By David Saltzer, AngelsWin.com Senior Writer -
When Chuck Richter, founder and Executive Director of AngelsWin.com, asked if I was available to do an interview with Jaime Maggio, I was excited, but really did not know what to expect. Many times, I have already met people affiliated with the Angels organization ahead of time, or, there is some specific story to tell, so the main topics of the interview are already established. But with Jaime, it was different; usually she’s the one getting us, the fans, the story, not being the focus of the story.
As I prepared for the interview, I read up on her background
and discovered just how much work and effort she has already put in to getting
to her position with Fox Sports West. Not only had she played sports growing
up, and studied journalism in college, she had to work hard in her teenage
years to overcome her New York accent.
Prior to the interview, I got to see Jaime in action as she
interviewed Mike Trout about his selection as a starter to the All-Star Team.
She mixed in humor and knowledge to get a good interview for the fans.
Afterwards, she talked with Mike Scioscia and several players in the dugout to
get subtle bits of information that she would use in post-game interviews.
Since she never knows whom she might be interviewing afterwards, it was clear
that she wanted to get a tab on as many people as possible to give the fans the
most information.
After interviewing Jaime, I was amazed at how easy-going,
knowledgeable, and down-to-earth she was. Not only did she know her stuff, but
she could talk about a wide range of topics. She puts in a lot of hard work
every day to deliver information to the fans, typically putting in several
hours in the morning at home to follow all the major events of the day and then
spending another 8-10 hours at the ballpark focusing just on the Angels. She
lives and breathes sports, and it shows. I have a feeling that Angels fans are
just beginning to see all that Jaime can do in sports broadcasting. In a few
years, we may be saying just how lucky we were to have Jaime doing interviews
for our team.
Angels fans can follow Jaime on Twitter at @jaimemaggio and
catch her during Angels broadcasts on Fox Sports West.
Click here to watch our interview with Jaime Maggio.
