Monday, Aug. 7, 2006 | 7 a.m.
With the Las Vegas 51s playing all but eight games on the road during the rest of the season, radio play-by-play announcer Russ Langer will be the lone lifeline for die-hard fans seeking detailed information on their favorite Triple-A baseball team.
Like the players he talks about on a nightly basis on Fox Sports Radio 1460-AM, Langer is one phone call away from landing a job in the major leagues. And, like the players he covers, Langer is chasing a dream that has consumed him for most of his life.
Langer, 46, has had a taste of broadcasting in the major leagues. He called 30 games for the Montreal Expos in 2003 and 2004, nine games for the Baltimore Orioles this year and a pair of spring training games for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Those experiences only served to whet his appetite for returning to the big leagues on a permanent basis.
Early influences
Langer moved with his family from New York to Los Angeles when he was 7 years old, and he immediately started following baseball.
"I was really lucky because the Dodgers had Vin Scully and the Angels had Dick Enberg; so I grew up listening to those guys," he says. "Vin Scully inspired me to get into the business from listening to him and then going to Dodger games as a kid and being enthralled by sitting in the stands and hearing his voice echoing throughout the ballpark. I remember looking up in the press box as an 8-year-old kid and seeing him up there ... and thinking, 'what a way to make a living.' "
Dream season
Langer, who is in his seventh season as the radio voice of the 51s, was selected to fill in for Baltimore Orioles announcer Fred Manfra for nine games in May and June. That gig, combined with the two Dodgers games this spring, was the realization of a boyhood dream.
"The interesting thing about this year is that the two teams that I followed while I was growing up were the Orioles and the Dodgers, and in one calendar year, I've had the chance to do games for both," he says.
A different game
Although he says he prepares for a 51s game the same way he would a major-league game, Langer says there is one noticeable difference in calling Triple-A and big-league games.
"The difference is the atmosphere - especially when you're talking about Fenway Park, where it's just pure electricity," he says. "When you go onto that field and to someone like myself who is very much interested in the history of the game and you're in the same dugout where Ruth and Cobb and Christy Mathewson and Shoeless Joe Jackson and all those guys played ... it's remarkable and, honestly, a little overwhelming."
Sticking it out
Langer, a two-time Minor League broadcaster of the Year, says he doesn't listen to those who question why he's still trying to make it as a big-league announcer after 20 seasons in the minor leagues.
"I can see somebody looking at it and saying, 'Well, when is he going to get there; he's hasn't gotten there by now.' On the other hand, considering the fact that I'm not the son of a famous broadcaster or the fact that I've never played professionally, you could also look at it and say, 'Well, at least he's got a little temerity and stick-to-it-iveness.' Whatever anybody wants to think is fine; I'm just happy what I'm doing, that's for doggone sure."
Reality check
Whenever Langer is having a bad day at work, he doesn't even have to leave his office to snap himself out of his funk.
"Anytime I feel like I'm having an off-day, all I have to do is look in the cabinet and see the stacks of CDs and tapes that are sent in by other (aspiring broadcasters) who would want to be here, and I get brought right back down to Earth in a big hurry," he says. "This is one of the best places to be if you're going to be in the minors."
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