Interview conducted by David Saltzer, Angelswin.com Senior Columnist
On March 3, 2010, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim announced that Victor Rojas would be their new play-by-play announcer for all their games, Mark Gubicza’s partner for the TV broadcasts. Victor Rojas, formerly with the Major League Baseball Network and Texas Rangers radio broadcasts, is the son of Cookie Rojas, a former scout and manager for the Angels. AngelsWin.com recently had the opportunity to talk with and get to know Victor Rojas—the man whom fans will be seeing a lot of over the course of the 2010 season. After spending more than 45 minutes with Victor Rojas, we came away with two distinct impressions. First, Victor Rojas is a very approachable, humble man. He’s the kind of guy with whom we could imagine sitting down, watching a game, and talking baseball. Second, Angels’ fans everywhere are going to be in for something special this year in the broadcast booth.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Hello. I’m with AngelsWin.com and am really looking forward to interviewing you. We have a great website with a lot of dedicated fans. We’re interested in getting to know our new play-by-play guy a little bit better.
A: (Victor Rojas) - Sounds good man. I’ve checked out the site. It’s great stuff. There are a couple of them out there for you guys—for us, I should say now—that are just unbelievably detailed.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Great! It’s good to know that you’re on our site checking it out. Is there anything that we can do to help you a little bit better?
A: (Victor Rojas) - No, not that I know of as of right now. I think that once we get into the flow of the season and stuff, if I have any suggestions I’d be more than happy to pass them along.
(AngelsWin.com) - That would be great! We would enjoy getting some great feedback from you.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Getting into things, who did you listen to growing up? What teams did you follow?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I grew up in Kansas City, so I grew up following the Royals because of where I lived and obviously my dad had played there for 7-8 seasons. He retired in ’77 while I was in the 5th grade so that was always the team that I always loved and watched. There weren’t too many television broadcasts back then, so I grew up listening to the radio. Denny Matthews, who is still there, and now is in baseball’s Hall of Fame, is a guy I grew up watching—I should say listening to and then eventually grew into watching him and listening to his broadcast—throughout the years.
I’ve gotten asked that question a number of times as far as is there one particular style that [I] try to emulate. And there really wasn’t. I guess Denny would be a default for me, but there wasn’t one particular guy that I keyed in on and said that I want to be like that or at least that I aspire to be like that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - How did the process of becoming the Angels’ play-by-play announcer happen? Did the Angels approach you?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Yes they did. The only contact that I had with the Angels was after Rory’s passing. I shot an email to Tim Mead back in January just expressing my condolences to the Angels family and obviously to Rory’s family for the unfortunate passing. That was it. There really was no reason for me to contact them or even think about anything else as I was happy doing what I was doing at MLB Network. They reached out to me in late February. Gosh, I don’t even remember the date—it’s all a blur now. And it happened extremely fast. They asked, number one, what was my contract situation. I explained to them what it was. And the next question basically was, “Well, we’d like to talk with you. Would you mind asking for permission to have a conversation with Mr. Moreno?” I went back to MLB and asked for permission. They relented, and had the conversation. From that point forward it just happened extremely fast. My family and I had to really sit down and think about things. We had just moved to New Jersey. We just sold our house in Texas and had moved in here in New Jersey now for about 14 or 15 months. We had started to settle in thinking that this was going to be the long-term place for us. But, when we got presented with the Angels’ opportunity by Mr. Moreno and just some of the things that he had said, it became too much of a draw for me to say no. That’s kind of how everything played out.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Did Fox have any involvement in it or was it solely Mr. Moreno?
A: (Victor Rojas) - With me personally, the only contact I had was with the Angels. I have no idea what the conversations were from the ballclub’s perspective or standpoint with FSN West. The first time I met Tom Feuer, the Executive Producer at FSN West, was last Thursday [3/11/10] when I flew out to Los Angeles for our first Angels’ meeting of the year.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Now that the position has had a chance to settle for a couple weeks, how are you feeling about your decision?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I’m jazzed! I mean that there aren’t enough words for me to explain or express my elation for having made this decision. I mean every day that passes I’m watching the Angels taking on the Diamondbacks right now. I just get more and more pumped up about getting to Arizona next week and settling in and meeting the guys and getting re-acclimated with a lot of those guys. There’s guys that are still there that were there two years ago when I was still with Texas. You know, we’d play each other so many times within the division you kind of get familiar with the faces and being in the clubhouse and the like. But now, it’s a little bit different. You get to know them a little bit more on personal level. Kind of getting settled in for about a week there before heading off to Anaheim and doing those first couple of Spring Training broadcasts for us. I think it’s the First and Second [April 1st and April 2nd]—the Padres and the Dodgers before Opening Day.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - How has your family adjusted to the transition?
