How Curtis Granderson Introduced Me to Chris Shearn

Curtis Granderson makes a play during his rehab start with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier this season.

It was anything but a typical day at the ballpark for me on Thursday, May 9th. Curtis Granderson, star outfielder of the New York Yankees, would be making his first of five rehab starts with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at PNC Field in Moosic, Pennsylvania.

My routine started semi-typically, though. I was sitting in the waiting room of Binghamton, New York’s only Midas location, waiting ever so patiently for my oil change and tire rotation to be done. However, I had already been there for two hours, and my patience was starting to wear thin.

Finally, my friend Tim emerged from the garage and told me my car was done. However, he then gave me the rundown of how much damage this baseball season has actually done to my car thus far.

“You’re nearing 80,000 miles, and you’ve got a few issues in here,” Tim began. “There’s a leak in your oil filter, and the only way to replace that is by replacing the entire filter. Your battery is about to die, and we recommend that you replace the spark plugs.”

“Great,” I mumbled to myself. I knew these things were inevitable.

“We also noticed you were completely out of windshield fluid, so we filled that up for you today, on the house,” Tim continued.

They let her wear a headset at the RailRiders. What are they thinking?

“Well, at least there’s that!” I said. He handed me back my obnoxious blue and purple cheetah-print keychain, and I then hit the road for the stadium.

Still slightly frustrated by my oil change experience, I switched my focus to the task at hand – photograph the heck out of Granderson for Sports Media Watchdog. I knew he wouldn’t be taking the field until approximately 6:30 PM, but I arrived by 5:30 to ensure that I wouldn’t miss my photo-op in case of herds of traffic.

Surprisingly (shockingly actually), there were no crazy mobs of traffic filtering into PNC Field’s parking lot. Instead, I drove straight through the parking lot to the VIP parking area, where there were still plenty of spots left. I entered the stadium and was surprised that it remained relatively empty throughout the night. Apparently word of Granderson’s rehab didn’t really get around the community until the next night.

I continued with my normal routine after entering the ballpark, which usually consists of stopping by the press box and picking up media notes, followed by scouring the concourse for the RailRiders’ only female intern, Gina, my Double Play counterpart.

And trust me, that’s harder than it sounds. Most of the time, she can either be found at the gates or working a table where fans can spin a wheel and win prizes. But of course, not tonight. I looked at the clock in center field and decided it was best to head down to the field. I’d find her later.

I flashed my credential to the employee guarding the door to the field, and the second I stepped onto the dirt, I saw something I didn’t expect to see – Granderson, in the dugout, quietly sitting by a coach.

Curtis Granderson prior to his rehab start in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 9, 2013.

All too automatically, I snapped the cap off my camera lens and began taking pictures. I had my iPhone in the other hand for social media purposes. Luckily for me, Granderson wasn’t too deep in pre-game mediation and noticed my photographer self taking pictures of him. We made brief eye contact, and he smiled at me.

Thank you for turning this moment into an awesome photo op, Curtis.

Smiling back, I continued doing my job.

Then, Granderson, as if on cue, rose from the dugout’s bench, tossed aside his gatorade cup, and turned to a few fans who were hanging into the dugout. As he began signing autographs, he turned to the camera and smiled.

Granderson might be the friendliest guy in baseball.

“Is this really happening?” I thought to myself. “Curtis Granderson just posed for my camera!”

It was a few minutes later that the rest of the RailRiders emerged from the clubhouse and took the field for warmups. Granderson finished up his impromptu autograph session and joined his team of the weekend for stretching.

Curtis Granderson stretches with the SWB RailRiders on May 9, 2013.

“This was totally worth the Midas frustration,” continued my internal dialogue with myself. I wandered up the third base line to capture some of the pre-game action on my cameras, and as the team headed back into the dugout, Granderson took a detour and signed as many autographs as he had time for.

As this was going on, I saw a two-man crew out of the corner of my eye, heading over to Granderson. I immediately recognized the tall one as Chris Shearn.

“Holy crap,” I thought to myself. “That’s Chris Shearn! And that camera-man Joe guy!”

As a longtime fan of the YES Network, I remembered when Shearn first emerged on the air. He joined the channel in prior to its debut in 2002 and is most known for hosting the Yankees Batting Practice Today show, in addition to performing the “Sports Sprint” update during the simulcasts of WFAN’s Miked Up with Mike Francesa.

I also had another flashback. I had actually talked to this guy before.

When I first signed up for Twitter in 2009, I was one of Shearn’s first followers. I remember interacting with him about the Yankees and telling him of my career aspirations and would always be so pleasantly surprised to see he had taken the time to respond to me.

“If you ever want to come tour the YES studios, let me know,” Shearn direct messaged me back then. “We can set something up if you’d like to come to Connecticut.”

“That would be awesome!” I remember responding. Needless to say, due to a few crazy busy years at Ithaca College, that idea never really evolved into solid plans.

YES Network’s Chris Shearn covers Granderson’s rehab.

Now, Shearn and his camera man were standing in front of me, covering the same Yankees rehab that I was. When he was done filming his interview with Granderson, Shearn turned towards me with a look in his eye that said “where do I know you from?”

“Are you Chris Shearn?” I asked him, even though I already knew the answer. “I’m Nicole Sorce. I’ve been a follower of yours on Twitter for years now.”

“Oh my goodness, hello!” Shearn said with an excited tone. “So nice to finally meet you! Joe, meet Nicole Sorce!”

We spent about ten minutes chatting as we continued to observe Granderson’s pre-game autograph frenzy by the home dugout.

“The offer still stands if you’d like to come shadow me at the YES Network,” Shearn told me. “You can come out to Stamford and see how we put together the batting practice show.”

