Bulldog Baseball Broadcast To Be Hosted From Lounge
May 16, 2022 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
MSU’s Tuesday night game will be announced from the outfield.
STARKVILLE – For decades, Charlie Winfield has compiled memory after memory at Dudy Noble Field from his outfield rig. On Tuesday night, the Mississippi State broadcaster will add to the list when his spot pulls double duty as an announcing location.
Winfield, along with his fellow longtime Bulldog and broadcasting partner Bart Gregory, will provide viewers a unique experience as they announce MSU's Tuesday night game against North Alabama from Winfield's rig located in right-centerfield. The 6 p.m. game will air on SEC Network+. The broadcast marks the first time an announcing team has set up in a Dudy Noble Field outfield lounge spot since the park opened in its current form in 2019.
For both Winfield and Gregory, it'll be a broadcast with extraordinary meaning given the two men's ties to Mississippi State.
"It's hard to put into words how special the experience of broadcasting from the outfield will be for me," Winfield said. "The particular spot we'll be using is the same spot where, as a child, I stood against the fence and felt the heartbreak of the loss in the 1984 Regional, only to experience the highs of the magical season of 1985 a year later. From the [Burke] Masters grand slam of 1990, to Brooks Bryan robbing a home run from Washington in 1997, to Ty Martin walking it off with a home run in 2000 against Notre Dame – to the more recent experiences of watching my own children grow up standing in that same spot along the fence where I fell in love with Mississippi State baseball – the memories are really heavy here. People will have to forgive me if I get a little lost in the nostalgia as we work our way through this one."
Adds Gregory: "Charlie and I are both lifelong fans that have spent a lot of time in the outfield at Dudy Noble. We're one of them. To have this opportunity to broadcast a game from there, it's perfect and it's a natural fit."
Winfield has called Mississippi State sporting events since 2012. Gregory's MSU broadcasting career dates back to 2000. The two have become Bulldog baseball regulars on SEC Network+ broadcasts in recent times and have taken pride in a casual announcing style that will fit seamlessly with the setting of Tuesday night's coverage.
"Our goal every time we get on the air is to just sound like two guys that are just talking about baseball," Gregory said. "Being in the outfield in this atmosphere, it just lends itself to that."