From well-known MLB incubators like the Arizona Fall League to the burgeoning baseball scene in Melbourne, Australia, Michael Marcantonini has strapped on his headset and given voice to thousands of hardball hopefuls trying to make the bigs.

“My goal is always to showcase who the players are, not just as athletes but as people,” Marcantonini says. “If I can tell those stories and help the people tuned in get to know these guys in the minors, by the time they get to the major leagues, people will be able to say they knew them way back when. It’s really cool to help build them up.”

Marcantonini ’17 Com, who spent the past four years as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Aberdeen Ironbirds, the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, has recently transitioned into a freelance role, broadcasting baseball and other sports for ESPN+. He also hosts a YouTube interview series called “All MIKE’d Up,” in which he interviews baseball players and other key figures in the game.

“I don’t ask the guests a ton of baseball questions,” he says. “I try to ask fun, interactive questions, and if I get the guys smiling and laughing, then I know it’s a good interview.”

His goal, he says, is to liven his interviews with novel, compelling stories, as opposed to “spewing out the same stats every game.”

As an undergrad, Marcantonini was sports director for University Park’s student radio station, The Lion 90.7fm, broadcasting baseball, basketball, and football games. Baseball, though, remains his favorite sport—and since childhood, he’s aspired to have a career connected to the game. —Madeline Marriott