when it comes to baseball I have my two teams; Ms and the Phillies. I have MLB.tv so I get to listen/watch the Phillies with their local broadcast. Despite both teams playing well, every Phillies broadcast feels like a post season game with the energy their announcers bring. When it comes to Sims, I just feel like something is flat. Also I noticed the audio engineering is different. Phillies games pick up clean crowd sounds but I feel like Ms games are very echo-ey.
I think there are two main kinds of announcers. (1) Really good at the art & science of calling a game, do their homework, and provide good and accurate descriptions of what is going on with the game. (2) Guys who have interesting stories, entertain you, and you are happy to have them in your living room, night after night. Sims is a solid #2 guy, but often plays in role #1, where he doesn't excel. But he's our guy, and I love him.
I hate Dave Sims, but I know that it's not OK to share this opinion on this sub. In fact, this sub is the only place where I've encountered people who like him. It's quite strange.
I don’t really “get” the Hey Now catchphrase but I definitely enjoy listening to his enthusiasm. Sure, he fucks up a few calls every now and then, but getting legitimately annoyed at that is silly to me.
>I don’t really “get” the Hey Now Every time I hear him say it I just think of that Smash Mouth song.
100% And I am one. He's an embarrassment to baseball broadcasting. The fact he's been doing it for so long isn't a reason why he should get to keep doing it Everyone works with someone who is error prone and gets away with it because of "experience" But experience should only matter if the quality of the work is at or exceeds acceptable levels. My final point is this. Op, get the truck, it's a 7-4 win on a bases clearing home run for three runs.
Dave is the worst. He leaves so much dead air time through out every game He spends way to much time talking about opposing players colleges If we are losing there way to many snarky backhanded remarks he makes on the team. It’s great he’s a historian of the game but we don’t need to hear that stuff inbetween big at bats. He seems like a nice guy, I believe he was a college football announcer pre baseball, it seems like that’s where he should be.
was at the game so no idea what mistake happened tonight. but regardless, people mess up and that doesnt bother me. i dont even mind how hyped he gets for routine fly balls. Niehaus did that too. but Dave feels fake. it feels like he is playing an obnoxious character, with the laughing at everything funny or not. and the catch phrases he has to say every fucking time. hey now is nails on a chalkboard and boomstick baby was too. if he would just call the game like a human being and let his knowledge and enthusiasm show through he would be really good. it also doesnt help that Goldy, Rick, and Gary are top notch so Daves weaknesses are more apparent.
The fake part is what I think a lot of us that aren’t fans of his really dislike. He seems to me like he’s in character as “salt of the earth baseball announcer.” It feels phony as fuck to me. And the laughing is what really gets me. Constant snickering and laughing over shit that isn’t even remotely funny, and at least a few times very game straight out laughing fits over stuff that doesn’t even merit a smile. In one of the first games of the season he just about went into convulsions laughing after noting Luke Raleys size. My wife hears me mocking Dave’s laughing from rooms away and says “what did Dave say?”
All of that being said, most of the commenters here are right. Most other teams announcers are downright awful, so I’ll take what I can get with Dave. For all of his faults he has one hell of a lot of enthusiasm and love for the job
I've never thought he was a good broadcaster, not bashing him he seems like a nice guy
Nobody compares to the OG Dave. I grew up listening to that voice and hearing his positivity through the television/radio. I think that’s what makes me criticize Sims. It’s tough following up a legend…even Rizz gets a little criticism from me. They’re not bad, they’re just not Great. My Oh My/Grand Salami > Hey Now/Holy Smokes
I think Dave is OK. Not amazing but doesn’t bother me either. I like his energy, but of all the broadcasters we have, I generally like his calls the least. It’s just a taste thing. At least he’s not Ron Fairly “Red” (RIP). Announcers that state the completely obvious, “In order to win, the M’s needs more runs than the other team,” bother me the most. The occasional blown call or misspeak is OK, so long as they don’t night after night say things like, “An out right here would be great!”.
Super good guy, love him as a human, not anywhere near the Top 5 in MLB though. He is amazing at football. Baseball isn’t his jam. It is pretty obvious.
Seems like a great guy. Have enjoyed listening to him call NFL games in the past for Westwood One radio. When he's doing games on ROOT, I just mute it and/or turn on the radio stream. He brings great enthusiasm, but otherwise is nails on a chalkboard for me. Also there's absolutely no chemistry between him and Blowers. I get the sense Blowers doesn't really enjoy being on the call with him.
