Cardinals Magazine Greg Amsinger Profile

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AMSINGER!
St. Louis native (and mega Cardinals fan) Greg Amsinger is
stealing the show as host of the award-winning “MLB Tonight.”
Come behind the scenes with us to see how the magic happens.
By Gabriel Kiley
It’s 1:15 a.m. We’re just 10 miles across the Hudson River from
Times Square and the city that never sleeps, and the prime-time
television party that is “MLB Tonight” has been put to bed. Only
the host isn’t quite ready to turn out the lights.
Instead, Greg Amsinger is savoring the moment.
In his office at MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., the
37-year-old St. Louis native and “proud Cardinals fan” is still as
animated and energized as he was during a rollicking three hours
on camera. Amsinger knows good TV when he’s in the middle of
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it – he anchors the network’s Emmy Award-winning signature show
most weeknights – and the adrenaline is still pumping as he relishes a
broadcast that flowed like a well-played nine innings.
“This is a great night,” beams Amsinger, whose roots in
journalism can be traced to his days at Lindenwood University in
the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles. “This feeling I have right now is
going to last another 20 minutes, but it’s so worth it.”
You half expect Amsinger to light up a proverbial cigarette – and
Cardinals Magazine wouldn’t begrudge him that, not after witnessing
the evening’s artful high-wire act from the studio wings. The show’s
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LIGHTS … CAMERA … AMSINGER!
How fortuitous was the timing of the MLB Network’s 2009 launch? It sent Amsinger back to St. Louis that summer for the All-Star Game, where Bob Gibson
rocked the hometown kid’s world during a red-carpet interview (with MLB co-host Harold Reynolds, center) at the pregame parade through downtown.
April 20 edition packed in highlights from a
full slate of games, a hands-on baserunning
demonstration, live look-ins of contests from
coast to coast, and the smart combination of
wit and incisive commentary from analysts
Dan Plesac and Eric Byrnes – former bigleaguers with kinetic on-air personalities.
On this night, their pairing with Amsinger
couldn’t have been more ideal.
“There are certain nights when the show
doesn’t come naturally and organically,”
Amsinger admits. “But this one did, dude.
It just did.”
Amsinger has called the MLB Network
home since its debut in January 2009 and
is one of its most identifiable faces. He also
hosts the network’s comprehensive draft
coverage (the 2016 draft is June 9-11) and
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its pregame and postgame programming
during the World Series. His baseball
IQ has expanded exponentially in these
surroundings of respected former players
and esteemed insiders.
“For instance, I get to host the Hall of
Fame selection special and one of the three
analysts is Bob Costas,” Amsinger says. “To
host a show with the greatest studio host
ever for sports – and he’s not hosting it – is
intimidating, but it gives you that extra
sense of focus.”
Maybe folks in this building are a bit
biased, but most will tell you there isn’t a
better on-air marriage in sports TV than
“MLB Tonight” and Amsinger.
“Refreshing, that’s how I describe
working with Greg,” says analyst and former
major leaguer Harold Reynolds, who has
appeared on roughly 1,000 broadcasts with
Amsinger. “He raises everybody’s level to
his. He’s passionate about what he does.”
We’re big fans, too, Harold, and what
better way to find out what makes Amsinger
tick – and talk – than to spend a day
with him at the office? Come along with
Cardinals Magazine as we shadow the
St. Charles High grad (class of ’97) on the
job. Oh, and better bring a cup of coffee.
This guy works late.
THE INTRODUCTION
We’ve come bearing gifts – not the
standard bottle of wine, mind you, but
something much sweeter. Standing at his
desk in his office, Amsinger opens a box he’s
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When he’s not talking baseball for a living, Amsinger is living like a genuine baseball junkie,
surrounded by baubles and bubble-gum keepsakes from yesterday and today.
handed and carefully removes the prize: a
Lou Brock bobblehead. Even better – the
sponsor of the unique bobble just happens
to be Lindenwood, which is a big hit with
the 2001 alum who loves his alma mater like
he loves Cardinals baseball.
“Look at that: He’s in the old Cubs
uniform and he’s taking it off (and putting
on the Cardinals uniform). I love that!”
Amsinger exclaims. “This is well done. This
is ideal. This is going to live in my office for
a very long time.”
