Don OrsilloAnnouncer boy is up next.

Don Orsillo is the play-by-play man on NESN’s Red Sox telecasts, he’s done most of the games starting in 2001, and has done all of the local non-national broadcast games since the 2005 season.

Orsillo’s first game was Hideo Nomo’s no hitter in Baltimore in 2001, and he received some criticism for what was perceived as a lackluster call of the final out. He’s gotten some practice on calling no-hitters since that time, and his performance is well received overall in most quarters.

Orsillo’s NESN.com bio lists out his past experience:

Orsillo got his start as a baseball play-by-play announcer for the Pittsfield Mets of the New York-Penn League during the 1991 and 1992 seasons. In 1993, Orsillo moved to Binghamton, N.Y., to do play-by-play radio and television for the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League. While with Binghamton, he had the opportunity to serve as a commentator for the nationally syndicated 1994 Double-A All-Star Game.

During the 1991-1996 hockey seasons, Orsillo was the play-by-play radio and television voice for the Springfield Indians/Falcons. He hosted “Inside the Indians,” a weekly live television talk show and was the analyst for the 1994 AHL All-Star Game.

Orsillo was awarded a local Emmy in 2003 as Outstanding Sports Broadcaster and in 2005 was named the Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year.

During the 2007 postseason, he called games for TBS on their national broadcasts.

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{democracy:47}

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

101 thoughts on “Approval Ratings – Don Orsillo”

  1. well, this is interesting…most of the posts are negative but Orsillo is kicking ass in the poll….APPROVE 524….Disapprove 94…..go figure…

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  2. people usually only comment when they have something negative to say. But Don puts all play by play annoucers to shame. Someone mentioned the Yankees.. that will make you appreciate what we have. Don IS the best.

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    1. I agree, as I mentioned in my earlier post I have the MLB package and so I hear announcers from all over the country…and some of these people think Orsillo stinks??….I wouldn’t put too many ahead of him, except for maybe the real “greats” such as Vin Scully, Harry Kalas etc…..same thing goes for Remy, most color guys in these other markets are HORRIBLE, Remy knows the game.

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    2. I agree with you whole-heartedly. Don is the best. He has a great voice and does a good job. He has a good sense of humor and puts up with Jerry’s teasing in a classy way. Listen to Jon Miller for a while and he will drive you bonkers…..bla, bla, bla……So let’s keep Don where he is – he is A++++++++++.

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  4. Why are we even having this discussion. Don, is by far, the best play by play annoucer. If you have the baseball package I’m sure you’ve listened to a few of the other guys. They don’t even come close to Don’s professionalism. Okay, so he may be a tiny bit dry.. but that’s his job, to give us the little bits we pro-watchers might have missed. Now we do need a better color person.. Remy is just sad.

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  5. Don Orsillo is great in my opinion. He has a great voice and is easy to listen to. He doesn’t blab and blab like Joe Morgan and Jon Miller. Our whole family enjoy his announcing and his sense of humor. He puts up with a lot of teasing from Remy and handles it very well.
    Give him an A++++++++++++ for a job well done.

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  6. ….I know it’s not his “turn” but I’m suprised at all the negative comments directed towards Jerry Remy….would they rather have Joe Morgan and his, “now WATCH THIS!..now LOOK AT THIS!” analyisis?

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  8. I just get sick of him & imagine alot others do too with his endless laughing & pimping of all things Remy. Plus a real shill for the team. he could use a little sean mcdonough or yes dan shaughnessy in him for sure!

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  9. To respond to AOB and anthony’s comments, I’m not surprised Orsillo’s approval rating is high and the positive comments here are on the money about him. I can also appreciate the feedback from those here who don’t think of him as highly. But just remember that the number one flavor of ice cream is vanilla, which tends to go well with everything.

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  10. Approve–
    Remy and Orsillo make the games worth watching. If the game gets horrible and boring, they’ll come right out and say it, or poke fun at some weird looking fan in the crowd. Whatever it is, they always find a way to get folks glued to the tv. Yeah Orsillo can be a bit monotone sometimes, but his expert analysis more than makes up for it. Besides Remy brings out the color. All I know is that you shouldn’t break up that duo–they alone make every game worth watching.

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  11. Disapprove and strongly.
    As an TV insider I’ll tell you how Don Orsillo got the NESN job.
    The only reason Don Orsillo got the NESN job is because of Jerry Remy.
    Remy worked with Sean McDonough and couldn’t take McDonoughs ribbing on air. Remy hated being the 2nd banana to Sean. So RemDawg pulled a powerplay at NESN. He told NESN bosses that either McDonough goes or I (Remy) go.
    NESN let go McDonough and brought in Don Orsillo who plays the idiot to Remy and laughs at all of Jerry’s lame comments.
    Jerry’s happy that way.

    Its a fact that Sean McDonough made the “RemDawg” and turned Remy into a character.

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    1. Actually Brett, there was more to it than that…start with the fact that Sean made about 3X more per game than Don and NESN is notoriously cheap. Connect the dots from there.

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  12. I believe I must live in Bazarro world if this guy gets any “approvals”. Leads me to believe this market doesn’t demand much….if anything at all. Goodness…I’m still amazed at you people.

