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Monday, July 02, 2001

Twenty-four-years-old, a play-by-play pubescent, but he already has trekked thousands upon thousands of miles, already has come so far. Oh, the buses he rides. The baseball vineyards he stomps. The stories he compiles.

The Brewers of Helena, Mont., in 1998. The Raptors of Ogden, Utah, in 1999. A collective 47-106 record at those remote stops caused him to proudly state: "My first two years, I was the losingest broadcaster in baseball."

The Mudville Nine last season, a California club based in Stockton where "Casey at the Bat" supposedly took place.

The centennial year of the Arkansas Travelers this season.

Which only figures.

Phil Elson -- former Allderdice High School catcher, onetime Indiana University of Bloomington student and a Point Park College graduate -- wandered the minor-league baseball frontier until he officially became a Traveler.

This past weekend brought him to Round Rock, Texas. That was preceded by a San Antonio series and a plague of stomach flu that turned a relief pitcher into his team's designated hitter. It's a half-day ride to the center of the Texas League from Little Rock, Ark., the 100-year home of this Class AA franchise. At least these Travelers know how to bus: They hit the road in style on a vehicle that comfortably sleeps 28, cooks snacks in a microwave and carries a DirecTV hookup.

Tris Speaker was once a Traveler. Same for Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, Andy Van Slyke, J.D. Drew, Ferguson Jenkins and Richie Allen. An Arkansas connection is about the only way you'll ever see those names linked together. Those, and Phil Elson of Squirrel Hill.

"It's a far cry from where I was two years ago," said Elson, since January the Travelers' public-relations director and play-by-play announcer. "I was broadcasting a 76-game season in rookie baseball then. Now, I'm seeing excellent baseball, the best by far since I interned for the Pirates in 1996."

Alfredo Amezaga is a Traveler. Same for Elpidio Guzman, Radhames Dyhkoff, Chris Demouy, Derick Urquhart and Tony Socarras. The names may not sound familiar as they roll trippingly off Elson's tongue, but this Arkansas bunch of Anaheim Angels minor-leaguers won the first-half East Division title by a half-game over Wichita, thus earning the play-by-play announcer the first postseason berth of his minor-league experience. Between his previous press-box stops and his passion for his hometown Pirates, "I'm definitely used to losing."

This broadcasting sojourn all started at age 12, alongside his father. Howard Elson, whom the son describes as the "singing, sports-writing dentist," served as host on the KDKA-AM weekend night sports-talk shows. Phil Elson went to the station and to Pirates games with his father. He grew into an Allderdice catcher who once earned PG Athlete of the Week honors and a fledgling broadcaster with the career objective to become the voice of the Boston Red Sox.

So the Elson kid set about a play-by-play path. The Pirates' publicity department internship led to a summer in Class AA Akron working mostly as "Orbit the Space Cat," which lead to a summer in rookie league at Helena working media relations and color commentary. Then, his senior year at Point Park, he landed the full-time gig with rookie league Ogden, where the boss was the local mortuary owner and the man for whom the field was named. Not only that, "he was the worst scoreboard operator in baseball," Elson related.

After the Pioneer League bus trips where the mountain scenery was breathtaking and you awoke after two hours "with 15 minutes sleep and all the blood in your lower extremities," Mudville and Class A California were downers. Then, in January, with only three Class AA broadcast jobs vacant, Elson and Tilly the adopted California cat were on their way home to Pittsburgh when he stopped in Little Rock for an interview. And that was how he officially became a Traveler.

He fills the three-hour games with a steady, clear baseball call. Friday night, Gary Johnson clouted the club's first home run in 10 games. "Boy, that felt nice to say -- home run, Arkansas Travelers," Elson told his radio and Internet audience (I listened on the Travs.com Web site).

Later, proving he wasn't simply a homer, he also told his audience about "an awful at-bat" by Mike Christiansen, who struck out swinging. This all came in between commercial breaks for the Seventh Street Tattoo parlor, the public library, a tractor dealer, a Mississippi casino and cheese.

Tonight brings a weekend series finale in Round Rock. Tomorrow, the club returns home to Ray Winder Stadium, where they twice this season held Midget Wrestling promotions, for a Fireworks Night with Wichita. The old ballpark sits down the way from a psychiatric hospital and next to the American Red Cross building. It's all good for Elson, whose Travelers experience was further enhanced by his first freeze-frame of immortality.

"Of all the perks of broadcasting baseball, having my own baseball card could be the coolest part of the job."

Maybe someday soon, in Class AAA or beyond, he'll even get to fly regularly.

In addition to The Big Picture, Chuck Finder writes a general-sports column exclusive to the http://www.post-gazette.com/ every Tuesday. He can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com