A: (Victor Rojas) - They’re excited. They obviously not going to be out until the early part of the summer. They are going to finish school and then come out at that point. They’re ecstatic. They have a sister that lives in Orange County who is going to college and they are thrilled about the idea of getting the chance to hang out with her on an every day basis or every other day basis. I think that was probably the icing on the cake as far as the little ones were concerned. It is a lot to ask of a family. Being a child of a former Major Leaguer and having bounced around from Jersey to Florida to Kansas City back to Florida as a kid, I didn’t want to be in that situation of having to jerk my kids around every couple of years. It wasn’t fun as a kid. I think once we settled in Kansas as a job, I think things settled down for everybody. I want that for my kids. Right now, it looks as if because of the commitments the Angels have made to us that that is going to happen in Southern California and I’m thrilled about it. It couldn’t be a better place. It couldn’t be a better organization. The people there are phenomenal. That kind of reverts back to the question you just asked finished asking me about—how do I feel a couple of weeks after the decision. The closer and closer I get to becoming an actual part of that Angels family—because I feel disconnected right now—but the closer and closer I get to it, the more excited I become and the better I feel about everything.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - The Angels are known for having a real family approach, and that people are there for prolonged periods of time. We’ve interviewed David Courtney who has been the stadium announcer since 1994. How is it coming into a relatively close-knit group that really does operate like a family?
A: (Victor Rojas) - If it’s like anything that I’ve ever been associated with or had the chance to be a part of that is family oriented, I think that the transition, I would assume, would be fairly smooth. I think that when you are based, like the Angels are, in that belief that this is a tight-knit family that you are now one of us, welcome in. I think it makes it easier for newcomers. I hearken back to 2003 when the Arizona Diamondbacks hired me from Newark. At that time, Jerry Colangelo, who was the owner of that ballclub—as well as the Phoenix Suns—in everything I heard about Jerry was that same type of atmosphere, the kind of family welcoming. And, it couldn’t have been any better. I don’t know if it was because of Mr. Colangelo and the philosophy or maybe Bob Bremley and his wife and how generous they were. They welcomed not only me immediately, but they helped my wife feel very comfortable to fit in there. Having her in the family room and asking her out to lunches and really made her feel part of the franchise. If it’s anything like that, we’re in a great situation.
Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. You just make the most of it. I think in life, you’re presented with opportunities and situations. And, fortunately, the way it came about because of Rory’s passing, it is an odd situation because nobody anticipated this. Nobody anticipated having to open the doors to someone new. I understand that. I am fully aware of that. Rory was a friend of mine. That probably goes back to the original question as to why I didn’t reach out originally. I didn’t feel comfortable about pursuing something such as this because of the situation at hand.
I think the Angels, throughout their history, it’s been my experience that they have been fantastic family people and have carried that over. Right now, that’s the least of my concerns. There are way to many other things on my mind as far as getting caught with on the team, as far as moving, and where am I’m going to live to really worry about it. I am who I am. I make friends rather easily, and I think that’s all you can kind of go by is what your past history is. And, assuming that everything you’ve heard and read about as far at the Angels are concerned is true, I think it will go smoothly because of that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - At the same time, though, you’re not a complete stranger to the family. Your dad was a manager for the Angels in 1988.
A: (Victor Rojas) - You’re right. There is familiarity there. I never looked at it this way, but MLB Network certainly helped. If you’re a baseball fan you’ve got to know the Network at home or at work. If you watch enough, you would at least recognize some of the people who are on television. I think that just what television does. It elevates the social consciousness in TV personalities, whether they are analysts or TV hosts. I’ll be honest with you, and you will hear through the broadcasts. I don’t buy into the hype. I don’t buy into who I am or what I did. I’m a lucky dude that loves baseball and I get to talk about it. And you know what? I get paid to do it. That’s it. As far as all the hype about ego and all that stuff, I couldn’t even care less about that kind of stuff because at the end of the day that comes off in broadcasts way too often. It is nice. Perhaps, it makes it a little bit easier for someone to know who I am. But, they don’t know who I am as far as the individual is concerned. I think that’s more important to me than having MLB Network or my work with Texas or Arizona having opened some doors or even being the son of a former Major Leaguer.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - What was it like, though, having a dad as a manager and former Major Leaguer?
A: (Victor Rojas) - It was great. I wrote a blog entry some time last year because I was at the Hall of Fame and someone was talking about their dad. I never really realized what famous was until after my dad retired. He played ball at that time, and then, in the offseason he had to get a job or he ran a business or whatever the case may be. So to me, it was just work. It was a cool place to work, because it was a ballpark and I got a go catch, and batting practice and hit in the cage and stuff, but it was just a job. It wasn’t until after he stopped playing that it started to really get into the fact that “Hey, this guy had out some ability to scratch out 16 years and 5 All-Star appearances for a 5-foot nothing guy having to come over from Cuba and learn a new language in the ‘60s.” I have a deeper appreciation for what he was able to accomplish. I think once he became a member of that Front Office with the Angels in 1982, doing a lot of advanced scouting, is when I really got into the baseball side of things—the business side of things—and getting to understand it. That’s probably why I fell in love with the Angels. It didn’t hurt, obviously, that they had a great year in ’82, the heartbreak in Milwaukee—getting swept after going up 2-0. Being in Milwaukee and crying my eyes out at the hotel after that last game, that’s when my emotional attachment came to the Angels. But, it was great.