It’s just after 5 p.m., and Amsinger looks
ready to go live – but that’s still five hours
away. You wouldn’t know it. He arrives
for work already dressed to do his thing –
debonair in a three-piece gray suit, white
shirt with blue pindotted tie, and white
handkerchief peeking out of his jacket
pocket. His dark hair is perfectly coiffed in a
comb-back.
“When Greg gets here, he’s ready to
drive 55,” says Plesac, who regularly needles
Amsinger and gets it right back, on and off
the air. “He comes dressed in a suit, and we
laugh at him because none of us likes to get
dressed up until we have to.”
Amsinger screams “presence.” He’s tall,
standing 6-foot-5, and if it wasn’t for the
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nasty vertical scar on his right knee from his
athletic endeavors in high school, he might
have played college basketball. But with a
baritone’s delivery, easy smile and anecdotes
always at the ready, he seemingly was put on
earth to be an anchorman.
Says Plesac: “He’s the epitome of do what
you love and love what you do.”
As stylishly as Amsinger is put together,
his office clutter is a contradiction. Spread
along his L-shaped desk are stacks and
stacks of baseball cards. He collects them
obsessively, and there are binders of rookie
cards that include the likes of Bryce Harper,
Mike Trout and Buster Posey. Someday
he’ll give the stash to his son, London, now
6 years old.
The cards spark a story, the first of many
during our stay.
“Former Cardinal (and MLB Network
analyst) Joe Magrane was in my office
looking at the cards and came across a player
who shall remain nameless that Joe hit
numerous times and didn’t like,” Amsinger
says. “So (later) on air, we did trivia and
catered the question to something only Joe
could answer. Sure enough, he won. I said,
‘Joe, take a look at your three prizes,’ and it
was three cards of that same dude he didn’t
like. His reaction was priceless. He didn’t
know what to say.”
Amsinger, who insists he’s a neat freak at
home, explains that his messy office serves a
purpose. It’s hard to dispute his reasoning.
“This is what my (childhood) bedroom
looked like,” he says. “I was one of seven
kids (second-oldest), shared a room with
two brothers, with baseball cards and
Starting Lineup figures everywhere. Pictures
on the walls. There’s something about the
chaos that lets the creative thinking come.”
The walls of his office are decorated
with photos, too, and feature his wife,
Erica, his 13-year-old daughter, Vanessa,
and London (the family resides in nearby
Montclair, N.J.). Other images capture
special moments in his career, including his
gig at the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis.
And it’s tough to miss the 6-foot poster of
Cardinals starter Michael Wacha in the
back corner.
But one photo touches ’em all.
“This is my first one-on-one interview
with Ozzie Smith,” Amsinger says. “This is
my guy. He’s my favorite player of all time.
He’s in my cell phone now. I consider him
a friend.”
THE TOUR
We’re out of his office and on the move,
with Amsinger serving as tour guide as we
enter Studio 3, the primary set of “MLB
Tonight.” The 5,600-square-foot studio
features six broadcast areas, 62 video
displays, a rear projection screen, two
100-plus-inch monitors and a rotating
desk. Plus enough bright lights to keep
Leavenworth secure.
Amsinger’s favorite memory here came
on “Wild Card Wednesday,” the name
the network gave the final day of the 2011
regular season. By night’s end, Amsinger
and Co. had documented the Cardinals’
improbable clinching of a wild-card berth,
and Evan Longoria’s 12th-inning walk-off
homer vs. the Yankees that sent Tampa Bay
to the postseason and eliminated the Red
Sox, who moments earlier had lost to the
Orioles on a game-ending hit.
Amsinger calls it “the best night of
baseball in my life.”
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Next we duck into Studio 21, named in
honor of Roberto Clemente and home to daily
network shows, such as “MLB Central” each
weekday morning. It’s here that the dialogue
shifts to Amsinger’s passion for the Cardinals, and
whether it’s ever difficult to keep those feelings
to himself when he’s doing a broadcast on an
especially big night for the Birds on the Bat.
“On commercial breaks, anything goes (as far as
being a Cardinals fan),” Amsinger reveals. “The raw
fan emotion of being a human being is completely
legal in my head. I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, did you see that
pitch?’ and we’re all talking trash to one another. But
when the light comes on, we have a job to do. You
get equally excited for everyone involved.”
