When Zach Goodman was 6 years old, he dressed up like a baseball broadcaster, tie included. He practiced by watching games on TV and announcing into a tape recorder.
announced Wednesday that the 25-year-old Goodman will join longtime broadcaster Jack Corrigan in the radio booth beginning Saturday night when the Rockies host the Philadelphia Phillies at Coors Field. Zach is the son of Drew Goodman, the longtime television play-by-play man for the Rockies.
“The only two things I ever really wanted to do were play baseball and be a big-league baseball broadcaster,” said Zach Goodman, who graduated from Arapahoe High School. “On a scale of one to 10, (this is) about a thousand.”
Corrigan, who’s been broadcasting in the major leagues for 41 years, including 24 with the Rockies, is excited to see what the rookie can do.
“It’s a great opportunity for a young man who has grown up being a diehard fan of baseball and the Rockies,” Corrigan said. “I’m eager to see what he can do working with (producer) Jesse Thomas and me.”
For most of the last two seasons, Zach has been calling games on radio and TV for the an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was driving to Amarillo on Wednesday to fulfill his final obligations with the Sod Poodles before returning to Denver for Saturday’s game.
The Rockies have been searching for someone to team with Corrigan since Jerry Schemmel, the longtime Colorado broadcaster, was laid off for the second time by iHeartMedia last October.
During spring training games, the Rockies auditioned Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes announcer Josh Suchon, Double-A Hartford Yard Goats announcer Jeff Dooley, and Zach. Zach also worked a three-game stint in the KOA radio booth last July.
Drew Goodman said he was “over the moon” about the news. However, both father and son are aware that some will scream “nepotism” about KOA’s decision. Nothing could be further from the truth, Drew said.
“I had absolutely nothing to do with Zach getting hired,” Drew said by phone from Toronto after he finished calling the Rockies’ 2-1, 10-inning win over the Blue Jays. “Zach worked his tail off, and he did this on his own. I could not be prouder of him. He’s earned this.”
Zach brought up the topic without being asked.
“In terms of this Rockies job, my dad didn’t have any influence at all,” Zach said. “He stayed out of this. This was about my relationship with Dave Tepper, the program director at KOA. We developed a relationship, and he didn’t even know my dad.
“Throughout the whole process, my dad made a point of not getting involved in this. That feels good, knowing I’m probably going to get a little bit of feedback, in a negative way, from people who don’t like the whole nepotism thing. But I know in my heart that that really didn’t play much of a role in this. I’m proud of that and my dad’s proud of that.”
Tepper first heard Zach during a one-inning guest stint during a Rockies telecast several years ago.
“I didn’t know Dave Tepper at all, but he liked the little bit he heard from Zach, and he kept tabs on him,” Drew said.
Zach, naturally, spent a lot of his youth at Coors Field and fell in love with baseball at a young age. That helped prepare him for his future career.
“I knew how a baseball broadcast worked,” Zach said. “I’ve listened to a million in my life, and I take a lot of pride in my knowledge of the game. My coach in college would always tell guys that if they screwed up something baseball-wise, they should ‘Go talk to Goody.’ ”
Zach, a catcher at Arapahoe, played six seasons of collegiate baseball and served as team captain at Webster University in St. Louis. He was able to play for six seasons because his college career was interrupted by the pandemic.
A sports communications and business major at Webster, Zach gained broadcast experience by calling several sports during college, including baseball, hockey, football, basketball and volleyball. He also worked on the broadcast of numerous high school and collegiate sports in the St. Louis area.
“As far as getting into the broadcast business, my dad had a massive influence,” Zach said. “I think all kids try to emulate their fathers, because that’s who you look up to, more than anyone in the world.
“We both share a great love of the game of baseball. This is my true love in life.”
Zach, who has not created his own home run call — “I didn’t want to come up with something too contrived or planned,” he said — is eager to work alongside Corrigan.
“I want to be a sponge to Jack and everything he has to offer,” Zach said. “He has more experience than practically anybody in the business.”
As for being a 25-year-old in a big-league booth, Zach said: “I absolutely believe I’m ready. My whole life, I’ve compared broadcasting to playing baseball. Just like in baseball, you get nervous at the start of a game, but I trusted that I had put in all of the work, and once the game started, I was confident and got into the flow.
“That’s exactly how I feel about broadcasting. I mean, there was some pressure in those spring training tryouts, and I wanted to give my best performance. But once I put the headset on, I knew I was prepared. I knew I had done my studying.”
