Harold Reynolds-- Baseball Commentator extraordaire

Harold Reynolds has worked this World Series (2015) as part of the Fox Sports team. He has to be the best baseball analyst events. Reynolds played second base for the Seattle Mariners and was a big league ballplayer from 1983-1994. He was born in 1960. At age 54, Reynolds has developed a comfort level with the microphone and a mature understanding of communicating with the baseball audience.

A few examples... New York Mets vs. Kansas City Royals

Game 1: Reynolds notes that Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores was proving to be a difficult out for Chris Young, the behemoth Kansas City relief pitcher. Young stands 6' 10" and looked like a dominant force. Reynolds added Flores "has great eye-hand coordination, the best on the Mets along with Daniel Murphy." He added that Chris Young "does not have the stuff to get Flores out." Sure enough Flores fouled off multiple pitches, eventually got a walk and trotted off to first base.

Game 1: Reynolds also noted the way Curtis Granderson, another Met player, deftly moved out of the way of a fastball headed right at him. "He's seeing the ball extremely well." Granderson's ability to dodge the pitch indicated to Reynolds that the batter had established a strong position in the batter's box, a nice insight to share with the viewers-- not related to any statistical data. The pitcher avoided serving up any good pitches to Granderson.

Game 2: Reynolds contrasted how the Kansas City Royals hitters have deviated from conventional baseball wisdom by going after good pitches in an aggressive manner. He explained further. The Kansas City hitters never stand passively in the batter's box and take pitches. The attempt to tire pitchers out by lifting the pitch count in not the KC style. Instead, they seek to hit the ball and knock the pitcher out of the game by superior ball contact. They certainly have done that effectively in Game 1 and Game 2 of the Series.

Reynold's grasp of what to share about the finer points of the game truly amazes. He avoids the sports cliches but doesn't not get into minutiae or belabor the statistics. Baseball has a notorious love affair with stats-- and now you can follow the pitch count, review the ball's position as it moves through the batters box, watch the spin on the pitch thanks to super slow motion technology and countless other details. Reynolds is like a breath of fresh air. He tells you what is really happening at keep moments of the game.

Moneyball, the baseball book by Michael Lewis, recounts the absolute tyranny that numbers have claimed over the game of baseball. And, of course, most of the number crunchers never could play the game of baseball beyond the Little League level but have been elevated by virtue of their mastery of big data. Reynolds played the game but does not overstate the case for his real life experience. He offers commentary with clarity and modesty. Reynolds allows the fans to absorbs insights without any showboating or ex-jock braggadocio.