There may be no better tradition for fans of the Minnesota Twins than listening to games on the radio. Whether they were at the cabin on the lake or shooting hoops in their driveway, many fans grew up with John Gordon and Corey Provus calling the action and even older fans can remember Herb Carneal as the voice of the Twins during the franchise’s early days.
But as time has moved along, the appeal of a Twins game on the radio has declined. The evidence is in a fan poll conducted by Awful Announcing which had Minnesota’s broadcast team, which consists of play-by-play men Kris Atteberry and Sean Aronson and analysts Paul Molitor and Glen Perkins, ranking 25th in Major League Baseball with an average score of 2.01 on a five-point scale.
“Kris Atteberry continues to impress some listeners after replacing Cory Provus, who moved to television, with his “deep statistical knowledge” and “preparation.” However, Atteberry’s polarizing vocal style generates significant pushback, with detractors complaining he “tries too hard to sound smart” or drowns out game action with “non-stop talking” about numbers. Former Twins outfielder Dan Gladden gets a lot of praise as well, as ‘one of the best radio analysts in the majors,’ though his play-by-play fill-in work can be a little rough. A real split consensus in the comments.”
While there are some fans who have it worse when listening to games on the radio, the Twins team has made it harder to keep them on the dial and some improvement or change is needed to get them back to their days of glory in the broadcast booth.
Twins fans are split on Kris Atteberry’s unconventional broadcast style
There are some things to like about Atteberry’s style. His voice is smooth and comes across in a conversational tone. A feature by Dan Hayes of The Athletic also shows that Atteberry is an easy person to cheer for as someone who was passed over in favor of Provus to replace Gordon in 2012 and was hired to the job when Provus moved to the TV booth in 2024.
Taking the job at 51 years old and now at the age of 53, Atteberry is also a rare breed in the broadcasting world as teams have gotten younger in the broadcasting world and his story of perseverance and personality has made him a favorite of the people that he’s worked with.
“It doesn’t happen to guys like Kris,” Twins radio producer Kyle Hammer told Hayes. “It’s become homogenized. And Kris is a different type of broadcaster than anybody else. You just listen to him and the words he uses…the way he says things, it’s different.”
Atteberry is unique in the broadcast booth, but some Twins fans can’t tell if it’s a good difference. Oftentimes, Atteberry goes on tangents that put the game on the back burner and if you’re driving in a car, it may feel like innings before the score is mentioned – a critical component in the world of radio broadcasts where a score bug isn’t present.
The sporadic mentioning of “going beyond the box score” also has Atteberry distracted from the flow of the game, leading to some moments that have more enthusiasm than when the situation actually calls for it. That style has led to the nickname of “Chatteberry” in some circles and while he’s done enough right to be successful in his profession, turning down a chance to call football and basketball at Stanford, there are some flaws that drag down the Twins’ radio broadcasts.
Kris Atteberry isn’t the only reason the Twins’ radio team needs a shakeup
The areas where the Twins’ radio broadcast fall short aren’t entirely Atteberry’s fault. Gladden is a solid color analyst but there are moments where he has trouble filling in play-by-play in the middle innings such as pronouncing “Mark Grudzielanek.” As someone who was a member of both World Series championship teams with the Twins, he carries credibility. But some of his takes are outdated, carrying Grandpa Simpson vibes.
Perkins has been a welcome addition to the Twins’ TV broadcasts and has more of an informal tone that breaks things up on radio. But that can also lead to chemistry issues at times. Molitor also lacks energy and enthusiasm at times, but it’s forgivable thanks to his status and credibility as a Hall of Famer.
When people reach the majors there are bound to be critics and the Twins’ broadcast booth has its share of positives and negatives. But when it comes to the overall product, there’s room for improvement and it could get fans back to turning on their radio (or favorite streaming device) to catch a game when they’re on the move.
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