This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado's Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
LOS ANGELES -- Giants outfielder Austin Slater may be sidelined with a dislocated left pinkie, but he still found himself pinch-hitting at Dodger Stadium on Monday night -- in the radio booth, that is.
Hours after he landed on the injured list, Slater was invited to join KNBR’s broadcast of the Giants’ 7-4 win over the Dodgers, serving as a guest analyst for eight innings alongside play-by-play man and fellow Stanford alum Dave Flemming.
“The game flew by,” Slater said. “It was a lot of fun. I’m glad I stuck with it for a little while. I felt like I got into a rhythm after the first couple innings.”
Slater had no previous broadcasting experience, but he was approached by senior director of team operations Abe Silvestri approximately 45 minutes before first pitch and asked if he’d be interested in filling in at the last second.
“I was like, ‘Sure, I guess,’” Slater said. “I’ll do it.”
The most challenging part of the assignment may have been simply finding his way up to the press box. Slater, dressed in his street clothes, tried to avoid the jam-packed elevators and take the stairs, but he ended up walking all the way up to the third deck at Dodger Stadium.
“I probably asked like three people where it was,” Slater said. “They were like, ‘Who’s this guy?’”
Slater said he didn’t hear from too many people afterward, though he did receive a text from his mom. Gabe Kapler obviously couldn’t tune in while managing the game, but he said he heard positive feedback from a few of his coaches.
“I heard it was great,” said Kapler, who signed off on Slater’s foray into broadcasting. “I think it’s nice that he had a good experience and great that he was able to do it with Dave because Dave is a star.
“I wouldn’t have expected it, honestly. He’s smart, so maybe that’s helpful.”
Slater returned to San Francisco to continue his rehab on Tuesday, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll return to the booth in the future.
“Hopefully I can stick with this job for a little while,” Slater said.