GLENDALE, Ariz. — Len Kasper is entering his 16th year as play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs, matching Harry Caray’s 16-year run on the North Side from 1982-97.
And at the age of 49, Kasper doesn’t look much different than when he replaced Chip Caray in 2005, with the exception of a gray hair or two.
As he begins a new season as the voice of the Cubs for Marquee Sports Network, where he’ll team with longtime partner Jim Deshaies and a rotating cast of co-analysts, Kasper answered a few questions about what we can expect from him in 2020.
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How has the transition to Marquee Sports Network been?
The first game was special. The fact that this has all started really from scratch is pretty mind-boggling. I’ve seen the studio. The big rollout will be opening day. I don’t think there will be as much done in the studio in spring training because it’s not opening day. I think there will be more bells and whistles once the season starts that people certainly will notice, but to get on the air with J.D., and (Mark Grace) is exciting.
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What can we expect with a three-man booth on the Marquee telecast?
There’s been a lot of talk and a lot of meetings on this is how it’s going to go. But a lot of the on-air content I don’t want to do off the air. I talked to Gracie (before Saturday’s game) and he was really excited. I said: “A lot of it I don’t want to tell you what we’re talking about. I want to spring it on you during the game.” That’s the fun of it. I just want to make sure that as prepared as we are, we’re not overprepared to the point it’s not organic and genuine, because that’s how J.D. and I roll. I don’t want to bring up a lot of topics off the air, because I want to hear what his first take is on the air.
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Will there be any difference Cubs fans will notice?
Yes and no. It’s the same because it’s Cubs baseball and it’s J.D. and me, but a lot will be different. A lot more resources and a lot more people involved, and I’ve embraced the newness of that. I guess the familiarity of our voices, hopefully, will be comforting for people. But I also think there will be a lot of new wrinkles that people will like as well.
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Will it be difficult getting comfortable with all the rotating analysts after just pairing with Jim Deshaies for so long?
Certainly the dynamic changes a little bit, but my job in those spots is to let the two former players have a baseball conversation, and I really pride myself in being adaptable and being able to work with a lot of people. There is no finite number of games, or number of innings people are going to do. A lot of them will come in in the middle three (innings) and there will be games where there will be a three-man booth for the whole game, so I think they’re going to try some different things to see what works. I believe we have four games in spring training that are three-man — JD and Gracie, and later in the spring it’ll be Gracie (Rick Sutcliffe) and me. J.D. will have few days off.
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And you’re doing more national games?
I have added more Fox (games), so I will have 8-10 Cubs games off for Fox. When we’re in London I’ll be in Atlanta doing Dodgers-Braves, and when we’re in New York I’ll be going to Fenway to do Red Sox-Cardinals. So it’ll be something different. Chris Myers will fill in for me, probably about 10 games. I also might do a little radio for Pat (Hughes). He takes off like 12 games, and I’ll slide over to radio and Chris will do TV. Just keeping it fresh. I like radio. I turn 50 next winter and I don’t want to be the person who is unable to do new things and adapt. I like stuff that gets me out of my comfort zone.
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What’s your workload like this spring?
I’m doing all but three (Cactus League) games. I’m used to it. I do as many as I can. I don’t do any other sports.
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So you are no Jason Benetti?
No, he’s insane. Every time I talk to him it’s “Where are you (broadcasting) today?” I’m just a one-sport guy.
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