DEAD silence is the one thing baseball PA announcers Kyle Bonn and John Windheim aim to avoid.
Both men are from the United States and came to Perth to keep crowds at the Baseball Park in Thornlie entertained and involved in the on field action this baseball season.
Mr Bonn said they tried to model a night at the baseball on the minor league games in the US.
“It has more of a family environment, there is more entertainment; we try to make it more than just a game,” he said.
Between innings, children are invited onto the field for quick games that provide the audience with something to watch and there are loudest fan competitions and other promotions.
“Anything that helps the crowd keep interested in between the innings.
“It means more interest in the game, people will back the team and it helps the team’s on field performance,” Mr Bonn said.
“Something is always going on, so they are always watching or hearing something.”
A keyboard player also plays short tunes as well as songs from a laptop in between the on field action.
Players have specific songs played when they walk on the field.
The home team choose their own walk-up songs, so people who go to games regularly get to know which song indicates which player.
Mr Bonn said the main difference he had noticed between crowds here and in the US was that Australian crowds were more mellow.
“Back home there’s much more cheering and yelling in the crowd,” he said.
Mr Bonn said some days were harder than others as a PA broadcaster.
Most of the crowd at Baseball Park are home-team fans, supporting the Perth Heat.
“On days when the team is losing it is harder to get the crowd going,” he said.
Mr Bonn said the experience working here had helped him improve his skills as a broadcaster, and he hoped to one day be a sports commentator for baseball or gridiron.
Perth Heat will be active in this weekend’s grand final series, with games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
For more information visit perthheat.com.au.