WKRS hires kid to work w/Les Grobstein

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: Club made right call on radio announcer : LAKE COUNTY FIELDERS : : August 7, 2010 : By BRYAN BONATO Special to The News-Sun : : Dominic Fortini's dream job would be working as a radio announcer for the Cubs and calling the game when they clinch the first World Series title in his or any other living human being's lifetime. : But, of course, the line for that job forms at the right. : For now, he continues in his first season as the Voice of the Lake County Fielders ... the main play-by-play announcer (sharing the microphone on occasion with Les Grobstein ) for the Zion-based minor-league baseball team's games during their inaugural season on Waukegan-based radio station WKRS-AM (1220). : It's been quite the experience, to say the least. : One of those experiences is riding the bus with the team to parts unknown such as Fargo, N.D,, and Winnipeg, Ontario. The team travels to all road games by bus, so Dominic has become well-acquainted with those players who've been with the team all season. : Some road games against the local teams are there-and-back game-day trips, but the journeys to Canada, Fargo and Kansas City are long ones. : And remember, the team started its season with a long road trip, so that was his initiation into minor-league baseball announcing. : "Some days are easier than others," Dominic said of being on the air. "You come off a great series where you take three of four from the first-place team, and then you drop both games of a doubleheader ... nothing makes me want to pound my head on the table more. : "But when they come out and pick up a good win, with a great crowd like there was on Saturday (fireworks night), it's a lot of fun to see." : Dominic always has been interested in radio and he loves baseball, so this job is actually a perfect fit for him. : "Really, I was more interested in radio, but I love baseball," he said. "It's a definite bonus to be involved in both of those things 100 days a year. If I wasn't out here (at a Fielders game), I'd probably be at a Cubs game. I 'call' games from the seats anyway." : And, yes, there's a difference between "calling" a Cubs game from the stands and doing the real thing live on radio. : "The challenge is cleaning it up for radio," he said with a laugh. "My natural tendency is to want to yell, 'Aramis, you lazy (bum)!' But you can't say that on the air." : As you can tell, Dominic is quite the fan -- Cubs and Fielders. : "I grew up listening to Harry (Caray) and Steve (Stone) , and Hawk Harrelson, and Pat (Hughes) and Ron (Santo) on the radio," he said. "I love being able to tell the story of the game, but also, sometimes you get off topic, and it makes the broadcast a bit more colorful. : "Broadcasting a game is really like watching a game with a buddy. You try to think about what your buddy might want to know." : Though only 65 games into his Fielders broadcasting career, Dominic does have a trademark "call," so to speak. It's a bell he rings to celebrate home runs and walk-off hits. : "I used to keep it in my house. When you said witty things in my house, you got to ring the bell. It's something to be happy about," he said. "It only comes out for home runs and walk-offs, but those are things that make me happy. : "It's nice to have a guy like Josh Short on the team with 18 bombs (homers) on the year." : It's also nice to have top-notch announcer calling the games for the local team on the local radio station. : "I would love to do this at Clark & Addison," he grinned. "But, of course, that job is taken right now. : "I don't know what the Fielders' plans are for next year, but I'd love to come back and live the dream again. People ask what it's like to do this. It's living the dream ... both ways. : "You get to sit on a bus for 15-16 houts. Yet, I get to come out and when I go to work, I get to watch baseball." : And for having him in the radio booth, we all ring that bell. : -------------- : THE DOMINIC FORTINI FILE : RADIO VOICE OF THE FIELDERS : Home Facts & Figures : • Grew up in Arlington Heights & attended Wheeling High : • Played baseball in high school and also for the Arlington Heights Legion team : • While playing Legion ball, he faced a Palatine Legion team that features current Fielders hitting coach Pete Pirman. : Radio Facts & Figures : • Studied radio-broadcasting at Columbia College in Chicago : • Worked two years at Chicago radio station WUSN (U.S.99) : • Worked two years at radio news reporter in downstate Galesburg : • Joined Fielders broadcasting team after working seven months doing radio in Breckenridge, Colo. ("It was like a WXRT and a 'drive station.' It was fantastic. It was like, 'Here's some new music, let me tell you a story about it.' ")

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