2017 Cardinal Approval Ratings: Media

As you know, every year I give you the opportunity to rate players, media, and assorted other topics relating to the Cardinals in the Cardinal Approval Ratings.  We looked at the players a week or so ago, so now let’s take a crack at the media folks.

Derrick Goold

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 7
Prior year number: 81.2%
Average before 2017: 85.1%

Most everyone that’s coming to this site is familiar with Derrick, who is the beat writer for the Post-Dispatch and has been covering the Cardinals for quite some time.  It’s possible that the familiarity isn’t necessarily working in his favor, as his approval numbers have dropped steadily over the past four years.  The trend didn’t change in 2017 either, as he again drops about two points and slips under the 80% threshold for the first time.

2017 score: Down 2.1% to 79.1%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 0
Most common score: 95

Jim Hayes

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 7
Prior year number: 70.3%
Average before 2017: 73.4%

The Cat always seems to be someone that you either love or hate.  One of the sideline voices for FOX Sports Midwest as well as a presence in the St. Louis radio market, the reviewing pool has never been overly kind to Hayes, though he definitely comes in better than some of his coworkers.  That sample size shifted in his favor this year, as he reached his highest mark ever.

2017 score: Up 10.8% to 81.1%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 10
Most common score: 80

Ricky Horton

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 7
Prior year number: 65.3%
Average before 2017: 66.1%

Speaking of coworkers that Hayes ranks higher than (and don’t worry, that’s not a topic we’ve exhausted), Ricky’s always sat around the same mid-60s number.  His high was 69.1% his first year, his low 63.3% in 2014.  Even with (or perhaps because of) more exposure, now that he covers some of Mike Shannon‘s road work, the needle just doesn’t move much for the former Cardinal hurler, though like the Cat it did trend upward for him this season.

2017 score: Up 3.1% to 68.4%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 0
Most common score: 80

Al Hrabosky

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 5
Prior year number: 46.2%
Average before 2017: 55.2%

With the passing of Joe Strauss, the least-liked mantle has been passed to Al, which is not a surprise at all if you spend time on Twitter.  The gruff old reliever usually garners scores that would cause a middle school student to have his parents called, but it all depends on who does the voting, as he did put up a couple of mid-60s scores back in the day.  This year’s voting pool tended to be more generous to him as well, giving him a score a little above his average.  (Though I will say that I’m astonished anyone gave Al a 100 mark, but it happened!)

2017 score: Up 12.1% to 58.3%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 0
Most common score: 80

Jenifer Langosch

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 5
Prior year number: 74.9%
Average before 2017: 77.7%

While I know a good number of people adore Jenifer and I think she does an excellent job as well, if our history is any indication she’s never really clicked with a lot of those participating in these polls.  She does fine enough–mid-70s is nothing to be ashamed of–but there are the really high totals that we occasionally see with other media types.  There’s nothing wrong with a solid, consistent worker though, is there?

2017 score: Up 1.7% to 76.6%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 0
Most common score: 90

Dan McLaughlin

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 6
Prior year number: 66.3%
Average before 2017: 72.4%

I really am surprised that Dan doesn’t rank a bit higher.  He’s shown a dry wit on his Twitter account, he’s not ashamed to poke a little fun at himself, and he gets the fan reaction to his partners, even if he doesn’t necessarily agree with it.  Dan also does a fine job on FOX Sports Midwest, even while rotating through sidekicks.  Yet this year is his highest ever level and he still won’t be the highest FSMW guy on our rankings.

2017 score: Up 11.3% to 77.6%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 35
Most common score: 90

Bernie Miklasz

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 3
Prior year number: 77.4%
Average before 2017: 79.9%

I’ve said it before, but I think I hear much less from Bernie once he moved out of the Post-Dispatch space and got into radio.  I don’t listen to his show (which isn’t surprising since I’m not in the market) and while he still writes, and I still follow the link to his writing at times, it doesn’t seem quite the same.  Plus his interaction with Goold on the Best Podcast in Baseball was something great to behold.  Bernie was a mid-80s guy the first year we did the polling.  Could be the voter makeup that he’s never gotten there again, could be the move.

2017 score: Up 2.6% to 80.0%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 10
Most common score: 80

John Rooney

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 9
Prior year number: 71.2%
Average before 2017: 79.9%

While Shannon might be “the voice of the Cardinals”, it’s Rooney that we hear the most from, especially now that Shannon has eased up his workload.  Some have never liked his overexcitement on fly balls and I think he’s more likely to call out umpires than I would expect, but he also has a great radio broadcasting voice that just feels like baseball.  It’s probably not a surprise he’s usually hovering around that 80% level.  Take the good with the bad and all that.

2017 score: Up 6.7% to 77.9%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 3
Most common score: 85

Mike Shannon

Number of years polled (counting 2017): 9
Prior year number: 72.7%
Average before 2017: 79.9%

Shannon’s not going to be with us forever, a fact that has been borne out with his reasonable refusal to do road games anymore.  Shannon might forget the score for long stretches, but he’ll tell you an interesting story while he’s not telling you about the game.  His distinctive style and homespun approach have endeared him to many, but maybe not the ones that took the time to vote here.  His support has continued to erode from the 90+ mark he had nine years go, but I imagine there’s another boost coming before he calls it quits.

2017 score: Up 5.8% to 78.5%
Highest score: 100
Lowest score: 0
Most common score: 80

Two-thirds of the way done.  Next time, whenever that might be, we’ll talk about some of the people and concepts that complete the Cardinal experience.

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