Fox Sports Detroit shakes up Detroit Tigers announcing team

Late last season, Fox Sports Detroit brought Jack Morris in for an extended guest appearance in the booth. Along with Rod Allen, the former Detroit Tigers pitcher provided color analysis to Mario Impemba’s play-by-play for a nine-game homestand.

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At the time it was rumored the Tigers were looking into the feasibility of creating a three-man booth and Morris seemed to be a good addition to the team. While Morris is being added to the team, so is Kirk Gibson.

Before you think the Tigers are going to a four-man, seeming endless, booth (as seen in the classic movie The Naked Gun), the additions of Morris and Gibson will serve as a three-man rotation along with longtime analyst Allen. While the press release from FSD seems to indicate Mario and Rod would be joined by Gibson or Morris, Chris Iott, beat writer of MLive, confirms in fact it is a three-man rotation.

This means Allen’s workload will be cut roughly in two-thirds (assuming it is an equal split among the trio). Impemba will continue to call every game.

Tough break for Rod who is very polarizing. His phrases have been made into drinking games but some fans complain about his “shtick.” I’ve always maintained that Mario and Rod are a top-notch team and that fans who watch every night for six months tend to get a little annoyed with the same presentation each night. He’s been with the crew since 2003.

Of course Gibson needs no introduction. The former Tiger still lives in the area and served as analyst to Josh Lewin 1998-2001 and Impemba in his first year calling games in Detroit in 2002. He was Alan Trammell‘s bench coach for his three-year stint with the Tigers and was fired along with Tram following the 2005 season.

He was recently relieved of his managerial duties in Arizona, where he had served since 2010, winning a NL West title in 2011.

Morris is an old hat at color commentary, having spent extensive time on the Minnesota Twins’ broadcast team and a few broadcasts on Fox Sports 1.

So what do you think of this move Tigers’ fans? Nice to have some fresh takes or should the team have stuck with Rod Allen?

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