The tour continues past a long wall covered
with baseball cards – “my mess of an office had
something to do with this idea,” he acknowledges
– where Amsinger happily points out former
Redbirds. Nearby, a wall of signatures that would
be the envy of any autograph hound catches our
attention. Bob Gibson and Ozzie are among the
Hall of Famers who have inked the space.
Our final stop is the iconic Studio 42 – named
in honor of Jackie Robinson – a 9,600-square-foot
replica baseball field that serves as a set for a wide
variety of programming, including coverage of the
draft. Amsinger, Plesac and Byrnes will open the
show here tonight.
“The No. 1 moment (here) was when Mike
Trout was drafted,” Amsinger says. “It’s symbolic
that the network would have the success it would
have, and the first kid to show up here and get
drafted was Mike Trout. He had the guts to show
up in 2009 and boom, he’s the guy who gets
drafted and becomes the best player in baseball.”
THE PRODUCTION MEETING
It’s still three hours before airtime, but Amsinger
is already zoned in – even with the Cards-Cubs
game playing on the conference room TV. Also
gathered here are Byrnes, Plesac and the production
team, all preparing for the upcoming show.
Topics addressed range from setting up Byrnes’
re-enactment of Trout’s baserunning miscue earlier
that afternoon to identifying key matchups that
evening to creating graphics that will flesh out game
coverage and story lines. Smartphones and iPads are
working overtime. There’s serious discussion but
also time for jokes, and Amsinger, naturally, is right
in the middle of it.
He volunteers earlier in the visit that he was a
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FRIENDLY
ADVICE
Amsinger, who answered Mike Matheny’s call to host a Q&A at the anchorman’s
alma mater, is the rare media member who has the ear of a major league manager.
Media types love to tell managers
what to do – from setting the rotation to
filling out the lineup card to shaping the
bullpen. Hey, what’s baseball without
some second-guessing now and then?
Of course, few managers listen, and
even fewer would admit to it.
Unless the guy in the dugout is
Cardinals skipper Mike Matheny, and
the media personality is St. Louis native
Greg Amsinger.
“He tells me things he’s noticed or
witnessed (in the game),” Matheny
says. “I’m always trying to learn
something and take whatever I can get
from people I trust.”
When Matheny was named Cardinals
manager in November 2011, Amsinger
was one of the first media members
he consulted for advice on developing
working relationships with the press.
The “MLB Tonight” host says he has
admired Matheny’s ability to transition
from player to big-league manager
without prior experience running a team.
“Mike is one of my favorite people,”
says Amsinger, “and he’s such a fierce
competitor, much like Tony La Russa.
Everybody wants to know why Mike
is so intense. I told Mike ... it’s not all
about what you’re saying but how you
look when you’re saying it. After all,
he’s intense, he was a catcher.”
Matheny says he and Amsinger
have developed a friendship, staying
in touch often and also helping each
other with events for charity. When
the manager formally launched his
2015 book, “The Matheny Manifesto,”
he asked Amsinger to emcee the
event at Lindenwood University, the
broadcaster’s alma mater.
“Greg did a great job,” Matheny
says of facilitating a Q&A session
for a crowd of 1,200 at the school’s
performing arts complex. “He’s getting
a national name for himself, and with
his local ties, it made (sense) for him to
be there.”
– Gabriel Kiley
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LIGHTS … CAMERA … AMSINGER!
returns to his office to work on a 30-minute
podcast with Byrnes and then write the only
script he’ll use all night for a segment titled
“High Stressing Inning.” Researcher Matt
Baker and senior producer Chris Roenbeck
also stop by to iron out show details.
Speaking of the show, it’s almost time,
and Amsinger knows his biggest challenge
tonight – and every night – is about to
unfold. Regardless of the preparation done
earlier in the day, much of the next three
hours is about reacting to real-time events
and creating on-the-spot discussion that also
is spot-on.
“Our show is catered to the two (analysts),”
Amsinger says. “What do they know? What
do they like? What kind of personalities do
they have? I have to get that out of them.”
THE SHOW
Reynolds and the rest of the roster at MLB Network tout Amsinger as a talent who can light
up a room with his professional passion and keep things light over a season that goes yearround at the Secaucus, N.J., studio.
