Better call mama: Marney Gellner savors her turn behind Twins' play-by-play mic

May 2024 · 9 minute read

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The only complaint Marney Gellner had relating to her three days in the Twins’ broadcast booth this week is that her family’s luggage never arrived.

Other than that, Gellner was thrilled with how yet another career highlight played out, as she became the first female play-by-play announcer in Twins history. Gellner handled her last of three games as the team’s radio and television broadcaster on Monday. She also called the team’s exhibition games on Friday and Sunday.

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Whether it was the playful banter she traded with longtime friend and Twins radio analyst Dan Gladden, the outpouring of positive feedback she has received, or dropping a “Better call mama” after a Twins home run, the Fox Sports North reporter couldn’t be happier with her first spring-training experience.

“It is one of the most memorable professional moments,” Gellner said. “It’s incredibly heartwarming that the Twins themselves trusted me and know that I can handle this. They weren’t even hesitant (enough) to say, ‘Come in the studio and do a practice game and if it looks like you can handle it, we’ll give you some games.’ They just gave me three games. … I will never forget this.”

Gellner isn’t a stranger to the play-by-play role.

In addition to her duties as a sideline reporter for the Twins, Wild and Timberwolves, Gellner has called Minnesota Lynx games for the past nine seasons as well as softball, volleyball and basketball games for the Big Ten Network. Gellner also twice filled in as the lead announcer for Dave Benz on Timberwolves broadcasts, in December and February. She had roughly 100 games as a play-by-play announcer on her resume before the Twins phoned in November to ask if she had interest in calling three games this March.

Still, Gellner suspected spring training would be a challenge. Not only do both teams normally make an absurd amount of late-inning substitutions that drive scorekeepers and announcers alike mad as they try to keep with the changes, she’s in the middle of the NBA season. Her schedule prevented Gellner from arriving to camp until Thursday morning.


Marney Gellner, with Dan Gladden in the booth in Florida. “The beauty of it is he did not change one bit for me,” Gellner says. (Courtesy Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins)

Speaking to reporters early Monday, Gellner said she felt far more comfortable in her second game Sunday from a logistical standpoint, as she knew how to better organize her game information in the booth.

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“From Friday to Sunday was a huge improvement,” Gellner said. “I needed to learn how to get ahead.”

Gellner, who has worked for Fox Sports North since October 2002, credited Gladden for aiding her in several areas. She’s never worked a radio broadcast. Gladden helped her keep up the pace Friday in constantly delivering critical details such as pitch count, score, inning and outs. And from the outset, Gladden eased Gellner’s concerns about making mistakes, assuring her they’d make plenty of miscues because it’s spring training.

“The game is fast enough, but just to try to keep up with it, it’s not easy when you’re at spring training and you’re replacing (players), and all of a sudden, you’ve got 96 and 97 out there and you’re trying to put a name to them,” Gladden said before Monday’s game. “I think she’s settled in. I think it would be helpful, also, if she was doing three games against the same team. I don’t think that helps too much, but it just means you’ve just got to study each day a little more for a new team.”

The back and forth between Gladden and Gellner on Friday’s broadcast — all three of her games were aired on MLB Network — at one point caused a stir as fans determined Gladden was dismissing his new partner’s ideas. When Gellner mentioned the “opener” concept, Gladden quickly shot it down, which prompted Gellner to say she would turn off her microphone.

Listeners voiced their concern for Gellner via social media. But Gellner dismissed the notion she was under siege.

“(Gladden) and I have been friends for years, and the beauty of it is he did not change one bit for me,” Gellner said. “There were people who were concerned for my welfare after the first game, which shocked me. But they must not know him or know me because he treated me the same way he would treat (radio play-by-play broadcaster) Cory (Provus), the same way he treats (TV play-by-play broadcaster) Dick (Bremer).

Not sure I can express how amazing this experience was. Calling 3 @Twins games, incredible weather, fantastic people – what a trip. I am truly thankful and ridiculously blessed 🙌❤️😊 pic.twitter.com/cYCL6OgLnA

— Marney Gellner (@MarneyGellner) March 5, 2019

“(TV analyst) Bert (Blyleven) has the same feelings (about the opener). … It’s just hard to come around to that concept. I wasn’t trying to poke the bear, I was trying to engage in a conversation, and he shot back pretty quickly. But I didn’t think anything of it. It was very Danny-like.

