My Triumphant Return to the San Diego Padres "Social Hour"

Photo: San Diego Padres / MLB.com

With Major League Baseball on hold due to the worldwide pandemic, I've been making the media rounds talking about a variety of subjects, including: the game's absence, my experience working in the sport, and the emergence of video gaming as sports entertainment.

Recently on this tour, I was invited back to Padres Social Hour.

Produced in-house by the San Diego Padres content team, Padres Social Hour launched during the 2014 season as an hour-long pregame show utilizing social media for interaction between fans, hosts, and guests. Airing from a studio in Petco Park's historic Western Metal Supply Company building, the program was live-streamed on the team's website and simulcast on FOX Sports San Diego.

My first appearance on Padres Social Hour was on Saturday, April 19th of that season. I was a finalist in a high-profile audition process to become the team's new Public Address Announcer, and I was working that night's contest against the San Francisco Giants.

Hosts Jesse Agler and Padres.com contributor Bill Center spoke with me about my professional background, my current team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and my experience so far in the #PadresPA competition.

A key moment in the interview took place when I was then asked if I was staying in town or flying back to New Hampshire after the game. My response?

"I did not book a plane flight home."

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/babe44_a752c3f38065438493e81ec5f7b2068c/480p/mp4/file.mp4

It was part truth, part confidence, and as it turns out, I didn't need one. I was named the new Voice of Petco Park in the 7th inning, and I haven't missed a game since.

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Following the 2016 season, a decision was made to place the original Padres Social Hour on hiatus, but an opportunity arose in 2020 to reboot the concept in the wake of baseball's absence.

This time, stay-at-home orders and social distancing meant producing a program with no physical studio. Using Streamyard however, a full production could be broadcast to viewers remotely via platforms like Facebook Live, Periscope, Twitch, and padres.com.

Given a much different set of circumstances from my first visit six years ago, I joined the reborn Padres Social Hour from my home on April 8th.

We discussed what it's like recording MLB The Show, some of the famous people I've met and marquee events I've worked at Petco Park in those six years, and my gift to Padres fans on what would've been Opening Day.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/babe44_93d3f08f3baf4f54b443a8bd0611814e/720p/mp4/file.mp4

From Padres Social Hour's reboot on March 20th through my appearance on April 8th, the show has generated over 41,540 replays on the team’s website.

It's safe to say this appearance too, was a success.

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For more of Alex's recent appearances on TV, radio, web, and social, take a look at his Media & Publicity Reel. It includes highlights from interviews done on what would've been Opening Day for the 2020 season.