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    1. well Steve, the vote is: APPROVE 1,078 DISAPPOVE: 174……hmmmm…maybe it’s YOU

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  13. inproved once he went to the copy sean mcdonough’s voice and intonation school. very vanilla. but he paid his dues in the minors, so good for him.

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  14. Disapprove.
    Sean McDonough was brilliant. Much better wit and far more entertaining. Orsillo is a very poor mans sean McDonough. If Don’s face gets any fatter there’ll be no more room for Remy’s fat face.

    Orsillo owes all his big $$ new contract to that jerk Jerry Remy. Remy made Orsillo so Don will be forever sucking up to Remy which he probably does under the console between innings.
    Orsillo sounded much more professional when he did the NLCS games for TBS last year.
    We’re stuck with Remy/Orsillo for the next 20 years.

    Thank God for radio.

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  15. slight approve. It’s like winning a playoff game by 1 point – it’s a win, but the blowout (McDonough) is better.

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  16. DISAPPROVE…only reason he got the job was because he is polar opposite of McDonough – Yawn Orsillo will NOT criticize the Sox…or question a manager’s move etc…he won’t even go so far as to mention something benign – for example Youkilis is slower than molasses…or Coco has a weak arm. I liked McDonough for pointing out some of those things…and questioning an ump’s calls…

    Theo & Trio wanted someone to be a shill and he is…100%…they can mold him and he will do exactly what they want.

    He tries to be McDonough…Sean developed the whole RemDawg shtick and Yawn tries to keep it going and some games Remy gets fed up with his digs etc…and Remy seems about to say BACK OFF

    Orsillo puts me to sleep…

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  17. Can you imagine McDonough letting the Red Sox Nation Election and Membership Cards go un-mocked? No. Sadly, that is why he is gone. Don doesn’t have the stones to say anything about anything but Wally.

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  18. Orcillo is by far the most bland, irritating announcer I have heard. Team bias aside, if anyone has heard John Sterling call just one Yankees game on WCBS (radio), you will realize just how elementary Orcillo is. I can’t stand his line going to every commercial break, Red Sox “on top” (enter score). Or his reading of every stat line graphic as hitters come to the plate. Does he think he’s talking to a blind audience or something? It’s like he’s not even trying to be colorful, he’s just a boring robot. Remy also gets Joe Morgan sydrome with careless analysis of pitch replays (clearly a breaking ball but he calls it a changeup, or is just a good piece of hitting but he calls it a mistake pitch). Orcillo’s calls of dramatic plays also leave much to be desired. He just elevates his voice, never gets creative, never delivers a remotely memorable line (cue the NESN commerical…”Red Sox walk-off with uuuhhhh… another win!”). Pathetic. Disapprove.

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  19. The games with McDonough and Remy were a joy to watch and listen to. Orsillo is so blatantly plastic, sheepish and bland that it actually distracts me from the game. It’s a physically painful experience. It’s also obvious that Remy doesn’t respect him much. He may like him for being a nice guy, but that’s about it. McDonough and Remy were kindred spirits who perfectly represented the sarcastic edginess that New Englanders are known for. Is it any wonder that the Red Sox carpetbagger ownership didn’t have the intuition to understand this? Orsillo would have made a perfect play by play man for the San Diego Padres but he’s a dismal failure with the Boston Red Sox. McDonough could be a bit arrogant at times, but you could overlook it because he’s smart and funny. Orsillo’s act is intolerable because he’s as sharp and edgy as a pair of Red Sox Nation baby diapers.

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  20. Remy and Orsillo are bores. They talk about being on the road as if anybody outside of their immediate family cares. So they got into the wrong rent-a-car. Boring beyond imagination…. Shut up and call the game!!!

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  21. Orsillo is the WORST announcer that I have ever heard and the most annoying…reasons?
    first he is so REDUNDANT and REPETTIVE that it borders on moronic behavior!….secondly he stats us to death with never ending useless stats throughout the entire game……his entire presentation is strange in that things that he could say in a single sentence he instead says in 4 sentences……he has a habit of saying the same thing in the beginning of a comment and again at the end…..example"for the month of June the sox are hitting .275 as a team(of course as a team)for the month of june…..also he will say"Ellsbury hits a liner to right and Abreu is there in right field to track it down!…….really strange stuff!…..he also has a habit of repeating players names……"ball one to Kebvin youkilis"…..1 and 1 to Kevin youkilis". and Kevin Youkilis goes to 1st base to lead off the 2nd inning'…….I hate everything about him as an announcer!……DISAPPROVE 100%!!!!!! those of you who like him,apparently are listening with earplugs!…..you'd have to be!!!!!!

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  22. Orsillo is terrible, and Remy makes two. Orsillo has an annoying delivery, and he tends to swallow the first syllable of every sentence, so we hear "…'droia takes strike two…" and "…'zales has a single…" He also misses a lot of important stuff that goes on — he's either not paying attention or doesn't understand. And Remy? He's supposed to be an analyst, but most of the time we wonder if he's in the booth or has wandered off somewhere. Important things happen and Remy is absent.

    Sean McDonough?? You've gotta be kidding. Bland as tapioca and misses more than Orsillo.

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  23. It is rather annoying to hear the two well paid chaps lobbying for free $140 shirts and sneakers.
    SOME of us can’t afford to even go to a game.
    Show a little sensitivity if you know what that is.

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