Memories from behind the mic

Noah Smith and Dylan Baker had a bird’s eye view from the press box during London’s historic 2021 championship season, providing fans with professional broadcasts along the way.

Majors broadcasters Noah Smith (left) and Dylan Baker take the opportunity to pose with the IBL’s championship trophy — which London won this year for the first time in 45 seasons. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Their routine was the same every Friday night. They’d get to the ballpark around three hours before first pitch, meet up with the team, go over the ins and outs of the opponent that night, and then be on the field for a little pre-game action.

They never actually dug into the batter’s box to face a 90mph fastball, or turned two on a sharp grounder to second, but Noah Smith and Dylan Baker most definitely left their mark with London Majors fans from behind the mic.

With baseball returning to Labatt Park this past July, after a 696-day absence, the duo showcased that their love of the game hadn’t waned in that time, and it culminated with Smith’s historic call on a chilly October night – something local baseball fans have been waiting to hear for 46 years.

“Sell out capacity ground on their feet here in the 9th inning. Here’s the 1-2 from Perez; swing and a miss, it’s over! The wait is over, London. Champions of the IBL for the first time since 1975!”

A special season, indeed.

“We look back now and I don’t know if it hit us right away, or a few days or weeks after, but nothing is guaranteed in this league,” said the 24-year old Smith, a Fanshawe College broadcast journalism graduate. “So, for London to win it all this year, it was just so amazing to be part of it. You’d think with an eight-team league you wouldn’t have teams go 46 years without a championship, but sometimes that’s not how sports works. And to be able to bring that moment to this city after so long was special for all of us.”

The pair joined the Majors broadcast team back in 2019 after the call went out looking for volunteers to take over the reins from longtime broadcaster John ‘Doc’ Palmer. Smith, who had just graduated, leapt at the opportunity to share his love of sports and put his schooling to the test.

Unaware of whom his partner in the booth would be, he was soon introduced to the smooth talking, baseball-wise radio voice of Baker. With a baseball podcast already under his belt, it seemed a perfect fit.

Oh ya, he was 13 years old.

“There was a little questioning at first, for sure, but within one or two games we just meshed,” said Smith. “He’s great at what he does, and it didn’t take long at all for us to be comfortable with one another. Now, it’s just second nature to sit down and talk baseball. He makes me jealous for the work he puts in every single game.”

Baker, who admitted he didn’t even mention the idea of calling Majors games to his parents when he put his name forward, added they’ve been nothing but supportive of his latest venture.

“I was sure hoping they would say yes, but I was only 13 at the time, so I could understand if they said no. I would probably have said no because of my age,” Baker laughed.

Despite his baseball acumen, he recalls the butterflies working overtime getting behind the mic for the first time, hoping he and Smith would have a connection.

“There were a ton of nerves. I’d never done anything like this in my life, just a podcast, and I can edit that any time,” said the now-16-year-old Baker. “Now you’re live, a 13-year-old, talking baseball, and worrying about how these players, who are adults, will react to you criticizing them at times.

“It was tough at the beginning because Noah is such an experienced guy and I had no experience, so he played a huge role in getting me comfortable live on the air. It didn't take long before we were able to feed off each other and produce a good product. It was like it was meant to be.”

Flash-forward to 2021, a couple seasons under their belts, and the pair find themselves about to call an IBL championship game. While Smith knew the Majors were fielding a strong team, a best-of-five series can go either way.

“The home team had won each of the first four games, and we find ourselves in London for game five, so that seemed to be what you’d want. But things didn’t begin the way the Majors would have liked,” he said, as London trailed 3-1 in the 3rd inning while the sell-out crowd sat on their hands.

Then, Majors slugger Byron Reichstein stands in with two men on and two out. He turns on a 3-2 fastball and, after that one swing, the Majors wouldn’t look back.

“When he hit that three-run shot we were like, ‘we can’t lose this thing now, there’s no way,’” said Smith. Baker agreed.

“Those first couple of innings, things were so quiet in the park, and we’re talking more than 3,000 fans. Then all of a sudden Byron clears the wall and the building just went nuts,” Baker said. “Things were electric at that exact moment. It was so awesome and definitely my favourite memory of the season.”

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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Another great memory the pair will carry with them this offseason is something that never happened on the field. It was the other volunteers they “had the honour” to work with over the summer months. While Smith and Baker may be the faces that Majors fans recognize, they say it’s the producer and camera people – and all those in the press box – that make the experience what it is.

“I’m just having a great time every time I’m there (Labatt Park). To get the opportunity to spend time with people who are really enjoyable to be around, that’s the greatest thing,” said Baker. “They’re just great people and it’s fun to hang out with them. We really are a family, and that’s special.”

Smith says doing the broadcasts looks like a lot of fun – and it is, he admits – but there’s a lot of pre- and post-game work that goes into making things run smoothly. And that’s not always the case, he laughs.

During Game 1 of the finals, for instance, the live stream dropped mid-game and, like the old adage says, the show had to go on. 

“I’ll be honest, it got to be stressful knowing there’s a lot of people out there relying on us for the game,” said Smith, adding that he and Dylan didn’t skip a beat until the feed re-connected a short time later.

There have been games during their tenure, Smith says, when seven people are watching. Or, as in the case of this year’s finals, well over 1,000 people tuning in.

“You have to call it the same way and still bring the same energy,” he says. “It didn't hurt to see so many Londoners back out at the ballpark, which made for a more pleasant atmosphere when calling a game.

“All season long it was sold out (COVID restriction capacity), right from opening night, and we never dropped below that the whole season,” Smith added. “To see the crowds out like that was fantastic. It was exciting for us to have them there, to feed off their energy.”

The pair has confirmed they will be back next year behind the mics. Although it may be hard to top this past season (perhaps a repeat?), they will always be grateful to have been part of such a magical year.

”I’m just so grateful to have had the chance to be part of this,” said Baker. “There are a lot of folks who go a long time in the broadcast booth without being able to call a championship game, and I here I am doing it in my third year with the Majors. It doesn’t get any better than that.”