“ham as a kid” and the class clown “who
made fun of myself and got good at it.”
Clearly he can work a room and an audience.
The meeting lasts 22 minutes, and
coordinating producer Rich Ciancimino,
who has worked with Amsinger since 2009,
describes it as “scripting the unscripted.”
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“We go into it saying here’s what we
think we’re going to do,” says Ciancimino.
“The true part of ‘MLB Tonight’ that really
resonates with people at home is how live
without a net it is. Greg’s skill set completely
fits the motor of what the show is.”
After the production meeting, Amsinger
It doesn’t take long to realize this is
Amsinger’s kind of show. Inside Studio 42,
Byrnes has just demonstrated how Trout was
thrown out at second base by the White Sox
earlier in the day – complete with a handsfirst dive into the bag while wearing his dress
shirt and tie. Unlike Trout, Byrnes cuts the
palm of his right hand in his zeal to nail
the segment, and Amsinger and Plesac are
noticeably amused – but impressed.
“Look at the welt on his hand. We’re not
even two minutes into the show!” Amsinger
tells viewers.
Moving to Studio 3, the trio shifts its
focus among highlights of five in-progress
games, and Amsinger contributes timely
nuggets on the hitting struggles of Alex
Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera. Amsinger
is receiving instructions from producers in
his earpiece – “Jays-O’s next … A-Rod is
hitting .160 … Home runs in Milwaukee”
– and seamlessly blends each topic and game
into the next.
The fun is just beginning.
During a live look at the Mets-Phillies
game, New York slugger Yoenis Cespedes
comes to the plate sporting an oversized gold
chain bearing his No. 52.
Byrnes: “I think he stole it from
Amsinger’s closet.”
Amsinger: “How did you know that was
my number?”
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NEWS FLASH: YES, HE’S A CARDINALS FAN
Greg Amsinger could talk about
his favorite team, the St. Louis
Cardinals, all day. And we could
listen. He shared some Cardinalscentric sentiments during our
visit to MLB Network studios.
Memory as a kid
“Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS against the
Dodgers, when Ozzie Smith homered off
Tom Niedenfuer and Jack Buck yells, ‘Go
crazy, folks! Go crazy!’ I was in a small,
brick house jammed with aunts and uncles
in south St. Louis, and to see everyone lose
their minds when Ozzie homered – that was
the moment I fell in love with the game.”
Connection between St. Louis and
the Cardinals
“It’s rare when a sports team defines
a city. St. Louis is a lunch-pail town, not
known for its wealth. And for the Cardinals
to be a juggernaut for such a long run of
success, you would think it was a largemarket team. It’s really remarkable.
“I’m proud to be a fan of the Cardinals.
It always makes me smile. They way they
win, the way they spend money – smart
money. And it’s the people they hire, too.
Everything about the Cardinals brings a
smile to my face.”
Separating fan from host
“I like all 30 clubs. For instance, in 2013,
I was at Fenway Park when the Red Sox
clinched the World Series for the first time
(at home since 1912), against the Cardinals.
That scene, I’ll never forget it for the rest
Byrnes: “Full-blown Greggy Amsinger
starter kit.”
Amsinger: “Oh, man.”
By the first break at 10:32 p.m., viewers
have seen the Tigers hold off the Royals – and
Detroit closer Francisco Rodriguez tie Hall of
Famer Dennis Eckersley for sixth on the alltime saves list – and the Orioles beat the Blue
Jays in the 10th inning on a passed ball.
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Amsinger doesn’t shrink from his heritage as a card-carrying citizen of Cardinal Nation,
but he leaves his allegiance on the sideline when he reports on the 29 other clubs who
round out the sport he loves.
of my life. I’m a fan of the game. I love the
game. I respect the game. I respect anyone
who is a fan. I never act disappointed on
the air if the Cardinals lose; there’s a time
and place for that.”
is Will Clark and he’s not ripped at all.’ He
doesn’t care what you think – just a man’s
man. I’m like, ‘That’s a baseball player.’ ”
Memorable interview
(When still in college and working at
KMOX Radio) “I interviewed Will Clark
when he was traded to the Cardinals in
2000. I expected to see this chiseled,
strong guy, and this dude is sitting in his
locker stall, no shirt on and drinking a
Busch Light. And I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this
Cards-Cubs
“I think it’s the best time ever to be a
Cardinals fan because the Cubs are good.
