Wade Davis throws a fast ball right down the middle.
Strike three and the game is over.
The Kansas City Royals have just secured another victory. Next to the dugout, a familiar figure to Kansas City baseball fans adjusts his tie and steps onto the field. A sea of blue still in their seats greets him, the sign of a city gripped by passion for their hometown team. He knows he and the team are flying to Chicago tonight and would rather not sit on a plane in cold, wet clothes. However, as a reporter for the Royals he knows he is in the line of fire.
His eyes scan for those familiar Gatorade buckets. One of them has just been lifted by Salvador Perez, the 6’ 3”, 245-pound golden glove catcher who has been called the heart and soul of the team. Joel Goldberg knows it is coming.
He takes the microphone and points it at first baseman Eric Hosmer.
“Hoss you just hit the winning home run, how did this victory feel,” Goldberg asks. The young slugger answers that this was a team win. He is glad for the victory but knows that there is a lot more work to do. Goldberg listens intently to the answers. He carefully times out his next question. As Hosmer answers Goldberg realizes all too late. It is not the player that is taking this Gatorade dunking.
It is him.
Goldberg feels the icy liquid cover him and knows that this makes him a part of the team. Being a part of this now iconic scene of Royals post-game victories is as indelible as the American League championship ring he wears. In Kansas City sports lore, it may even mean almost as much as the World Series ring he will soon receive. The image of Perez delivering an ice bath has become such a local sensation it is even currently enjoying a prominent billboard location in Westport.
But for Joel Goldberg, this joyful celebration means he is home in Kansas City.
Goldberg has been on Kansas City television for the last eight years covering the Royals. Usually near the dugout during the games, he has reported on a lot of stories about the team, capped off last year by their march through the playoffs and World Series victory.
“This was a natural move for us. I have family here and it is such a welcoming community,” Goldberg said. “My family and I have enjoyed meeting so many great people, and seeing the team do so well, it has really made me feel like I have gone full circle. Just like in baseball, as a broadcaster the odds are against you. So to find a situation like this, it’s a real win.”
And winning is just what the Royals have been about recently.
Lifelong dream
“I wanted to be a baseball broadcaster since I was 7 or 8 years old,” Goldberg said. He has just recently returned to Kansas City after being with the team in Surprise, Arizona, during spring training. There he saw the team’s preparations as they get ready to defend their 2015 world championship, which they won after defeating the New York Mets in five games during the World Series last year. “After talking with the team about the upcoming season, I have high hopes for them. I think it can be another special year. They want to relive the excitement that came from winning it all last year. And those are the kind of moments you dream of being a part of when you are a kid.”
Goldberg grew up in a Philadelphia suburb named Moorestown in New Jersey and moved to the suburbs of Chicago when he was 13. He studied broadcast journalism at the University of Wisconsin and from there worked at a couple of smaller television stations before coming to Saint Louis and working for Fox Sports Midwest. Then on April 8, 2008, Goldberg moved to Kansas City, with his family following the next month. Goldberg›s wife, born Susan Feldman, grew up in Overland Park, so the move was also a homecoming for her.
“There was opportunity here,” he said. “I went from hosting 10 shows a year to broadcasting 150 baseball games. And the city has been so welcoming.”
The Goldbergs are now members of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Though he travels a lot for work, Goldberg says he likes to stay involved in the community. He has spoken to many different organizations around town as a representative of the Royals. Finding inspiration from the team has become a lot easier over the past two seasons.
“This is a team that never gives up,” he said. “I think you can really draw from that. They play the game the right way and they have fun. And they really get along with each other. This is close group that has come up together and has a real bond. Dayton Moore (Royals general manager) gets a lot of credit for that. He has picked guys that are high character guys, in addition to being great athletes.”
The comradery is not just limited to the players, but extends to Goldberg and his fellow broadcasters including Ryan Lefebvre, Rex Hudler and Royals Hall of Famer Jeff Montgomery.
“Whether it’s those guys you see on camera, or the one ones behind the camera, I really like the people I work with,” Goldberg said. “This can be an ego driven business. But we all feel like family. That can be important because in this job, during the season you see more of those people than you do your own family. So I recognize how lucky it is we all get along so well.”
Beyond the charitable work the team does, which Goldberg believes is substantial, there are even more benefits that the Royals provide.
“They have brought the whole city together,” he said. “When I started here you saw some Royals stuff around town, but now you can’t walk 5 feet without seeing a Royals’ hat or T-shirt. Everyone is talking about them. Even when I travel in other cities, people come up to me and want to talk about the Royals. The way they have played has made them known across the country, but for anyone with a Kansas City connection it is more than that. This is a family-oriented town, and to go along with that, this is a family oriented team.”
Defend the crown
The Royals will begin their defense of the world championship on the first day of play of Major League Baseball’s 2016 season on April 3. First pitch at Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 7:37 p.m.
In what could be music to Royals’ fans ears, Goldberg says he has heard words like legacy and history being discussed in the locker room. To a man, this message seems to be coming loud and clear from all the players, even those whose first language may not be English.
“I was talking to Kelvin Herrera the other day and he had to stop himself,” Goldberg said. “He asked me,‘Dynasty? Is that the correct word? Am I using that correctly?’ I told him he was.”
It adds up to a different feeling around the clubhouse.
“This feels like a championship team,” Goldberg said.
Of course with championships come unforeseen questions.
“My son just had his Bar Mitzvah and he is asking me that since I will have the World Series ring soon, can he have the American League,” Goldberg said. “I congratulated him on being a man, but said he would have to wait a little longer for the ring.”
There can be other challenges. With success comes opportunity and some fans worry about players leaving for $100 million-plus contracts. This can translate to the broadcasters as well.
Goldberg says he has no plans to move on.
I am very happy where I am,” Goldberg said. “I have no intention of leaving. You never say never, but we love it here. You don’t know how long it will last so I am enjoying every minute of it. Now, as it is turning to April you really start to feel the energy. You are back at work. It is a lot of work. But it is a lot of fun too.”
Kansas City will be able to follow Joel Goldberg on every local broadcast of the world champion Royals during the 2016 MLB season.
