Labar: The Secret Weapon to a Successful Studio Show

By Abby Labar
Sportmoney Columnist

Every now and then on social media, somebody will quote a statistic that they hear me reel off on a show. Usually along the lines of “Per @abbylabar on Quick Pitch [insert stat here].” Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve spent an unbelievable amount of time throughout the years studying for broadcasts. I’ve always taken pride in my research and preparation, but this year I had a resource that I’ve never had before in my career so it feels a little funny when I see these types of comments on social media because I know the credit is due elsewhere. 

Alas, the MLB Network Research Department. They are truly the oil that feeds the engine that makes an entire show run. From working with the talent to the producers to the graphics department, they feed us so much information in such a timely and unique manner. Before we dive into a Q&A with one of the researchers I work the closest with on Quick Pitch, let me give you a little perspective on how they support my role. 

A daily research packet is sent out to the entire MLB Network team early in the day. This packet provides an overview of league updates as well as a breakdown of notable storylines, streaks and stats for each matchup. I usually review this before heading into the studio so I have an idea of the day's biggest topics, games and what to follow. My producers literally build the show based off of the storylines in this packet. 

When I arrive, the first place I go is the research department. They let me know of any changes and give me an updated research packet. If I have to toss the broadcast to any games before Quick Pitch, they put together the lineups for me with key notes on certain players I can highlight and talk about ahead of the game. When we get to the production meeting, the researchers play a big part in helping us come up with ideas. They’re just as creative as they are intelligent with their statistics and baseball knowledge. If we’re discussing an idea or trying to come up with something, the researchers always chime in with a fun new stat or help us dive deeper into a topic with extra information and support. 

When it’s time to go on set, I always have a researcher in my ear who is available to me at any point in a broadcast. I’m constantly communicating with them and they’re feeding me information on the fly as I am bouncing around highlights and stat boards. I’ll ask them specific questions like “what do you have on this player,” or “can you tell me what this player did in the first inning?” Their ability to bring up the information immediately for me is truly incredible. 

Now keep in mind the relationship and process can be different depending on the talent, the television network or the show. I can’t speak for the role of researchers for other on-air talent, but this can give you a gist of all the work that goes into this role and why they are integral part of the everyday operation. Low and behold, my Q&A with expert MLB Network researcher Matt Orso:

Q: As a show host, I’m familiar with how you guys work with the hosts, but tell me what it’s like working with an analyst and the process that goes into that?

A: All of our analysts are so brilliant and know what they are doing, our job is to know what they’ve done and have reminders if we want to make points with them. For example, a couple years ago I was working Hot Stove and we had on Pat Mahomes Sr. I went back and looked up some game footage of him facing Harold and we ran the footage on the network, the at bat between Mahomes and Harold. Or if I’m working with Alex Avila on a specific date, I’ll go and look ahead of time before he comes in on if he did anything while he was playing “on this day” that I can then relay to the producers and we can add that fun segment to the end of the show. The first time I met Anthony Recker I told him, “Hey I remember your two-homer game against the Cubs.” Knowing your analysts can be anything from an icebreaker to being able to pitch new ideas in production meetings and adds to the great context and analysis our great analysts already have. 

Q: Would you say everyone in the research department grew up die-hard sports fans? Or is it a matter of experience, studying and skill set?

A: I think it’s a combination of both. My area of expertise is baseball history. That’s how I grew up. I was always reading baseball history, any book I could get in my elementary school library on like Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle, etc. The other big skill is knowing how to use the tools at our disposal, like knowing our analyst's career, knowing things ahead of time from things we look up or things we need to be aware of. If we think it’s going to add context to the show specifically when we have a guest on the show. Another example is when we had Jim Thome, who was going to do a breakdown of Manny Machado and on a hunch I felt like they had gone deep together in the same game…and we went back and found them both going deep not only in the same game but the same inning. We showed that footage and we were able to highlight the two of them as teammates giving the show a little extra something that can connect our guys to the viewers. 

Q: What goes into the process of putting together the research packet? One person? Everyone? How much time does it take from start to finish?

A: It’s a departmental effort. The timeline depends on the day. I used to edit the packet on the weekends so I usually get into the office around 5:30am, but I start reading as soon as I get up on things. And when I get in, I start writing my designated packet games. The editor that day writes about 2 or 3 of the 15 games that day and then puts together the shell of the packet as well as the front page, the standings, storylines to look for on a given day, etc. Assistant editors and other writers will contribute by writing a game or two each, and then the editors look them over and double check all the information, adding or editing anything. When it’s good to go, it’s sent out before the 1pm games start. Weekdays it’s different with early shows, so we send an early copy out for the morning shows and then a final version out in the afternoon. It’s a labor of love from everyone in the department. Everyone sees the game a little differently and we are able to put our own spin and analysis on different things. But there are always storylines and angles that we can dive deeper into. Even if there is a game we know we may only talk about for 30 seconds on our air, we make sure there is something there to support it. 

Q: What is the toughest part of your job?

A: Being in the high stress environment of live television and making sure we are always correct. I take great pride in myself on Quick Pitch that we never have mistakes [Editors note: I can attest to this!!!!!]. I want the show to run as smoothly as possible. I don’t want our producers to have to worry about anything, I don’t want you to have to worry about anything, so I am very particular about making sure everything is perfect. I want to show how great our product is. 

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

A: Seeing the ideas that we have make air. Right now I’m working on the BBWA Awards, a packet I started at the end of September. It’s about 56 pages of notes that I’ve separated into different packets. Now that it’s award week, I’m getting to see it come to life: the fullscreens, the ideas, they are all on air. I was getting into the office two hours before the playoff game shifts back in the early rounds of the postseason to make sure I could tackle the work I needed to get done for this show that wasn’t happening until this week. Graphics can’t build until we finish getting the information and producers outline the show based on what we give, so we have to make sure everything is done in a correct and concise manner. So I take great pride in seeing the fruits of all that labor. Our producers do an amazing job, our graphics team does an amazing job, editors, etc., we’re all pulling on the same rope and it’s so rewarding to work with everyone at the network and see the shows come to life. 

Q: What are some resources that you can share with the average fan or other reporters who don’t necessarily have this luxury?

A: There are specific tools for MLB but we use Baseball Reference a lot, which anyone can access. It’s a matter of learning how to use it, and for us specifically, it’s how to find it quickly and get it to our talent concisely. I go by the principle of the three C’s: Clear, Concise and Correct. Clear for our talent, we want to get it to them in as few words as possible because the talent could be having a discussion and they need the information quick in their ear so they can stay a part of the conversation. And correct obviously so the talent doesn’t have to backtrack. 

Other resources that Matt suggested, as well as sites I’ve used before:

• Fangraphs

• Statmuse

• Media Notes on league PR sites or team PR sites (just a matter of finding these – a lot of teams have specific public PR sites that are separate from the team site domain)

Q: What is your advice for young researchers or somebody wanting to do this for a living?

A: If you want to be a researcher you need to be passionate about what you do. It’s a lot of work. Some nights I'm not home until 3am. But if you love baseball or love the job, there is no better job. Keep working at it, believe in yourself, believe in what you do and never give up. I know it sounds cliche…but there is always going to be somebody that might be more talented, but you can control that no one works harder than you. Hard work, determination and the love for what you do, you’ll succeed in this industry. 

A good way to end that one right? I couldn’t agree more with this last statement. Passion is the word I would use for everyone I know that works in this industry, especially researchers. Their job is so demanding that they have to be passionate about what they do. I’m proud to work with Matt and the entire MLB Network research department and am happy I could use my voice in this column to give them the credit (that they truly never ask for) but really do deserve.