Now for the first time, really, the Cubs
aren’t going away. This isn’t a fluke. This
isn’t going to be like two good years. The
Cubs are going to be around for 10 years
now. Can the Cardinals hang with the
Cubs? It’s great for baseball if the Cardinals
and Cubs are good at the same time.”
The next 2½ hours include frequent
toggling between in-progress games, live
interviews via Ballpark Cam (installed
at every big-league venue), a mix of
commentary, analysis and humor, and
plenty of highlights. Amsinger excels
at pushing his analysts to be specific.
While checking in on Dodgers vs. Braves,
Amsinger asks Byrnes what he thinks of
fellow UCLA Bruin Chase Utley, who is
on second base.
Byrnes: “Baseball player.”
Amsinger: “That’s such a vague term.”
Byrnes: (After praising Utley’s pitchrecognition skills that allow him to steal
second base) “In some respects, he’s a
modern-day Ty Cobb.”
Amsinger: “Whoa.”
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Byrnes: “I saw that out of him at 18 years
old.”
Later, Byrnes shares that Amsinger
challenges him all the time. “Greg has the
ability to stir it up as much as any host I’ve
ever worked with,” Byrnes says, “but he
makes it comfortable for everybody.”
Amsinger even shows off play-by-play
skills honed earlier in a career that began
with a post as sports director for a Terre
Haute, Ind., TV station before he moved in
2003 to what is now CBS Sports Network.
He’s called a little bit of everything (World
Series of Video Games), and is ready when a
live look-in carries us to Mets-Phillies in the
bottom of the 11th.
Peter Bourjos, the former Cardinal, is
batting for the Phillies with the winning run
at third. He smacks a liner down the thirdbase line, David Wright knocks it down,
and … “It’s a fair ball,” Amsinger tells
viewers. “Bourjos can fly. Ballgame! Peter
Bourjos is the hero.”
Soon Amsinger is interviewing Bourjos
from his seat in Studio 42.
But for Amsinger, the biggest highlight of
the evening comes later, at 25 minutes past
midnight. Earlier, Byrnes and Plesac had
worked with the production staff to create
video packages for Giants hard-throwing
righty Derek Law (Plesac commentary)
and Diamondbacks young hitter Jake
Lamb (Byrnes analysis). The pieces run as
scheduled while the teams are squaring off in
San Francisco.
Then, only minutes later, producers
inform Amsinger and crew that Law and
Lamb will face one another in the bottom of
the eighth with Arizona holding a 2-1 lead.
During the live feed of the at-bat, Lamb
laces a first-pitch double. Byrnes seizes the
moment and sends his best impersonation
of a lamb – baaaa! – in Plesac’s direction.
Everyone from the set to the control room is
breaking up.
“You’ve got to really love the game to
understand in television how beautiful that
moment is,” Amsinger says later. “Not only
do we get the videos in, it’s the precursor to
the (live) at-bat.”
As the show winds toward a wrap, more
fun ensues. Amsinger salutes a Nationals
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MLB Network’s hallways are papered and inked with the stuff of a baseball collector’s fantasy.
Amsinger’s radar invariably points him toward a card (Mike Laga’s) or signature (the Wizard’s)
that’s a blast from his Redbirds past.
field reporter who takes grief from closer
Jonathan Papelbon. Plesac jokes about a
Giants fan who chases down an Arizona
home run ball in the bleachers and fires it
back onto the field – all while dressed like
Duffman from “The Simpsons.” Byrnes
chuckles at a Twitter exchange between two
Dodgers teammates.
Now back in his office, where his day
began, Amsinger doesn’t want this night to
end – or at least, as he says, “this feeling.”
Did we mention that it’s 1:15 in the
morning?
“Dude, you just saw three hours of live
TV,” he says emphatically. “It’s hard to sit
in a studio and watch it, let alone live it and
execute it.”
Actually, watching it from our seat was
easy. And plenty entertaining.
Gabriel Kiley is a staff writer for Cardinals
Magazine.
@CardsMagazine