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“I said, ‘I’m just going to turn my mic off’ and I turned my mic off. I went silent. I know. You can see it. He’s pissed and he’s serious, and you’ve got to give it eight seconds before he comes back around and then he’s good old Danny again.”

Twins radio producer Kyle Hammer was in the booth for all three games. He noted that Gellner and Gladden spent time in each trading barbs and even regaling stories about some of the pranks they’ve played on one another in their 16 years working together with the Twins.

“She wasn’t mad,” Hammer said. “She wasn’t angry. … It was a jab at him.

“If you don’t know the relationship, and it’s hard because you can’t specifically tell people that, you just have to let them figure it out. That’s a slow process. … Anybody in that chair, he would have said the same exact thing to.”

Gladden said he has looked forward to working with Gellner since he heard the news in November. But true to form, in noting how much he has liked working together in the booth, Gladden took another shot at his temporary partner.

“If you know Marney Gellner, I don’t care if you’re doing broadcasts, on a plane ride, or on a bus trip, you’re having fun,” Gladden said. “Other than when I hear her sing.”

While she didn’t sing on air, Gellner made it her own.

When Twins first baseman C.J. Cron hit the first of two home runs on Monday, a low-line shot that just cleared the right-field fence, Gellner dropped in her “Better call mama” reference.

Hey C.J. Cron … CALL YO MAMA!!!#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/V9I8NhdjAJ

— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) March 5, 2019

And, when an opposing player struck out, Gellner snuck in the phrase “And scene.”

Gellner said she’s been inundated with positive reactions from friends, fans and colleagues across the country who have caught her national broadcasts. She’s pleased with how quickly she learned the rhythm of a broadcast and where to gain more information in a unique setting that offers sparse data at best. Gellner also liked how she handled the challenge of staying locked in mentally during 3 1/2-hour games full of lesser-known minor-leaguers.

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The only challenge she didn’t like was a “first-world problem” of trying to track down her family’s luggage. Gellner’s husband and two children flew in a day after her, arriving on Friday. Their luggage hadn’t reached them by the time they returned to Minneapolis on Monday afternoon.

But just about everything else was smooth, she said.

“The feedback was very, for the most part, positive,” Gellner said. “It has been overwhelming because I feel like if somebody took the time to send me a text or a note on Facebook or Twitter that I want to acknowledge it and be like, ‘I read that and thank you so much. That really touched me.’ I don’t reply to everyone because that’s totally obnoxious. There’s that fine line. And of course, in reading the positive comments there are negative comments and those hurt and I try to brush them aside, and thankfully the percentages have been more in the positive side. I’ve been really thrilled with the people that have reached out.

“It has been overwhelming. I keep it in perspective. This is a really big deal for me, personally, professionally.”

Gibson looks strong in spring debut

Though he’s not yet at his preferred weight, Kyle Gibson’s bout with E. coli didn’t slow him down in his first outing of the spring. The right-hander struck out the side in the second of two scoreless innings, and he was happy with just about everything aside from command of his four-seam fastball.

Here are the three swinging strikes Kyle Gibson got to K the side in the top of the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/Jq36YFXxJa

— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) March 4, 2019

After losing 20 pounds, Gibson said he gained about five back and weighed 204 on Monday. At a time when most players have trouble maintaining weight, Gibson said he’s working hard to gain it back.

“It’s difficult,” Gibson said. “I’m trying to eat a little bit healthier and eat things that are a little bit easier on my stomach. I’ve never really been a guy that can gain weight when I eat healthy, so it’s been a little bit more difficult. But so far it’s been going well. I haven’t lost weight since spring training started, so that’s good. But it’s just about adding in snacks, adding in little meals here and there to keep your body from getting overly hungry.

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E. coli can kind of just wreck your system a little bit and cause other issues so just trying to find the foods that my body is going to break down as easy as possible, going to do a blood test or whatever I need to do to figure out what my body does break down better and try to find the foods that are going to absorb best into my body and fuel it the best I can.”

Berríos named the Twins’ Opening Day starter

Shortly after the conclusion of Monday’s game, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli announced that José Berríos is scheduled to start the team’s March 28 opener.

Berríos went 12-11 with a 3.84 REA and 202 strikeouts in 192 1/3 innings last season.

“We were all very happy to give him that news,” Baldelli said. “I think he was also happy to hear it. He’s earned it. He’s a wonderful guy. I was happy to see him so excited.

“It is definitely a badge of honor, and it’s definitely something that’s very meaningful. I think it makes a lot of sense.”

(Top photo of Marney Gellner: Courtesy Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins)

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