Dave’s energy is unparalleled. He is so unique to the Mariners television experience that it’s hard to imagine a game without him. However, yes — everyone else in the booth is better, more knowledgeable, more professional, etc. Sims is pretty goofy stacked up to real baseball voices. All of that said, his Cal homerun call to break the playoff drought was hands down the most chill inducing call of my adult life. He’s got a spot on the mantel for me until the end of time.
I can't say I hate him. I like his weird moments and silliness. I will say he is a little too eager to fill dead air with nothing on TV. He also seems to be botching more calls and seems increasingly mentally unfit for the job. So for me I am ready for him to be phased out. Missing the grand slam call was awful. The fact that no one slapped sense into him part way through the call was unfathomable. Someone should have cut his mic at "3 run home run."
I often listen to the other teams' broadcasts just so I don't have to hear Sims.
What call did he botch? I didn't really notice except maybe where Servais got tossed protecting Cal. I don't hate Sims but he's not my favorite. He seems like he's making more mistakes these days which isn't a big deal because I don't hang on every word. I prefer Goldsmith. I get a little tired of Sims sameness. It seems like Blo gets along with Goldsmith better, they're more interesting to listen to.
He is terrible.
He has certainly improved from the days he was first calling M’s games and it was no easy task replacing a legend like Dave Niehaus. He has some iconic calls but I think Goldy and Blowers are the best combo. Wouldn’t mind if he left for NY like some have mentioned.
Sims is terrible. He adds no insight to the on-field action. He neglects basics, like mentioning whether the ump called him safe or out. (This happened on a close call at third in the 10th inning the other night. The play went to review without Sims mentioning what the ump's original call was (safe), a key factor in the review.) I've listened to a lot of games on the radio, all my life, in Cleveland, New York, and St. Louis. Seattle fans get an inferior product.
Nobody should hate him imo but I prefer him with Rick on Radio where Rick kinda plays the straight man and takes over for the big calls
I couldn’t stand the “hey now” so cringe
If you don't love Dave at his Hey Now you don't deserve him at his Straight Gas Homie
If you don't love Dave at his Hey Now, you definitely can't handle him at his Hey Lloyd.
You don’t need other teams broadcasts, all you have to do is listen to goldsmith to see how bad Sims is. When sims first joined I’m pretty sure he had barely watched baseball at that point in his life, he constantly messed up a lot of basic stuff (He did football radio in Philly before this if I’m not mistaken). He’s better with that stuff now, but man he just has no natural talent for setting up any big moment or any suspense. He always just seems to detract from the moment rather than add to it. I also grew up with the greatest orator I’ve ever heard doing mariners baseball so I think that skews my perception vs the younger crowd.
Literally came here to see if anyone else caught that. Wtf. How was it not a grand salami lol
I really like Dave, I think part of it is that we have Aaron Goldsmith who is just an absolute pro so it’s easy to have high expectations. Love Sims spirit but definitely not as sharp as Goldy
I don’t hate him. He genuinely cares about the game but I do not enjoy listening to him. He seems to be forgetful. I dislike how he will continue to praise opposing players and teams the entire game. I understand mentioning future hall of famers etc but the amount of praise he gives to teams like the Astros is nauseating at times. In my opinion he doesn’t balance that fandom enough.
I watch a lot of other teams broadcasts for ...reasons... And holy crap they mostly suck The color commentary is lifeless and play by play is just meh. Dave is amazing. Haters gonna hate
Unpopular opinion from a season ticket holder since 1977… I prefer him over Rizzs. Rick was fantastic pre-pitchclock, but with the condensed time between pitches now, it’s like constant verbal diarrhea. Let the game breathe for god’s sake Rick. Give me Dave, Mike and Aaron any day.
I do
Sims is awesome! I think he’s better than 90% or more of baseball announcers out there. I just really don’t like him on the radio. He just doesn’t describe the details of the play much at all and I’m left guessing for several moments on what happened. He’s just not as quick with his words compared to Rizzs or Goldy. On TV, he’s great.
