How Hutton returned to Marlins broadcast booth after six years away. And why changes made
Longtime Marlins fans probably have spent more time listening to Tommy Hutton than to some members of their immediate family.
And for a while, it looked like Hutton would be a Marlins lifer, one of those comforting voices who connects deeply with the fan base and never leaves until he’s ready to leave.
But then Fox Sports and the Marlins unceremoniously dumped the popular TV analyst just before Thanksgiving in 2015, after 19 seasons, for reasons that are still unclear to him.
To his credit, Hutton never burned bridges. The new Marlins ownership got the message that fans missed him, encouraging Fox to rehire him for a studio role in 2018.
And now, the same executives at Fox Sports (now Bally Sports) that were in place when Hutton was dumped (and when play-by-play man Rich Waltz was jettisoned two years later) have wisely rehired Hutton to call a sizable package of games.
“I want to disprove the theory that sequels are never as good,” Hutton, 75, said. “I hope I haven’t lost a step to first base.”
In the wake of dismissing Todd Hollandsworth after five mostly uninspiring seasons, Bally briefly explored hiring a single announcer before opting for a plan that the Marlins advocated — sharing analyst duties among multiple voices.
So Hutton will get 50 games, all at loanDepot Park.
Also part of the analyst rotation: J.P. Arencibia, a former big-league catcher; Gaby Sanchez, the former Marlins and University of Miami first baseman; former big-league relief pitcher Jeff Nelson; and ex-Tigers and Diamondbacks announcer Rod Allen, who was a former hitting instructor in the Marlins organization from 1992 to 1995.
All except Allen appeared on Marlins broadcasts last season, in Bally studio roles — and in the case of Arencibia, Sanchez and Nelson, also on radio broadcasts alongside Glenn Geffner or now-retired Dave Van Horne.
They’re all qualified and should spice up a television presentation that needed a jolt. Play-by-play man Paul Severino - who will call most or all of the games - is fine, but he and Hollandsworth have voices that sounded too similar.
Hutton never expected this day would come.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” he said. “I never wanted to or would have been able to do a full schedule [at this point in life]. But to be able to get back in it and keep my hand in it, I was pleased that the Marlins along with Bally brought me back.”
When Fox and the Marlins didn’t renew his contract after 17 seasons in the booth, “I was shocked and surprised and hurt,” he said. “Your ego takes a hit. There were moments that it lingered, and I tried to move on because we’ve got our family around. At the time, our first grandchild was really young and I bonded with her and now I’ve got three granddaughters.
“It helps you realize so many things in life are more important than baseball. Not that I don’t love baseball. I truly did. I do. But it’s been great to have the time that I did” around his family.
Fox and the Marlins never gave Hutton a reason for its decision at the time, and Bally Sports Florida executive producer Brett Opdyke declined to discuss that in an interview this week.
According to my reporting and that of Andy Slater at the time, then-Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was bothered by a few things with Hutton, including Hutton talking about other teams’ players too much, in Loria’s eyes, and Hutton mentioning any flaws in the the ballpark, including the pitcher-friendly dimensions. Fox’s desire to cut salary also was mentioned as a factor.
When Hutton heard last fall that Hollandsworth wasn’t being retained, he reached out to Bally executives and said “if you’re interested in an old veteran to fill in for some games, I would be interested.”
Bally called with an offer a few weeks later.
Why does calling games still appeal to Hutton?
“I thought, ‘well I’m still healthy enough.’ I did a game with Paul last year when Todd had a high-school graduation. I remember telling my wife, ‘the game is much more fun than a pregame and postgame.’”
Hutton loves the spontaneous element of calling games. “That part I really like.” By contrast, “the pregame show is all planned out. You know what you’re going to say, what you’re going to talk about. I wish Todd the best. I felt bad because I know exactly how I felt.”
Opdyke said the network rehired Hutton to do games because he’s very good at his job.
“Tommy has been on our air since 2018 [in studio and] when we made this change [with Hollandsworth], that was an opportunity to elevate Tommy back to calling games,” Opdyke said. “We were excited about it; we worked out a schedule that was comfortable for him. He’s going to do home games.
“Tommy in my opinion is one of the best analysts in baseball. I’ve worked with him very closely — whether it was with Len Kasper or Rich Waltz or now Paul. He’s always prepared. He can speak to multiple levels: pitching, hitting, fielding. That comes from him being that utility player. [Explaining why] managers make moves, he offers all of that. He has such a vast knowledge of the organization.”
Bally opted for five alternating analysts on Marlins games because “it’s a long season and you’re seeing this trend across baseball,” Opdyke said. “There was an opportunity for us to bring on some really experienced people to bring different perspectives and keep it fresh for people. Rod Allen was an outfielder, Tommy a utility guy, JP a catcher, Gaby an infielder, [Nelson] a pitcher.”
Arencibia, who is calling the first nine games, is “one of those guys that’s nearer to playing,” Opdyke said.
And Allen auditioned with Bally Sports in the offseason “and really impressed us,” Opdyke said. “He had a long career of calling games, with Detroit and Arizona. That experience was something we were looking for.”
Opdyke said the analysts sometimes will be positioned in different places in the ballpark - behind home plate or beyond the outfield — to offer a different perspective.
Hutton — who would have called the March 30 opener that was postponed because of the lockout — works his first series April 19-21 against St. Louis.
“I’m happy,” Hutton said.
Same goes for the large segment of the Marlins fan base that wondered, for the past six years, why he ever left.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 2:50 PM.
