ARLINGTON (WBAP/KLIF) – When Major League Baseball returns to ballparks on Thursday for an abbreviated season prompted by COVID-19, there won’t be fans in the stands. But, you may not be able to tell by the sound of it.
The Texas Rangers will continue to provide an in-game atmosphere with legendary Public Address Announcer Chuck Morgan. Dallas sound man Michael Gruber will contribute to the entertainment with sound effects and music.
“If a Ranger makes an awesome play then we got cheers that can go up and down in volume,” said Gruber. “We’re still using the ‘lets-go Rangers’ [chant] and we just try to make it sound like a Rangers game.”
The Rangers will pump crowd noise through the speakers to replicate a packed house.
“We’re going to have some ambient crowd noise the whole time,” Gruber said.
It is a bitter sweet return to the ballpark for ‘Grubes’ who also works sound for the Dallas Mavericks and Stars. He’ll likely work a significantly less number of games this year, but to him a shortened 60-game MLB season is better than no baseball at all.
“Before all this started I was actually stressing about how busy I was about to be,” said Gruber. “I was trying to figure out how I was going to balance all the schedules and then everything got totally wiped out and I just pretty much sat on the couch for two-and-a half months.”
When the end of school came around, the calendar filled up. Gruber ran sound for graduation ceremonies that were held in large venues amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I believe I did 56 total in the month of June,” he said.
Now, ‘Grubes,’ and others behind the scenes, face the task of providing entertainment at empty ballparks.
“It’s just going to be an amazing stadium for Rangers fans whenever they do get to come in,” he emphasized.
The MLB season gets its season started on Thursday. The Rangers open their season Friday night in Arlington against Colorado.
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