One reason baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn signed on as an analyst with Turner Sports’ team is the way the network broadcasts basketball.
“You watch Charles [Barkley] and Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, and you can’t help but be a fan of that,” Mr. Gwynn said. “And that’s what was intriguing for me — to have an opportunity with guys who do that type of show.”
Toward the end of the NBA season, Mr. Gwynn appeared on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” with Mr. Barkley and Mr. Smith and asked about the Turner staff.
“They said, ‘You’re going to love working with them,'” he recalled.
As the analyst on TBS’ top broadcast team, he will be paired with play-by-play man Chip Caray. They’ve had a few practices together.
“The first game, I was trying to get his cadence, he was trying to get mine. This past Sunday I thought we were much, much better, and as we go into the postseason, I think we’ll be all right,” he said.
Mr. Gwynn plans to be himself in the booth. He said he’ll be observant and give fans the benefit of his big league experience.
“I’m not trying to complicate it. I didn’t do that as a player, and I’m definitely not trying to do that as an analyst,” he said.
Mr. Gwynn is working under a one-year contract. Although TBS will be broadcasting a national game of the week next year, he said he’s not interested in the gig because he’s dedicated to his job as baseball coach at San Diego State University. The playoffs fit into his schedule better.
Mr. Gwynn, who spent his 20-year pro career with the San Diego Padres, broadcasts some of the team’s games for Cox Communications’ Channel 4. Last weekend, he was in Milwaukee, where the Padres played the Brewers in a series that had playoff implications for both teams.
His loyalties were conflicted.
“I’m a Padre. I’ve got a son on the Brewers, so I’d like to see them get in, too,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get in the booth.”