Being in that clubhouse in 1988—something that my dad had always wanted to do—again odd circumstances with Gene Mauch stepping aside with 10 or 11 days left of Spring Training and getting handed the reigns. Getting the chance to spend that summer with him in that clubhouse and live with him there in Anaheim was awesome. You go through the ebbs and the flows of the season, and he certainly went through a lot of ebbs and flows in that clubhouse. I know all too well of a lot of things that went on there. It didn’t work out. You know, move on. You don’t worry about the past. He ended up staying in that organization for several years afterward. So, that tells you how much Mike Port and that Angels’ Front Office and Mr. and Mrs. Autry thought of my dad. It was incredible. At the end of the day, growing up the son of a Major Leaguer was incredible because we got to do things and see things that a lot of people never do and it was our life and blood every day. It has been all 42 years on this Earth for me.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Are you fluent in Spanish? Will you be able to work with some of the Hispanic players?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I am fluent in Spanish to where I can communicate with the guys. But, I’m not broadcast quality Spanish, if that’s what you’re asking. As far as talking back and forth, absolutely. I’ve done that whether I was in Arizona or in Texas and even with some of the guys at MLB Network that are bilingual in Spanish. I don’t foresee any issues with that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - There seems to be more turnover in baseball announcers in recent years. What would you attribute this to?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Such as? Can you give me an example?
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Obviously not Rory, but there just seems to have been a lot of movement. Is it just age that’s going on where we’re seeing a generational phasing out and a new generation moving or is it more opportunities with the opening of MLB network.
A: (Victor Rojas) - If you are talking about on a broad, as far as on a national level. Yes. I think that’s just because there are more opportunities. Whereas you had FOX on Saturday and the Post Season and ESPN doing Wednesdays and Sundays, now you have other avenues. You have TBS that does the Sunday Games of the Week plus they have got the Division and the Championship alternating on a yearly basis. You have the MLB Network that obviously has a stable of not only hosts, but also analysts and also does Thursday Night Baseball. So I think that there are more and more opportunities for guys, specifically players to kind of transition out of playing and into the broadcast booth or the studio.
From a play-by-play standpoint, for either radio or television and at the team level, there really aren’t that many positions that open up on a yearly basis. One, maybe two, this past offseason. I know you had the situation with Chip Caray being let go. Well, actually “Boog” Sciambi [Jon “Boog” Sciambi] moving from Atlanta Sports out up to ESPN and then Chip being let go but then obviously taking that spot and filling that spot down there [Chip Caray taking the Fox Sports South and SportSouth].
Other than that, I think the movement, if there is anything to it—I mean there’s the Lanny Frattare of the world that retire. I think guys have been doing this for a long time. Dave Niehaus, a former Angels’ broadcaster, has been in Seattle forever. Eric Nadel has been with the Texas Rangers for 33 years. If you’re good, you’re going to stick. That’s the bottom line. It’s a funny business because it is completely subjective. At the end of the day, if you have had ownership change, or you have a new president—I know that in Texas, I must have in my five years, I think I went through five or six bosses as far as rotating in year and out. You are at the mercy of whoever is coming in and making the ultimate decision. You may be as popular as you may be, that’s just the nature of the business. It’s unfortunate that there’s a lot of good guys out there. There are a lot of great broadcasters down in the Minor Leagues that never get a chance. That’s just unfortunately a business.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Rory was known for his signature line “Just another Halos victory.” Have you thought of any lines that you might want to use in games?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a big catch phrase, signature line type of guy. Never have been. I have no problems with people who have used them in the past. I think it’s great. I don’t think you can think about those things. I think the best lines or catch phrases are the ones that happen in the spur of the moment. I’ve been asked that question already and to be perfectly honest with you, I haven’t given it much thought. You have to be in the moment. I think that’s how things happen. We’re talking about closing out a game. The long and the short of it is I have not given a whole lot of thought to it. I’ll wait until April 5th against Minnesota after the top half of the 9th inning and the win is in the books. Then I’ll decide at that point what I’m going to say, if I say anything that is catchy or not.
On March 3, 2010, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim announced that Victor Rojas would be their new play-by-play announcer for all their games, Mark Gubicza’s partner for the TV broadcasts. Victor Rojas, formerly with the Major League Baseball Network and Texas Rangers radio broadcasts, is the son of Cookie Rojas, a former scout and manager for the Angels. AngelsWin.com recently had the opportunity to talk with and get to know Victor Rojas—the man whom fans will be seeing a lot of over the course of the 2010 season. After spending more than 45 minutes with Victor Rojas, we came away with two distinct impressions. First, Victor Rojas is a very approachable, humble man. He’s the kind of guy with whom we could imagine sitting down, watching a game, and talking baseball. Second, Angels’ fans everywhere are going to be in for something special this year in the broadcast booth.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Hello. I’m with AngelsWin.com and am really looking forward to interviewing you. We have a great website with a lot of dedicated fans. We’re interested in getting to know our new play-by-play guy a little bit better.
A: (Victor Rojas) - Sounds good man. I’ve checked out the site. It’s great stuff. There are a couple of them out there for you guys—for us, I should say now—that are just unbelievably detailed.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Great! It’s good to know that you’re on our site checking it out. Is there anything that we can do to help you a little bit better?