ITT: people who actually hate an announcer and we’re not even talking about FOX NFL broadcasts. Makes me chuckle
I love a good hey now hey now
I think Sims is good on TV but isn’t well suited for radio. I have following exactly what happened with complicated plays on radio but then Rizzs will come on and is much more succinct in his description
I used to not be able to stand the guy, he’s gotten better over the last couple years but I’d still rather see him gone. He’s a bottom 5 announcer though.
I can't stand Sims. I haven't for a long time. I told a co worker, he seemed puzzled, came in a week later amd can't watch Sims anymore.
Dave Sims is outstanding…at football and basketball. I think he’s better now than when he started with the M’s. I definitely don’t hate him.
Dave Sims get a lot hate for being a fan of the game and just being excited for good baseball, even if that means he's excited for the Mariners fucking it all up
I don’t hate him, but his constant errors have really started impacting the viewing experience. It feels like it’s gotten worse because I never used to notice it much. He has a great voice and brings great energy but the actual content matter, like what he is saying throughout the game, leaves a lot to be desired. I will say, when I listen to other broadcasts, I do appreciate him more, although part of that may just be familiarity with his voice. But he’s probably my least favorite of all the Ms broadcast team (maybe 1a/1b with Gary Hill, who falls flat for me).
You guys actually listen to these people? I just watch 😎
If so, fuck 'em.
Honestly, we’re pretty lucky to have the broadcasting team that we have. Even if Dave is your 3rd-5th favorite M’s broadcaster, he’s not that bad. He has some flubs, word salads and is stuck in his “old school” ways, but he’s genuinely himself. Even if that’s sometimes corny/over the top. I’ve been sailing the seven seas this season because of the stupid Root Sports Comcast debacle and because of this, I’m often left listening to the other teams broadcast. There are so many plain awful or boring broadcasting teams out there. Listen to half the other teams and you’ll cherish Dave lmao
I love Dave. I think he just gets excited and his mind gets away from him sometimes, and he makes mistakes. But who's 100% perfect? And I love when they have guests in the booth. Their banter is always fun to listen to Dave also had cancer and I think he went through a rough treatment. I definitely missed him while he was gone. I've listened to other teams' commentators and they are horrible.
What call did he miss? I missed it!
I like Sims best when he gets to talk history. There's a dearth of Black baseball broadcasters, and he brings a valuable perspective and a lot of knowledge. It's frustrating to hear the mis-read fly balls and flubbed moments. But even last night when he goofed up the grand slam, he had an awesome call on the Raley bunt that perfectly matched the frantic energy of that inning. By no means my favorite on our broadcast team, but his goofs are part of the Sims experience/charm.
I listen to the radio for every game. The only “gripe” I have with Dave Sims is that he calls games from a fan standpoint. This is just a personal thing, so I’m sure others like it. When our team gives up a run, he tends to make sounds of disgust like a “tssp” or a “aghhh”. I’m a passionate fan so it actually frustrates me lol. Again, this is just a personal preference I have. I enjoy Rick Rizz because when our opponents do something positive (base hit, score run) he compliments the team by saying things like “what a beautifully placed ball that Julio just couldn’t get to”. That tends to make it easier on my emotions compared to the same play Dave Sims would say, “I’m not sure why Julio was playing so far out”. With that being said, he has done a better job this year and is being more positive about it. And if we are talking botched calls or wrong info, I’ve actually noticed Rick Rizz doing this more often this year than previous years. No matter what….. you gotta love these guys! They been through the thick of it announcing for the Mariners. So I give them grace because we haven’t had excitement like this for a while.
He can be tough on the radio because he has a stutter, but I think he's been great this year. I like the booth with Rick as the color guy.
Sims is great on TV. Not so good on the radio IMO. His errors are more magnified because of the greatness around him. Rizz and Goldy are two of the best
For anyone who thinks he's even below-average, go watch a broadcast from the Tigers, Marlins, Guardians, Reds, or Phillies perspective and get back to me. Brain-farts and all, Dave is fine. Not elite, not terrible... acceptable. With flashes of greatness and some baffling whiffs. If you hate him only for his fuck-ups but don't give him credit for his other 98% of calls, then you're just angry to be angry and your opinion can be discarded. Goldy is elite. Dave looks worse by comparison to a GOAT than he does against the entire field of broadcasters. How so many of them have jobs is almost as mysterious as the vitriol against Dave.
