Lake Elsinore mayor’s debut in Storm booth is a no-hitter

As the mayor of Lake Elsinore and a labor representative who handles arbitrations and negotiations, Tim Sheridan has to talk a lot.

As a former broadcaster for four stations in upstate New York and a high school football play-byplay broadcaster for a season, he knows how to do it on air, too.

And, as a lifelong baseball fan, he knows the game well.

Sheridan put all those attributes together earlier this month when he broadcast a game for the Lake Elsinore Storm minor league baseball team.

It wasn’t a routine game either.

It was a combined nohitter, a rare feat in baseball. The term means that no player from the Inland Empire 66ers (the Storm’s opponent that night) had a base hit. It was the first no-hitter in the Storm’s 28-year history in Lake Elsinore. Lake Elsinore won the game 150, a wipeout in baseball terms.

Think of Sheridan as the Storm’s ultimate good luck charm.

The game was July 1, three days before you know what, and the attendance that night was 1,776.

From a patriotic quirk to the historic game, Sheridan had a remarkable debut.

The team’s regular broadcaster, Jason

Schwartz, was unavailable the next two games as well, so Sheridan was happy to handle those contests, too.

The games came about because Sheridan told the Storm’s co-general manager, Shaun Brock, that he’d be interested in broadcasting an inning and cited his radio experience.

“He already knew that I was a baseball fan and that I always kept score when I’m at a ballgame,” Sheridan said.

Imagine his surprise when Brock texted him and said that, instead of just an inning, how about a whole game?

The guy who grew up listening to baseball as a kid incorporated two of his favorite broadcasters, Vin Scully and Mel Allen, in his opening remarks.

“Hello there everybody, this is Mayor Tim Sheridan. Welcome to Lake Elsinore baseball,” Sheridan started, a nod to Allen and his New York Yankee broadcasting days. “A very pleasant evening wherever you may be,” he added, echoing a famous line from Scully, the longtime Los Angeles Dodgers‘ voice.

Sheridan was aware that Storm pitchers Garrett Hawkins, who pitched the first seven innings, and Alan Mundo, who threw the last two, were working on a no-hitter. The catcher was Juan Zabala.

“I was rooting for them because I know how hard it is to accomplish such a feat,” he said. “For myself, although I was very fortunate to be calling the nohitter, I do not remember thinking about the fact that the broadcast itself was historical and that I was a participant.”

Later, when interviewed by a reporter from MLB.com about the experience, Sheridan said he realized he played a part, “a very small part, in a historic event. It was and continues to be a great feeling.”

He said the Storm’s Schwartz sent him a nice text about his work and Steve Wendt, the Inland Empire 66ers’ broadcaster, showed him how to pronounce the names of his team’s players.

Sheridan said he thought he did OK. He tweaked his performance as he did the three games, figuring out how to make note of the umpires and working in the scores of other games.

“It was an amazing, amazing experience,” he said.

The Storm’s Brock said Sheridan is the real deal as a broadcaster. He knew he was passionate about the team and his previous experience showed he wouldn’t be a novice in calling a game.

“He did great,” Brock said.

Despite his success, Sheridan said he’s not resuming his broadcasting career.

“I love my job and I love being on the council.”

He’s lucky to love a lot of things, baseball included.