A: (Victor Rojas) - No, not that I know of as of right now. I think that once we get into the flow of the season and stuff, if I have any suggestions I’d be more than happy to pass them along.
(AngelsWin.com) - That would be great! We would enjoy getting some great feedback from you.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Getting into things, who did you listen to growing up? What teams did you follow?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I grew up in Kansas City, so I grew up following the Royals because of where I lived and obviously my dad had played there for 7-8 seasons. He retired in ’77 while I was in the 5th grade so that was always the team that I always loved and watched. There weren’t too many television broadcasts back then, so I grew up listening to the radio. Denny Matthews, who is still there, and now is in baseball’s Hall of Fame, is a guy I grew up watching—I should say listening to and then eventually grew into watching him and listening to his broadcast—throughout the years.
I’ve gotten asked that question a number of times as far as is there one particular style that [I] try to emulate. And there really wasn’t. I guess Denny would be a default for me, but there wasn’t one particular guy that I keyed in on and said that I want to be like that or at least that I aspire to be like that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - How did the process of becoming the Angels’ play-by-play announcer happen? Did the Angels approach you?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Yes they did. The only contact that I had with the Angels was after Rory’s passing. I shot an email to Tim Mead back in January just expressing my condolences to the Angels family and obviously to Rory’s family for the unfortunate passing. That was it. There really was no reason for me to contact them or even think about anything else as I was happy doing what I was doing at MLB Network. They reached out to me in late February. Gosh, I don’t even remember the date—it’s all a blur now. And it happened extremely fast. They asked, number one, what was my contract situation. I explained to them what it was. And the next question basically was, “Well, we’d like to talk with you. Would you mind asking for permission to have a conversation with Mr. Moreno?” I went back to MLB and asked for permission. They relented, and had the conversation. From that point forward it just happened extremely fast. My family and I had to really sit down and think about things. We had just moved to New Jersey. We just sold our house in Texas and had moved in here in New Jersey now for about 14 or 15 months. We had started to settle in thinking that this was going to be the long-term place for us. But, when we got presented with the Angels’ opportunity by Mr. Moreno and just some of the things that he had said, it became too much of a draw for me to say no. That’s kind of how everything played out.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Did Fox have any involvement in it or was it solely Mr. Moreno?
A: (Victor Rojas) - With me personally, the only contact I had was with the Angels. I have no idea what the conversations were from the ballclub’s perspective or standpoint with FSN West. The first time I met Tom Feuer, the Executive Producer at FSN West, was last Thursday [3/11/10] when I flew out to Los Angeles for our first Angels’ meeting of the year.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Now that the position has had a chance to settle for a couple weeks, how are you feeling about your decision?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I’m jazzed! I mean that there aren’t enough words for me to explain or express my elation for having made this decision. I mean every day that passes I’m watching the Angels taking on the Diamondbacks right now. I just get more and more pumped up about getting to Arizona next week and settling in and meeting the guys and getting re-acclimated with a lot of those guys. There’s guys that are still there that were there two years ago when I was still with Texas. You know, we’d play each other so many times within the division you kind of get familiar with the faces and being in the clubhouse and the like. But now, it’s a little bit different. You get to know them a little bit more on personal level. Kind of getting settled in for about a week there before heading off to Anaheim and doing those first couple of Spring Training broadcasts for us. I think it’s the First and Second [April 1st and April 2nd]—the Padres and the Dodgers before Opening Day.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - How has your family adjusted to the transition?
A: (Victor Rojas) - They’re excited. They obviously not going to be out until the early part of the summer. They are going to finish school and then come out at that point. They’re ecstatic. They have a sister that lives in Orange County who is going to college and they are thrilled about the idea of getting the chance to hang out with her on an every day basis or every other day basis. I think that was probably the icing on the cake as far as the little ones were concerned. It is a lot to ask of a family. Being a child of a former Major Leaguer and having bounced around from Jersey to Florida to Kansas City back to Florida as a kid, I didn’t want to be in that situation of having to jerk my kids around every couple of years. It wasn’t fun as a kid. I think once we settled in Kansas as a job, I think things settled down for everybody. I want that for my kids. Right now, it looks as if because of the commitments the Angels have made to us that that is going to happen in Southern California and I’m thrilled about it. It couldn’t be a better place. It couldn’t be a better organization. The people there are phenomenal. That kind of reverts back to the question you just asked finished asking me about—how do I feel a couple of weeks after the decision. The closer and closer I get to becoming an actual part of that Angels family—because I feel disconnected right now—but the closer and closer I get to it, the more excited I become and the better I feel about everything.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - The Angels are known for having a real family approach, and that people are there for prolonged periods of time. We’ve interviewed David Courtney who has been the stadium announcer since 1994. How is it coming into a relatively close-knit group that really does operate like a family?