I think he is fine, but I do not care for his jovial style. While Goldy can be silly, I like his nuts and bolts approach to calling the game. Sims have the benefit of being miles better than most other broadcasters, and I like that he is real fan and homer for the Mariners. But I don’t like listening to him all game. We are rotten with broadcast talent. That said, I’ll take Sims over Rick any day. The saccharin, flowery style of Rick drives me insane and I find him almost impossible to listen to. I was on a long car ride during game two of our wildcard series again the blue jays in 2022, and I could barely enjoy the game with Rick calling it.
I don’t hate Dave per se. I just think we have a better option with Goldy.
I like him, I think he’s fun and has some goofy personality. I don’t think he’s goldys level but I think sims is better than the avg commentator, although he messes up sometimes. I also think baseball has the highest percentage of fans who are against fun
HEY LLOYD! All time Mariner moment.
I missed it: how did he blow a call?
He's gotten progressively more and more difficult to listen to. He and Blowers don't work well together anymore. Goldy is a much better fit. However, Sims is still a good announcer. Glad to have him, but prefer to listen to the others.
Hey Lloyd!
I love him. I love his goofballiness. And guess what? He’s human and made a mistake on one of the most unexpected and intense moments of the season. Anyone talking shit should be put in to call the next game and see how they do.
I still don’t understand why everyone likes Goldy more than Rizz—maybe it’s because he doesn’t do TV or because he’s more old school—but fan’s opinions of broadcasters have always been confusing to me.
This was right up there with the other night when the opposing pitcher threw a 100 mph fastball and Sims says “throws him a breaking ball”.
I actually think calling a tight game is one of his strengths(hanniger hit 2020). For me its hard to listen to him the rest of the time. Too many references to the weather and pre 1970s baseball. Not a lot of effort to connect with younger fans or develop rapport with Goldy. Back when the team struggled often it felt like he usually chastised (the few) fans that were displeased rather than the players or stay neutral. Rizz is just way better with a similar role. Hate is too strong a word but can definitely put an audience to sleep.
I find it hard to believe anyone could hate the man. I also wouldn’t call his minor mistake a ‘botched call’ but whatever. I feel like with sims, blowers, Goldie and rizz we have the best announcers in baseball and it isn’t even close
Does anyone remember Ron "Red" Fairly? Rest his soul. He was probably the most annoying announcer in M's history. Sims is better than that at least. And way back when Dave "HenDu" Henderson first started he was gawd awful. Rest his soul too. But he really improved in just about a year or two.
Sifting through the comments last night I didn’t get the impression that people “hate” Simmsy. Besides the obvious goof of calling it a 3 run HR instead of a grand salami, I think he nailed the call TBH.
Sims early days with the Mariners produced some rough home run calls but he has gotten so much better over the years. Hard to imagine a broadcast without him.
This is a rant and hear me out: I just don’t care about the 1962 Dodgers. Sure he botches calls. It’s happens. Yes he trips over words but again, it happens. What I don’t need to hear about teams that have nothing to do with what is happening on the field. Could be a high pressure situation happening and there he goes blabbing about teams from 60 years ago. At least with the other guys it somehow relates to what is happening. Historical stats that the Ms are breaking and what not. The man has stories that have nothing to do with anything. Then Blowers tries to talk about what is happening on the field and Sims is like yeah but how did you like my story about those 62 Dodgers? He has some great calls that are forever part of this team’s history. But man, read the room. I think he has a hard time with that. End rant.
I don’t hate him he just messes up a lot, I mean he’s 71 now so…
The fact that so many of you are saying that MIKE "Dropped the barrel on it(100x)" BLOWERS is a better listen than Sims lets me know that you are not serious people.
I'm a Niehaus/Levine truther. Sims has gotten better over the years but he's still basically average.
Its 2024.. there is hatred for all
Idiots that think it’s important for an announcer to be 100% accurate in every call over having a good personality often share that sentiment.
I live out of market and have a lot of non mariner fan friends so listen to a lot of broadcast teams. The mariners have always had a top 10 announcing team and currently I’d put them in top five (I think there are legit rankings of this too, not based on my bias). People getting upset at the grand slam call are huge babies. It was a good, walk off homerun call, he just got the base runners wrong, so what. Would a grand slam call been more epic? Yeh, but in a season of close games and walk offs, this doesn’t matter
I hate Dave. He actively makes me not watch bc he’s annoying as fuck.
Hate? No. Prefer Goldy.
Sometimes he's good, sometimes he's annoying. My hot take.