In case you missed it, the Brewers launched their first official podcast last week. Hosted by new broadcaster Jeff Levering, “Brewers on Tap” will be available for free download every Wednesday. When Levering was first hired, his highest profile responsibility was filling in for Bob Uecker on road trips, but it was also said that he would “provide content for the Brewers online, social and new media channels.” Now we’ve got a taste of what form that content will take.
As you may be aware, the popularity of podcasting continues to grow. Industry research shows that last year podcasts reached new highs in terms of total listeners and % of Americans who have listened at all. Furthermore, podcast listeners tend to be younger and more affluent than the average bear, so you can see why organizations of all kinds want to be visible to that audience. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on Episode 1 (which you can download here).
The theme music is “Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turning Up the Heat,” which is a cute way to immediately ingratiate itself to listeners of all ages. Levering gives us a rundown of what we can expect from Brewers on Tap: interviews with current/former players and coaches, analysis of current events, a recap of the previous weeks’ highlights and lowlights, etc. In other words, exactly what you’d expect from a podcast.
Jumping right into “This Date in Brewers History,” it was March 6, 1980 when George Bamberger suffered a mild heart attack that would sideline him until June. That’s kind of a bummer, but maybe the only noteworthy events that happen during the first weeks of spring training are injuries and other unfortunate medical incidents. Maybe this week’s episode of Brewers on Tap will start with a reminiscence of K-Rod stepping on a cactus.
Levering was at last month’s Brewers Arctic Tailgate where he struck up a conversation with former pitcher Don August, who now holds the distinction of being the author of the first Brewers on Tap sound bite. When Levering asks August why he continued to reside in Milwaukee after his playing career ended, he responds (paraphrasing), “It’s the people. This town, Milwaukee, is a unique situation…it’s more homey, the people who support us here are more hometown-style.” August then mentions his wife is from Milwaukee, which I imagine had something to do with why he still lives here…although I’m sure our homey-ness would be more than enough reason for some professional athletes to put down roots here.
Will Smith is the first proper guest in the podcast’s “Catching Up with the Crew” segment. Smith has nice things to say about Dontrelle Willis, and even refers to MLB as “the show” at one point. I had wondered if players actually use that term or if it was just video game marketing copy, and now I know. Smith talks a little about deer hunting, golf, and watching White Collar on Netflix.
Levering asks Smith what it feels like having been traded twice, but he doesn’t ask “Did you have mixed feelings about watching a team that traded you get to the World Series last year? Were you kinda sorta rooting against them?” I wonder how Smith would have handled that one. Alas.
Turning to “pulse of social media,” Levering interviews first baseman Matt Clark to discuss his interest in live-tweeting The Bachelor. This is a show I believe most men will say they only watch because their wives/girlfriends like it…and what they won’t say is they enjoy the show on its merits and would watch it even if they were single (they just wouldn’t tell anyone). Even Clark says his fiancée “makes” him watch it, but you can tell from the tone of his voice that he has an emotional stake in the show.
With the show’s season finale just a few days away at the time of the interview, Levering begins by asking Clark how he thinks The Bachelor will climax (ahem). Clark says he agreed with Becca and Whitney being the finalists since Chris’s personality clashed with Kaitlyn’s. He also observes that he doesn’t think much of Chris’s secret meeting with Becca. In the end, Clark is pulling for Whitney (ahem). The brief Clark interview is entirely about The Bachelor and doesn’t touch on baseball at all.
Levering closes by inviting fans to tweet questions to the podcast with the #BrewersonTap hashtag, and it’s a wrap at about 28 minutes (no sponsors, incidentally). The relatively short length was appealing to me since my attention wavers when a podcast is much longer than one hour, but your mileage may vary. If you have a long commute or travel a lot for work or leisure, longer podcasts might be more to your liking.
To be sure, one shouldn’t make any airtight judgments about a podcast based on its first episode, but at least there were no red flags. Presumably, Levering will make adjustments week to week to keep things fresh. It’s hard to say now if Brewers on Tap will ever reach “must-listen” status, but the first episode was a fine way to idly pass the time – which is exactly what you want from a podcast. Seems like a good place to start.
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