A: (Victor Rojas) - If it’s like anything that I’ve ever been associated with or had the chance to be a part of that is family oriented, I think that the transition, I would assume, would be fairly smooth. I think that when you are based, like the Angels are, in that belief that this is a tight-knit family that you are now one of us, welcome in. I think it makes it easier for newcomers. I hearken back to 2003 when the Arizona Diamondbacks hired me from Newark. At that time, Jerry Colangelo, who was the owner of that ballclub—as well as the Phoenix Suns—in everything I heard about Jerry was that same type of atmosphere, the kind of family welcoming. And, it couldn’t have been any better. I don’t know if it was because of Mr. Colangelo and the philosophy or maybe Bob Bremley and his wife and how generous they were. They welcomed not only me immediately, but they helped my wife feel very comfortable to fit in there. Having her in the family room and asking her out to lunches and really made her feel part of the franchise. If it’s anything like that, we’re in a great situation.
Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. You just make the most of it. I think in life, you’re presented with opportunities and situations. And, fortunately, the way it came about because of Rory’s passing, it is an odd situation because nobody anticipated this. Nobody anticipated having to open the doors to someone new. I understand that. I am fully aware of that. Rory was a friend of mine. That probably goes back to the original question as to why I didn’t reach out originally. I didn’t feel comfortable about pursuing something such as this because of the situation at hand.
I think the Angels, throughout their history, it’s been my experience that they have been fantastic family people and have carried that over. Right now, that’s the least of my concerns. There are way to many other things on my mind as far as getting caught with on the team, as far as moving, and where am I’m going to live to really worry about it. I am who I am. I make friends rather easily, and I think that’s all you can kind of go by is what your past history is. And, assuming that everything you’ve heard and read about as far at the Angels are concerned is true, I think it will go smoothly because of that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - At the same time, though, you’re not a complete stranger to the family. Your dad was a manager for the Angels in 1988.
A: (Victor Rojas) - You’re right. There is familiarity there. I never looked at it this way, but MLB Network certainly helped. If you’re a baseball fan you’ve got to know the Network at home or at work. If you watch enough, you would at least recognize some of the people who are on television. I think that just what television does. It elevates the social consciousness in TV personalities, whether they are analysts or TV hosts. I’ll be honest with you, and you will hear through the broadcasts. I don’t buy into the hype. I don’t buy into who I am or what I did. I’m a lucky dude that loves baseball and I get to talk about it. And you know what? I get paid to do it. That’s it. As far as all the hype about ego and all that stuff, I couldn’t even care less about that kind of stuff because at the end of the day that comes off in broadcasts way too often. It is nice. Perhaps, it makes it a little bit easier for someone to know who I am. But, they don’t know who I am as far as the individual is concerned. I think that’s more important to me than having MLB Network or my work with Texas or Arizona having opened some doors or even being the son of a former Major Leaguer.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - What was it like, though, having a dad as a manager and former Major Leaguer?
A: (Victor Rojas) - It was great. I wrote a blog entry some time last year because I was at the Hall of Fame and someone was talking about their dad. I never really realized what famous was until after my dad retired. He played ball at that time, and then, in the offseason he had to get a job or he ran a business or whatever the case may be. So to me, it was just work. It was a cool place to work, because it was a ballpark and I got a go catch, and batting practice and hit in the cage and stuff, but it was just a job. It wasn’t until after he stopped playing that it started to really get into the fact that “Hey, this guy had out some ability to scratch out 16 years and 5 All-Star appearances for a 5-foot nothing guy having to come over from Cuba and learn a new language in the ‘60s.” I have a deeper appreciation for what he was able to accomplish. I think once he became a member of that Front Office with the Angels in 1982, doing a lot of advanced scouting, is when I really got into the baseball side of things—the business side of things—and getting to understand it. That’s probably why I fell in love with the Angels. It didn’t hurt, obviously, that they had a great year in ’82, the heartbreak in Milwaukee—getting swept after going up 2-0. Being in Milwaukee and crying my eyes out at the hotel after that last game, that’s when my emotional attachment came to the Angels. But, it was great.
Being in that clubhouse in 1988—something that my dad had always wanted to do—again odd circumstances with Gene Mauch stepping aside with 10 or 11 days left of Spring Training and getting handed the reigns. Getting the chance to spend that summer with him in that clubhouse and live with him there in Anaheim was awesome. You go through the ebbs and the flows of the season, and he certainly went through a lot of ebbs and flows in that clubhouse. I know all too well of a lot of things that went on there. It didn’t work out. You know, move on. You don’t worry about the past. He ended up staying in that organization for several years afterward. So, that tells you how much Mike Port and that Angels’ Front Office and Mr. and Mrs. Autry thought of my dad. It was incredible. At the end of the day, growing up the son of a Major Leaguer was incredible because we got to do things and see things that a lot of people never do and it was our life and blood every day. It has been all 42 years on this Earth for me.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Are you fluent in Spanish? Will you be able to work with some of the Hispanic players?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I am fluent in Spanish to where I can communicate with the guys. But, I’m not broadcast quality Spanish, if that’s what you’re asking. As far as talking back and forth, absolutely. I’ve done that whether I was in Arizona or in Texas and even with some of the guys at MLB Network that are bilingual in Spanish. I don’t foresee any issues with that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - There seems to be more turnover in baseball announcers in recent years. What would you attribute this to?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Such as? Can you give me an example?
