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Scott Franzke is in his 20th season as the Phillies\u2019 primary radio play-by-play voice. (Grace Del Pizzo\/Phillies Nation)<\/p>\nScott Franzke is in his 20th season as the Phillies\u2019 primary radio play-by-play voice. (Grace Del Pizzo\/Phillies Nation)<\/p>\n
PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The familiar voices of the Phillies radio broadcast have had a different sound this year \u2014 at least for the fourth and fifth innings.<\/p>\n
Veteran broadcaster Scott Franzke, in his 20th season as the club\u2019s main radio play-by-play voice, has taken a backseat to color commentator Kevin Stocker for two innings each time they\u2019ve called a game together so far. In a new arrangement for the 2026 season, the former big leaguer Stocker is trying his hand at play-by-play for a couple of frames with Franzke doing color beside him before the two switch back for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to get him to this moment,\u201d Phillies manager of broadcasting Rob Brooks said of Stocker in an interview with Phillies Nation on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park. \u201cScott has always dreamed of having his partner share the load with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stocker, 56, has been the team\u2019s primary radio color commentator since 2023, when longtime analyst and fellow 1993 National League champion Larry Andersen settled into a schedule of around 60 games. Prior to that, Stocker worked as a part-timer in 2018, but missed out on the full-time job in favor of Kevin Frandsen. Once Frandsen took a new job with the Nationals, the Phillies brought Stocker back in for the 2022 season. He was the one kept on board from a group that included Michael Bourn, Chad Durbin and Erik Kratz.<\/p>\n
Over the past few years, Stocker has called a majority of the games during a very successful period in franchise history, developing into a familiar, trusted voice alongside Franzke. The Franzke-Stocker duo hasn\u2019t quite yet reached the iconic status of a pairing like Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn or Franzke and LA, but it\u2019s still early in its tenure and already a strong booth. The Phillies think that mixing up the roles could ultimately lead it to greater heights.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo deepen the relationship and to really cement the partnership, we felt like they could go back and forth,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cStock\u2019s just got to be good enough. Whitey wasn\u2019t the greatest play-by-play guy, but people learned to love him \u2014 if you give him time. So I\u2019m looking to get Stock the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooks said the idea of having Stocker do some play-by-play opportunities has been in the works since the former infielder was hired. In spring training, Stocker has split play-by-play duties with Gregg Murphy on select broadcasts that air on the Phillies\u2019 and Major League Baseball\u2019s websites. But a most of his reps will have to come live in regular-season games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more of just getting him to the point where he\u2019s comfortable enough to go out and do it,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s going to make mistakes, and we all know that. But getting him to the point where he\u2019s comfortable enough to say, \u2018I feel like I can go through this. And yeah, I haven\u2019t seen everything. I haven\u2019t called everything yet, but I feel good enough that I\u2019m not going to embarrass you. I\u2019m not going to embarrass myself.’\u201d<\/p>\n
There might be growing pains, but Brooks said the Phillies will continue to have Stocker call two innings of play-by-play for each game he\u2019s in the booth. Murphy, who\u2019s filled in for Franzke in recent years when he\u2019s off or slides over to the television side when Tom McCarthy is on another assignment, \u201cwill still be in the mix\u201d and do play-by-play in those scenarios. <\/p>\n
The Phillies did not make an announcement ahead of Stocker\u2019s first broadcast of the season on April 3 when the club played the Rockies at Coors Field, so it was a surprise when Stocker assumed the play-by-play duties in the fourth and fifth. That was by design. The team did not want to draw too much attention to the slight shift in responsibilities, as to make listeners actually listen before drawing their conclusions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to just let it be,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cWhen you tell people something, they make up their mind on the spot. Whereas they hear it, they might think he\u2019s good, they might think he\u2019s bad. But at least they get a chance to hear it, instead of making up their mind beforehand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, Brooks and the Phillies realize that this might be a tough sell for some fans, even ones that gave Stocker on play-by-play an earnest shot. Stocker is a newbie to play-by-play who has fit into his role as a color commentator, and Franzke is a popular, polished broadcaster who can masterfully call nine innings a night. Why try to fix what isn\u2019t broken?<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause, truly, that\u2019s not what Scott wants,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re moving more towards something that works for the people involved with it. Change happens, and this is an evolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we took Larry off the television, everybody couldn\u2019t believe we did that. But then he and Scott became this partnership that flourished and took on a life of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Stocker doing play-by-play for two innings a game, Franzke gets a bit of a breather. He\u2019s still on the call as the de facto color commentator, but it\u2019s less demanding for him. Brooks pointed out that most teams do not use one radio play-by-play commentator for all nine innings of every game. It\u2019s only in the last handful of years that Franzke began to do so regularly, as Philadelphia Flyers play-by-play man Jim Jackson used to call the middle innings of Phillies games from 2010 until he was let go by the club in 2020.<\/p>\n
The Phillies hope that, even though it could take some time to realize its full potential, having Stocker and Franzke swap roles for a portion of the game will get the most out of them as a unit by allowing them to push each other in different directions. The team knows that the broadcast was already entertaining and informative, but the Phillies are betting that the tweak can further enhance the listening experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always the possibility that what you have is good,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cBut what if you could have something that\u2019s great? What we have is good. What if we could have something that\u2019s great? Should we sit on good and bypass the great? You got to take chances. You got to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The goal, Brooks said, is to help Stocker and Franzke develop the rapport necessary to become an elite duo, while also making sure the partners remain fresh and engaged all season.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust the way the LA-Franzke thing grew in this other thing, my hope is that Stock and Scott becomes this other thing,\u201d Brooks said, \u201cthat they just are able to deepen their relationship. They have a bond that\u2019s genuine that then becomes infectious to the people who listen, and this is the next step in sort of helping to create that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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