Public Address Announcer
November 1, 2023
Every once in a while, you’ll see a father and son or mother and daughter working side by side. I’ve recently written about one such occurrence with Rachel Sompong, violinist, and her daughter performing together on stage. Rachel told me that was a cool feeling. Guess I had to find out for myself, so I decided to interview my son, Nicholas aka Nick.
Nick had asked about writing a blog and allowing him to post it on my site, he’s done that once before, but after initially agreeing, I had a change of heart. I wanted an interview. You know the old adage, ‘Kids say the darndest things?’ I had to find out for myself what he would actually say, so let’s Meet: Nicholas Alampi… – Rick
For Love of the Game:
Growing up in the in the early 2000’s, Nick had been introduced to baseball by his mother, Brenda and said “my mom is a Tigers fan and she introduced me to them at eight years of age, in 2005. She wanted me to see Kirk Gibson and Alan Trammell who were on the coaching staff.”
However, he wouldn’t know until years later that it was a game his, absent from his life, age six until his early twenties, that his father had played throughout his youth and had even once tried out, during an open invitation, for the Cincinnati Reds in the early 1980’s.
If you believe in irony, this story has its share. Here was my son going to a game with Trammell, who I had met many years before Nick’s birth and Gibson who I had known since my teens, as a manager and coach. Imagine that. (two-word sentence)
Fast Forward:
Nick’s now living in Southern California and is the ‘Public Address Announcer’ for the ‘Long Beach City College’s Baseball Team’ LBCC. A gig he attributes to obtaining when “When a friend of mine I had met through the school’s radio and television program had graduated and they needed a new announcer,” I started in 2020, there were others who were announcing, but they didn’t last. so eventually I got to announce a full season of home games in ’22 and have done so since.”
The Show:
Nick never left his Michigan roots behind after moving to California, rather he has stayed tightly entwined with the Detroit sports scene. He’s quick to text his old man when anything newsworthy, regarding any of our local teams, breaks. With that and ‘For the Love of the Game’ I thought I’d see what he thought of this past seasons ‘Field of Dreams’ team in ‘The D’ the ‘Detroit Tigers’ and what we can expect from the 2024 team.
Field of Dreams:
While going over my own scouting report on Nick, I started off with an off-speed pitch when I asked, what’s your take on the 2023 Detroit Tigers? Did they meet expectations this season? “They exceeded expectations. With the injuries that they had, finishing 78-84 and 6 games below .500 seemed out of the question, and yet that’s what they did,” was his reply.
Coming back high and inside with a fastball, I countered, outside of Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene, what ‘single player’ on the current roster needs to step up for the team to even consider reaching .500 in 2024? “I’m curious to see what a full season of Parker Meadows looks like and if he is our Center Fielder of the future,” Nick opined.
What single, free agent, player should the team focus on signing, I asked next. “They should bring back pitcher Michael Lorenzen,” he began. “Regardless of Eduardo Rodriguez opting out or not, the team needs pitching depth and with Casey Mize coming off of Tommy John Surgery, he’ll be limited in innings. It would be a good idea to bring in someone who knows this coaching staff and who has worked with Jake Rogers, who, barring injury, is expected to be their opening day catcher,” my son added.
The Minors:
How deep is the Tigers minor league system, I asked and added, is there anyone you see making the big-league club in ‘24?
“Pretty deep,” Nick begins. “Following the graduation of our top prospects to the majors, we had a bottom 10 farm system. President of Baseball Operations Scott Harris got us back into the top 10, following the draft and his waiver wire pickups.”
“As for who in the minors that could get called up, there’s a couple of names. Infielder Colt Keith and Infielder/Outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy are the two biggest names to look out for,” he adds. “They have good walk and strike out numbers and can hit for 20+ homers. Other names include Catcher Dillon Dingler, infielder Wenceel Perez and pitcher Wilmer Flores to name a few more. Pitcher Jackson Jobe and infielder Jace Jung, who’s older brother Josh is on the Rangers are also possibilities, but they don’t have much time in Double A Erie”
Life Goals:
When you’re a parent you’re always wondering about one thing or another and my concern has always been, what’s next. What are you going to do with your life and what are your dreams, I asked.
And out came the simplest answer ever. A ten-word answer surmised it all, when he said, “To get married and to be a Major League announcer.”
The Closers Role:
Nicholas reads all my blogs and yet I should’ve asked him if he was expecting the customary last question about me. But I hadn’t and had no clue to what its answer would be when I asked. Excluding the fact, I’m your father, what’s you’re reasoning for following me on social media and what do you enjoy most about my content?
I could sense the question came as a surprise to him, as it took him a moment to gather his words and finally say. “If I wasn’t your second oldest, I would probably be following you because we like the same sports teams and share the same political views. I enjoy seeing you interact with your friends on social media, and I enjoy reading your blogs. It’s not a surprise where I got my brains from. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been interviewed by you.”
Epilogue:
I sure didn’t see the tail end of the final question coming as it did. All I can say is ‘Thank You’ Nick! You mean the world to me! I’ll always wish you nothing short of the best in life. I’m sure the day will come when that dream job in ‘The Show’ opens up for you and can’t wait to attend it to hear your voice over the loudspeakers.
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