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Obviously not Rory, but there just seems to have been a lot of movement. Is it just age that’s going on where we’re seeing a generational phasing out and a new generation moving or is it more opportunities with the opening of MLB network.
A: (Victor Rojas) - If you are talking about on a broad, as far as on a national level. Yes. I think that’s just because there are more opportunities. Whereas you had FOX on Saturday and the Post Season and ESPN doing Wednesdays and Sundays, now you have other avenues. You have TBS that does the Sunday Games of the Week plus they have got the Division and the Championship alternating on a yearly basis. You have the MLB Network that obviously has a stable of not only hosts, but also analysts and also does Thursday Night Baseball. So I think that there are more and more opportunities for guys, specifically players to kind of transition out of playing and into the broadcast booth or the studio.
From a play-by-play standpoint, for either radio or television and at the team level, there really aren’t that many positions that open up on a yearly basis. One, maybe two, this past offseason. I know you had the situation with Chip Caray being let go. Well, actually “Boog” Sciambi [Jon “Boog” Sciambi] moving from Atlanta Sports out up to ESPN and then Chip being let go but then obviously taking that spot and filling that spot down there [Chip Caray taking the Fox Sports South and SportSouth].
Other than that, I think the movement, if there is anything to it—I mean there’s the Lanny Frattare of the world that retire. I think guys have been doing this for a long time. Dave Niehaus, a former Angels’ broadcaster, has been in Seattle forever. Eric Nadel has been with the Texas Rangers for 33 years. If you’re good, you’re going to stick. That’s the bottom line. It’s a funny business because it is completely subjective. At the end of the day, if you have had ownership change, or you have a new president—I know that in Texas, I must have in my five years, I think I went through five or six bosses as far as rotating in year and out. You are at the mercy of whoever is coming in and making the ultimate decision. You may be as popular as you may be, that’s just the nature of the business. It’s unfortunate that there’s a lot of good guys out there. There are a lot of great broadcasters down in the Minor Leagues that never get a chance. That’s just unfortunately a business.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Rory was known for his signature line “Just another Halos victory.” Have you thought of any lines that you might want to use in games?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I’ll be honest with you, I’m not a big catch phrase, signature line type of guy. Never have been. I have no problems with people who have used them in the past. I think it’s great. I don’t think you can think about those things. I think the best lines or catch phrases are the ones that happen in the spur of the moment. I’ve been asked that question already and to be perfectly honest with you, I haven’t given it much thought. You have to be in the moment. I think that’s how things happen. We’re talking about closing out a game. The long and the short of it is I have not given a whole lot of thought to it. I’ll wait until April 5th against Minnesota after the top half of the 9th inning and the win is in the books. Then I’ll decide at that point what I’m going to say, if I say anything that is catchy or not.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - What was it like looking inward towards the Angels when you were in Texas for five years? What were their fans, the coaches and players saying about the Angels?
A: (Victor Rojas) - It was the rivalry. You talk about 18 games on a yearly basis and not only that, 18 games against a very good team. I think that’s what guys talked about. And it got heated at times. There was the pregame scuffle between Adam Kennedy and Gerald Laird in Angels stadium during the Angels’ batting practice—the Rangers were stretching—that carried over with Feldman hitting Kennedy and the benches cleared. I just think that there was always an edge to it. That happens. When you’re on top people want to peck at you. And I think the Rangers, given where they were the last several years, have always felt that way, especially within the division. I never got that feeling when the Rangers played the Mariners. Never really got that feeling when the Rangers were taking on the A’s. But, when it became an Angels/Rangers series, there was always something to it. I think that’s what makes it fun. I think that’s the beauty of baseball when you can get into those rivalries and you look forward to them. You’re always on the edge of your seat because you just want to beat the other team so badly even though it’s an April game and it doesn’t mean a whole lot, there’s just something to it.
There’s a great story, because I remember, it must have been ’06, maybe ’07. Before the game, the Angels were in Texas, and Hud and I used to go back and forth a lot. I remember he passed me, and I was on my way to the restroom and he passes by the booth and says “Hey man, you got a lot of red pens with you?”
I said “Yeah, as a matter of fact I use them for my scorebook.”
He goes “You’re going to need a lot of ink with our ballclub!” That was the kind of needling that Hud and Rory especially—Rory, I have some great lines about Rory, but we’ll do that another time. But that was the kind of little needling where I was like “You son-of-a-gun.” I remember that game specifically. Texas ended up just crushing the Angels. It was one of those homerun barrages the Rangers were famous for the long ball—one of those homerun barrage games. I remember during the middle of the game looking over to the TV booth which was over to our right. I got Hud’s attention and then with my hand I kind of simulated the ink and the pen and he just put his head down and was shaking it. But those are the things you love. Even broadcasters get into the trash talking. Those are the moments that are just priceless.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Do you plan on preparing for a local team broadcast differently than you did when you were with the MLB Network?
