Smalley's retiring

[CRF]

The TV details are still up in the air, but whatever they end up being, Roy Smalley won't be a part of it. He's calling it quit after 22 years as a broadcaster. Best of luck to him.  

[stringer bell]

I liked him as a player and thought he was an OK commentator. Best wishes Roy. The photo was from a couple seasons ago in Milwaukee. Roy and the pictured TD posters ran into each other is a concourse. 

[lecroy24fan]

 

[jctwins]

It makes me wonder what he's been told when he says "The new direction Twins/MLB broadcasts are taking."

Hard to think he was doing it for the money but maybe that's what it took to justify the time away from home.

 

 

[tony&rodney]

Smalley was a good baseball player. He always seemed to be where the ball was hit.

Broadcasting has several elements to it. Bremer has the voice. Smalley has a monotone and he could talk a long time.  Still, I'm one fan who actually preferred Smalley to most of the other commentators. He has a distinct feel for the game and sees all of those little things that go into every play. The only other guy who comes remotely close to Smalley is Perkins and he has more of a pitcher's viewpoint (naturally).

Good luck to Roy Smalley. I hope he enjoys his retirement. I will miss his expertise.

[lecroy24fan]

He was terrible. Only Jack Morris was worse IMO. I don't like being talked down to like I don't understand baseball, and Roy did plenty of that. And he's the only person not coming back from last year's broadcasting team.

[tony&rodney]

2 hours ago, lecroy24fan said:

He was terrible. Only Jack Morris was worse IMO. I don't like being talked down to like I don't understand baseball, and Roy did plenty of that. And he's the only person not coming back from last year's broadcasting team.

Interesting. Smalley always struck me as the most down to earth commentator on the Twins broadcast. Like I stated earlier, I believe Roy has a stronger sense of baseball than any other person on Twins telecasts other than Paul Molitor.

This only shows that different people watching the same identical TV feed react or view with an entirely different point of view. Differences are the spice ....

[Parfigliano]

I hope Smalley's retirement means more Plouffe.

[TheLeviathan]

If his games are swapped for Plouffe, Vegas has this as the best move the Twins make all offseason set at -500.

[USAFChief]

On 1/15/2025 at 9:00 PM, stringer bell said:

I liked him as a player and thought he was an OK commentator. Best wishes Roy. The photo was from a couple seasons ago in Milwaukee. Roy and the pictured TD posters ran into each other is a concourse. 

And Smalley was nice enough to stop and chat for at least 10 minutes.

Genuinely nice guy 

[LewFordLives]

I know some will disagree, but Smalley was my favorite of their color commenters. Maybe it's a generational thing. As others mentioned above, he always picked out little details about the game that I never knew before or didn't see. He struck me as having a really smart baseball mind. 

[T.O.]

On 1/16/2025 at 10:01 AM, jctwins said:

It makes me wonder what he's been told when he says "The new direction Twins/MLB broadcasts are taking."

 

I really wish someone had more info about that.
I like Roy and all the Twins announcers/commentators. I listen to some other teams too and there are some people that are awful (irritating voice, condescending, getting excited at the wrong times, saying obvious things just so they can talk).
I don't deal with change very well. Unless it's change for a hundred dollar bill.

[Squirrel]

12 hours ago, T.O. said:

I really wish someone had more info about that.
I like Roy and all the Twins announcers/commentators. I listen to some other teams too and there are some people that are awful (irritating voice, condescending, getting excited at the wrong times, saying obvious things just so they can talk).
I don't deal with change very well. Unless it's change for a hundred dollar bill.

I saw a blurb somewhere … might have been on social media from the Twins, or maybe here? … showing the broadcast team for the upcoming season. Other than Laudner, who I wish would retire, it was all ‘younger’ than Smalley. It included Plouffe, Perkins, Morneau, Span, Hawkins and Laudner in the retired players group, plus the non-player group with Provus, Martin and someone else.. Again, other than Laudner, the players involved seemed to be the next generation, those who retired from playing in the last 10 yrs rather than those who retired from play multiple decades ago. (Hawkins is the longest retired, having retired in 2015.)

I also read that Smalley had been wrestling with this decision for three years, citing that his wife had wanted him to retire. I don’t think the Twins asked him to leave or nudged him in any way, but the Twins have certainly reached to more recent players in the last couple of years.

[T.O.]

4 hours ago, Squirrel said:

I also read that Smalley had been wrestling with this decision for three years, citing that his wife had wanted him to retire.

In his last broadcast of 23 he said it was his last game and what a great run it was. Then he was back in 24. That must have been the wrestling, having trouble letting go.

[DocBauer]

Until we see the end of Correa's Twins career, I'd say Smalley is the best SS in Twins history. Really hard to believe after decades being part of the organization in one way or another he isn't in the Twins HOF yet. Maybe now that he's retiring?

I understand not everyone liked him as a broadcaster as he could go a little long at times. (He pokes fun at himself in the press release listed above). But I always enjoyed him as he was smart and detailed in his analysis. 

Best of luck in all your future endeavors Roy!

[lecroy24fan]

7 hours ago, Squirrel said:

I saw a blurb somewhere … might have been on social media from the Twins, or maybe here? … showing the broadcast team for the upcoming season. Other than Laudner, who I wish would retire, it was all ‘younger’ than Smalley. It included Plouffe, Perkins, Morneau, Span, Hawkins and Laudner in the retired players group, plus the non-player group with Provus, Martin and someone else.. Again, other than Laudner, the players involved seemed to be the next generation, those who retired from playing in the last 10 yrs rather than those who retired from play multiple decades ago. (Hawkins is the longest retired, having retired in 2015.)

I also read that Smalley had been wrestling with this decision for three years, citing that his wife had wanted him to retire. I don’t think the Twins asked him to leave or nudged him in any way, but the Twins have certainly reached to more recent players in the last couple of years.

Katie Storm was the other person you couldn't think of. Everybody but Smalley is back for 2025.

[Ryan Atkins]

I'll miss him on the broadcasts. He has always been one of my favorites. His analysis was good, but some of his stories were even better. Broadcasts need more storytelling and much less data science BS.