For nearly 40 years, the home radio booth in San Diego has been hanging stars for brilliant defensive plays. If you’re a Padres fan who has ever wondered about the process, here’s how it all works: Take Fernando Tatis Jr.’s brilliant leaping catch to rob Rafael Devers of a home run last homestand. The moment Tatis secures the baseball, radio analyst Tony Gwynn Jr. turns to grab the star, which is secured by a piece of duct tape to the stand behind him. Seated on that stand is producer/engineer Dave Marcus, who hits a special button on his audioboard labeled “Hang a star.” That sets off a light in the Padres' in-game production room. The star itself is maybe three feet wide, covered in what Marcus has always called, “24-karat gold glitter.” It’s attached to one of Marcus’ old broomsticks with a piece of string -- the very same star the radio team has been hanging for more than two decades. It’s seen better days, sure. But that’s part of the charm. As Gwynn lifts the broomstick handle over the ledge of the radio booth, the in-game production crew plays the words of legendary Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman: “Oh, Doctor! You can hang a star on that baby!” For Gwynn, who grew up watching Coleman and fellow broadcaster Ted Leitner hang stars at Qualcomm Stadium, it’s one of the most fun parts of his job. “As a kid in Qualcomm, sitting, looking up here to see Ted or Jerry or whoever throw the star down -- and being disappointed many a times -- I think it's such a thrill for a kid who grew up watching Padres games.” |
Over the years -- probably from his own eight seasons spent playing in the big leagues -- Gwynn has evolved into a much tougher grader. He’ll occasionally take some heat from the fans in the first few rows when he doesn’t deem the play star-worthy. “It's got to be elite, best of the best,” Gwynn said. “You've got to make a helluva play to get it.” The longtime star-earners themselves seem to be fine with the grading system. “They're pretty good about it,” second baseman Jake Cronenworth said. “I wouldn't say they're lenient one way or the other. They're always pretty accurate.” Gwynn concedes that it can be tough not to let vibes affect his ruling. Whether the Padres are in a close game or in a blowout, he wants the standard to remain the same. |
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Most of the time, the job falls to Gwynn, as the Padres’ lead radio analyst. But at times, former pitcher Bob Scanlan is on star-hanging duties. Third baseman Manny Machado agreed with Cronenworth’s assessment of the two. “I think they're pretty fair,” Machado said. “We've got ballplayers up there, so they kind of know.” Gwynn will take that compliment. He says Machado is by far the toughest player to grade -- and it seems fairly obvious why. “He makes things look simpler than they are. That play that we all just assume is going to happen -- that play where he's fading into foul territory, and he's got to make that throw, and it's got to be on point ... he almost makes it every time. Sometimes it doesn't look like [an elite play]. It is.” The players notice. Even for longtime Padres, it means something when a star is hung for a play that they’ve made. “There's a ton of history behind it, and it's something so cool and unique to our stadium,” Cronenworth said. |
The history dates back decades. Coleman, the Padres’ Hall of Fame broadcaster, spent 41 seasons in the booth until his death in 2014. His two signature catch-phrases, “Oh, Doctor!” and “You can hang a star on that baby!” became staples of the Padres’ radio broadcast. Coleman always said the “star” was in reference to childhood. If you did something special in school, you earned a star at the top of your paper. The phrase stuck, and both fans and broadcasters alike drew stars on their scorebooks to reference the star-worthy defensive plays. In 1986, the star became a physical object, rather than an abstract idea. Then-radio producer Tommy Jorgenson was the first to hang it from the radio booth at Jack Murphy Stadium. Marcus assumed those duties when he took over the role in 1994. He recalls spending one afternoon in an empty stadium practicing with Coleman, who coached him on the nuances of hanging the star. When the Padres reworked their radio booth at Petco Park, Marcus’ seat was moved to a stand behind the two broadcasters. It was then that the task fell to the color commentator in the booth that night. For the past several years, play-by-play man Jesse Agler has jokingly referred to a “star leaderboard.” This year, he decided to make it happen. Agler has tracked the stars hung throughout the season. Tatis is in the lead with nine. Machado is second with six. With three homestands still to play, here’s the spreadsheet Agler has begun to use: |
“I was like, You know what, we should actually do that,” Agler said. “The funny thing, of course, is it's highly unscientific for any number of reasons. But primarily because we only do it for home games. So it's not a good judge of who the best defender is.” Which led to a few laughs about what might happen if they were to bring the star elsewhere -- say, Dodger Stadium -- and hang it out of the booth at a big moment. That wouldn’t happen, of course. Marcus has enough equipment to tote from ballpark to ballpark already. Marcus is the keeper of the star, locking it away on road trips and keeping a backup star in reserve. He and the booth have mulled the possibility of a replacement star. It might be about time. There have only been two physical stars in Marcus’ 31 years on the job. By all reasonable guesses, Gwynn Jr.’s father is the current all-time leader in star-worthy plays. The consensus is also that Machado -- and no one will ever know exactly when -- is probably closing in on Gwynn’s record. It’s a tradition Machado has always appreciated, dating to his time as a visitor with the Orioles. “It's pretty sick,” Machado said. “It's a really cool thing, gets the guys involved. We have a good broadcast crew up there, and they soak it in and make it all more enjoyable for the fans and for the players.” |
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