A: (Victor Rojas) - As far as preparation, it’s a little bit different because we would fly in on a Wednesday to do a Thursday night game and then fly back out on Friday. And, you’re playing it pretty much straight across the board because you are servicing both ballclubs. You actually represent all 30 teams as a member of Major League Baseball. So, there’s a little bit of difference. But, I’m only a year removed from calling Texas Rangers baseball and getting into the flow of it shouldn’t be that hard. It’s like riding on a bicycle. That’s the best part about it. That’s the draw. I think that at the end of the day, aside from all the things the Mr. Moreno and Tim Mead and all those guys said to me and did for us, one of the biggest things too was: Do I want to be a studio guy or do I want to get back to working with one team and being on the field every single day and being a part of that? I think that’s one of the things that certainly swayed my decision to go on back into the booth with a team.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - If you read the boards long enough, you’ll see that there are a lot of fans who believe that the national networks seem to have a clear eastern bias. Could you address that based on your experiences with the MLB Network?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Well, as far as MLB, I remember early on that the focus was “we’re covering all 30 teams.” And then I think the focus did really become about covering every team and making sure that every team had equal coverage whether it was during a show. Whether it was a segment or we were going into live look-in, or whatever the case may be, that it was parceled out fairly equally. And it was, for the most part. I think deep down, I’ll be perfectly honest with you, we had a lot of folks who were Yankee fans that worked at the network. We had a lot of fans who were Red Sox fans, a lot of Mets fans. But the Network is based in Secaucus, New Jersey. That’s going to happen. Do I think in general MLB Network was that way? No, I don’t think so. But, in my personal and professional opinion I do believe that there is a little bit of an East Coast bias. I think teams out West get shafted way too often. For all the love the East Coast young players got last year, I think you have to be almost doubly as good out West, and I’m amazed that Andrew Bailey became the American League Rookie of the Year because he played on the West Coast. What a phenomenal year. That’s great that he did. The baseball writers noticed him out West.
I think with the advent over the last 15 years-20 years with the advent of the internet and blogs and the constant coverage and now Facebook and Twitter, I think coverage, whether it’s what you guys do or another blog or the Orange County Register. I think that because of that coverage, it elevates good play, bad play, and there’s a presence on the national level. At the end of the day, what are we talking about? March Madness starts tomorrow. People are clamoring because Duke got the easier route because they are the TV sweethearts and that’s Kansas has got the tougher route even though they are the number one overall team. TV, the East Coast, always seems to have some sort of a slant to it. I don’t know it to be fact, but, that’s just my opinion.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - What’s been your funniest moment in the broadcast booth so far?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Oh man, I think that they are too numerous to name to be perfectly honest with you. You’re putting me on the spot here.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - You can tell us several if you want . . . we’re always down for a good chuckle.
A: (Victor Rojas) - There’s always the brain farts that happen during the course of a 162 game schedule. I remember one day, I don’t know what I was doing, but I was in the middle of a broadcast and I mentioned the Cincinatti Mets and I have no idea where that came from. And all you see are heads spinning around looking at you and it dawns on you “Where did that . . . ?” I’ve called myself out. I’m far from perfect. I think it’s better for a broadcaster to call himselves out as opposed to just brushing it under the rug. I’ll call myself out and say something like “Where did that come from?” The Cincinatti Mets? I mean how do you even come close to coming up with the Cincinatti Mets? Just little things like that. There’s not one particular thing that really stands out. The funny stuff happens like that Rex Hudler story. Those things that happen before games or down on the field. I think those are the best parts about it.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Coming into this position, you are familiar with and friends with Gubi. Do you have any good stories on him?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I do not have any good stories on Mark Gubicza as far as the humorous stuff. He’s just a great guy. A class guy. Having grown up in Kansas City and watching the Royals a lot, especially in those days. The Royals had a pretty good history of bringing guys in and/or developing guys. They had a run in the ‘70s with the Dennis Leonard and Steve Busby and then all of a sudden in the ‘80s it was Mark Gubicza, Bret Saberhagen, and Buddy Black and Danny Jackson—any number of guys. Those are the things that I remember of Mark. Having a chance to get to know him a little the last couple of years, it’s weird, even for me. Having grown up in the game, when you never really meet a guy but you know that he was a former player, and then all of a sudden you meet him, it’s like “Wow! He’s actually a pretty cool guy.” Not that I thought anything negative about him, I’m still in awe, because it is such a difficult game to play. And to do it at that level, and then all of a sudden get to meet him, it’s like he’s just like you and I. I think that’s to me the coolest part about guys like that. There are the guys who are a little bit more standoffish, a little bit more difficult to get to know, but Gubi certainly is not one of those guys.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - When you were with Texas, did you ever talk with Nolan Ryan about his time with the Angels?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I did not. About the Angels, no. We did talk about pitching. I was there during his first year as president. And then I got a chance to interview him last spring as a member of the Network. But, I never talked to him about the Angels specifically. Just about pitching and regimen and the workouts he used to do, and really the preparation as far as pitchers are concerned. It’s amazing. It’s easy for Nolan Ryan to say “Well, I did this . . . “. You know Nolan, there are those special guys who get touched at birth and then there’s everybody else. Nolan was touched at birth.
