World Series Vet Is Ready to Play!

Joe Buck has already reached the pinnacle of his profession at the age of 36. As Fox's lead play-by-play commentator, he voices both the Super Bowl and World Series broadcasts. Last week — in other words, before his late pop's beloved Cardinals got knocked out of the National League Championship Series — Buck spoke with TVGuide.com about the MLB play-offs, his allegiance to St. Louis and what other professional mountains he aspires to climb.

TVGuide.com: How do you approach baseball postseason matchups differently than regular broadcasts?
Joe Buck: I think the main thing is you've got people looking at these teams who they haven't seen all year. You've got more casual fans watching and saying, "Who is Mark Buehrle or who is Joe Crede and what are the White Sox all about? What are the Cardinals all about? What are the Astros all about?" I think you have to give more of an overview of how and why these teams are in the positions they're in. So I think it's important for us to take a step back and cover the basics early in the series, then get into the specifics as you go along.

TVGuide: With both the Red Sox and Yankees MIA, is Fox concerned that there may not be as much interest in this World Series as there was in recent years?
Buck: No, I don't think so. If we wanted to do a sure thing every October, we should be doing game shows. The bottom line is that this is how this thing is set up. From a very personal standpoint, I like having new teams involved. I like being able to tell new stories and see different guys step up and become superstars. As far as ratings and all that, there are a lot of people who live west of the Hudson. I think there will be plenty of interest in who wins and loses these games.  

TVGuide.com: Your father, Jack, was the longtime voice of the Cardinals, and your first play-by-play work was for one of the Cardinals' minor league affiliates. Are you rooting for St. Louis?
Buck: I have a childhood there and I have my attachments, so... Let me put it this way, I'm a fan of the Cardinals' history. I grew up at that ballpark and I grew up around a lot of the teams of the past. But now that I'm in the position I'm in, I've got to separate myself and focus on the job at hand.

TVGuide: Is that difficult?
Buck: It's not difficult, because I've done it so many times. The Cardinals have been in the play-offs six times in the last nine years, so I'm used to it. I worry about the job we do as a network and the job that Tim [McCarver] and I do as partners. I don't really care who wins or loses, because we have our job to do.

TVGuide: OK, so in your objective opinion, who do you believe will win the series this year?
Buck: I would say the Cardinals.

TVGuide.com: I would have never guessed you'd say that.
Buck: Honestly, I think they have the best all-around team and they had the best record during the regular season. But that doesn't really matter. It's who plays the best these next few weeks.

TVGuide.com: Every weekend there are guys sitting around the country listening to your broadcasts thinking that you have a dream job. Tell me something about what you do that might make them think differently.
Buck: I would say the only real drawback is the travel. I've got young daughters who would like to see me at home and don't really care that Dad is on TV. They'd rather see me in the kitchen making oatmeal in the morning! That's the downside. But the other part is that those guys are right — it's the greatest job in the world. You get to sit in the best seats in the house for the biggest games of the weekend. To my mind, there's not much that could be better than that, with the possible exception of being a U.N. delegate.

TVGuide.com: Could you see yourself as a diplomat down the line?
Buck: Sure. That or an ice dancer.

Fox's World Series coverage begins Oct. 22 at 7:30 pm/ET.

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