But, still, to hear the grind that he put himself through regardless of how talented he was. If guys could only take 10 percent of that and put it in their regimens. And I think the Rangers are starting to do that. I think you’re starting to see the first of their wave of a new plan that has been put into place with Nolan and Mike Maddux. They are starting to see that and guys are starting to buy into it. And I think it all starts down from the time someone is drafted and you start development, and that’s where it has to start. And I think Nolan has had a huge impact on that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - I think it was after Nolan’s 7th no-hitter, and he was being interviewed while doing a post-game workout program that he had. He was being interviewed and working out rather than celebrating. It was that kind of dedication that was one of the things that was utterly amazing about him.
A: (Victor Rojas) - It’s ridiculous. He’d talk about Spring Training when he was in Spring Training where he’d work the bullpen, come in and throw live BP for 25 to 30 minutes, then go run, get his running in and then come back and do some more throwing. Could you imagine going to Tempe and watching Ervin Santana throw 30 minutes of live BP, go run for 45 minutes, and then come back? That’s just unheard of. It doesn’t happen anymore.
(AngelsWin.com) - No. He was just unbelievable.
A: (Victor Rojas) - It’s ridiculous. You hate to get into the whole Roger Clemens thing. But you hear about all the stories about how he used to work out. And then there are guys who just get into it and buy into it. Nolan, I think, is just a different beast. There’s no other term for it. He was just a different animal. Like I said, if you could just do 10 percent of the things he did as a pitcher, it would behoove you as far as your career is concerned.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - What were you like as a player? I looked up your stats, you had 5 saves, 30 strikeouts in 25 innings.
A: (Victor Rojas) - I was lazy. I was lazy. It’s unfortunate. I have no regrets whatsoever walking away and concentrating on what I had to concentrate on. But, I think at the end of the day, I think I relied a lot more on ability than actually work ethic. That was my demise. To be honest with you, it’s probably the demise of a lot of guys in the Minor Leagues. You tend to forget that as good as you may think you are in college, that when you get to the Minor Leagues, all of those guys were good in college. Then there’s that separation as the different classifications as you move up the ladder. I was lazy. I didn’t work at my craft, unfortunately. I remember Bill Lachemann chewing me out one time because I was messing around. That’s when I started to kind of get it a little bit. I wish I had kind of concentrated on my baseball career back then as I have concentrated on my broadcasting career over the last 9 years because who knows what would have happened or transpired.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - What are you like away from the ballpark? What do you do for fun?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Outside of hanging with the family, I love golf. I love being out on the golf course. I don’t know, there’s just something relaxing about it even though it just kills me sometimes when I play bad golf. I think it’s just the competitive nature in me. Outside of that, I like staying home, watching movies, playing golf, hanging out. I’m a couch potato. I’m just hanging out, going to movies. I’m a pretty simple dude. I’m boring. But to be perfectly honest with you, I’m just a boring guy. I like to have fun, but at the end of the day, if I had to choose between getting dressed and going out to dinner or just hanging out and popping in a DVD, I’d choose popping the DVD.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - So what is your favorite movie of all-time?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Probably “The Natural”. So much so that my son’s middle name is Hobbs.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - That’s dedication.
A: (Victor Rojas) - Yes. Well, my daughter’s name is Mattingly.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Seriously?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Yep.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Favorite band?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I don’t know if there’s one particular band. I’m a big fan of 3 Doors Down. Kind of dinging the Kings of Leon. I like Shine Down. But I don’t necessarily have an all-time favorite. I’ll listen to everything. I’ll listen to XM Pops for an hour. I’ll listen to Country. I like Zach Brown Band, speaking of Country.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Favorite food?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Man, I grew up in the heartland of America, so I’m a big fat steak and a big ol’ baked potato with some cheese and butter on it. And then bar-b-que right next to it. I mean it’s 1 and 1A.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Okay, dry or wet bar-b-que.
A: (Victor Rojas) - It’s got to be wet. It’s all about the sauce.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - It’s all about the sauce?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Believe it.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Do you make your own or do you use store-bought?
A: (Victor Rojas) - I have a store-bought that becomes my own after the fact.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) -Got it.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Will you be taking emails from fans to respond to during the game? Are you open to that?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Absolutely! I believe, but I have to double check, that they are going to do something on the FSN West webpage. I think that they are going to be doing something to that effect. I’m a huge social media guy as long as it doesn’t detract from the ballgame. Big on Twitter, Facebook, and all that sort of stuff. I think that the more accessible you are, especially in our business, I think the better off you are. I think fans tend to clamor for information. I think those avenues are certainly there. The platform certainly puts you in that position to do that.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Are you open to fans adding you as a friend on Facebook?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Absolutely.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Great!
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Can we follow up with you to get a mid-year update?
A: (Victor Rojas) - Anytime. You have my number, feel free.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - Awesome! When will the fans be able to see you calling your first game?
A: (Victor Rojas) - That April 1st game.
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - If there is one thing that you could say to the fans that hasn’t been asked or covered, what would you want to say?
A: (Victor Rojas) - The Angels are going to win the West!
Q: (AngelsWin.com) - I like that! On behalf of AngelsWin.com, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. This has been an incredible interview.
A: (Victor Rojas) - Thanks for having me.
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