“I’d love to!” I exclaimed.

Curtis Granderson makes the day of many SWB RailRiders fans.

“Great, here’s my email,” he said as he gave me his contact information. “Let’s aim for a date in June.”

“Sounds good to me! I can’t wait!” I gratefully said as we all finished up our pre-game duties.

With the National Anthem nearing, it was time for all media to exit the field. The only thing on my mind at that point was to find Gina immediately and tell her everything that just happened.

I then spotted my younger sister with the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life.

“It’s my job to escort him around for a while,” Gina explained. She was leading around a tall mascot that looked like one of those Christmas nutcracker guys but in a RailRiders attire.

This thing, however, was too creepy for me to handle.

“Let me just tell you what happened so I can go watch Granderson some more!” I practically yelled, almost out of breath.

“What? Can I see your pictures of Grandy?” she asked.

“HE POSED FOR MY PICTURE, GINA,” I told her.

“That’s awesome!” she said as the creature she was “mascorting” started running after a small child.

“God,” said Gina, watching the mascot proceed to make the child cry. “Anyway. Is that all?”

Granderson chats with coaches and teammates before his first start this season for SWB RailRiders.

“NO!” I responded.

“What else, then?”

“I met Chris Shearn from the YES Network!” I exclaimed.

“Oh my God, I’m so jealous!”

“But that’s not all. He invited me to shadow him at the YES Network next month!” I told her.

“I’M COMING,” Gina demanded. The mascot was now interested in creeping on people in the team store, conveniently located directly behind me. I felt this thing’s shadow on my back, and I’ve never been more creeped out in my entire life.

“I’ll ask him when I email him. I don’t see why not,” I said.

“We are The Double Play, after all,” she said. “Plus, I took you to Boomer and Carton.”

“It was more like I drove you to New York City and then all the way the hell back up here for your quiz in the same morning….” I began. The mascot was then on the move again, so it was time for the sister act to part ways.

“I’ll see you later,” Gina said in an annoyed tone.

I then ventured into the right field bleachers where there was plenty of empty space for me to take photos of Granderson from. There were scattered fans and families throughout the section, but again, to my surprise, the park was relatively empty, especially in the part of the outfield a New York Yankee was rehabbing in.

Curtis Granderson in right at PNC Field on May 9, 2013.

That’s me casually stalking Curtis Granderson during his (first) rehab earlier this season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

However, I couldn’t complain one bit. I got a front row glimpse of Granderson’s time spent in the outfield that night, and it wasn’t until after a few innings of documenting his every move that a fan tapped me on the shoulder. He had been sitting behind me the whole time.

“Hey, you’re the girl that was on the field taking pictures of Granderson before the game,” he said.

“Yup, that’s me!” I said.

“I was down there, and you’re in the back of a few of these pictures. Want me to send them to you?” the fan said.

“Sure! That’s pretty lucky for me,” I said back.

Needless to say, that picture quickly turned into my favorite “selfie” of all time.

I spent the latter half of the game trying to get pictures of Granderson at the plate and on base, and when I was done for the night, I went to find my sister to say bye to her. It was then I encountered the giant mascot monster, and this time, he was unattended.

I legit wanted to cry every time I saw this thing.

I stopped dead in his tracks like a deer caught in headlights and immediately turned around, sprinting down the concourse in the opposite direction. Just as I was gaining speed, Gina popped out of one of the bathrooms and began laughing hysterically at what she saw – the mascot, chasing after me, on the concourse.

I grabbed my sister’s arm and pushed her back into the bathroom. Out of breath, I gave her my “end-of-the-night-sister-rundown.”

“I’m done…. *deep breath* … Got all of my pictures,” I struggled to tell her. There was an older woman fixing her lipstick in the mirror that paused what she was doing to watch our exchange.

“So I guess you’re going back home now?”

“Yeah, and look at this picture,” I showed her. “Some fan took it and somehow he was sitting in the section I was taking pictures in all game.”

“That’s so sick!” she said. We hugged, walked out of the bathroom, and went our separate ways. Thankfully, I didn’t get mugged by the mascot on my way to my Jeep.

Shearn and I kept in touch throughout the month of May, and on Friday, June 23, Gina and I ventured out to Stamford, CT. We would arrive by 4:30 PM, hang out with Shearn in his office prior to the show, then see how all the magic happens in the studios.

We left from our hometown of Sparta, NJ at around 1:30 PM, which gave us plenty of time to make the traffic-ridden trek across the tri-state area and not be late. Dad made us promise to do one thing for him on our journey.

“Ask him why he says RBI’s wrong,” said Dad. “He always says RBI, and it drives me nuts!”

After a few scary hours in Gina’s Jeep Wrangler, we arrived to where the GPS thought the YES Network Studios were.

“Nicole, that’s an apartment building,” Gina observed.

Surrounding the apartment building was a run-down Chinese restaurant, a sewer that was overflowing with beer cans and bottles, and deranged-looking people with both of their eyes going in complete opposite directions.

“This definitely isn’t the right address,” I said. I messaged Shearn on Twitter, who thankfully called me a minute or so later with directions.

We drove into the parking garage and up to the level where Shearn told us to park. We felt victorious when we found a spot near the doors that seemingly looked like the entrance to the building.

Then, Shearn called me again.

“I’m pulling in now, and I don’t see you guys…” he said. “What do you see?”

“Umm, I don’t see a car pulling in, that’s for sure,” I said. I told him what row and level we were at, and a minute or so later, he appeared out of an elevator and let us in the door.

“Hey girls,” he said. I introduced him to my sister as we all boarded the elevator and headed indoors.

“We get confused easily in parking garages,” Gina said.

“Yeah, we once got lost for two hours with our mom at the Garden State Plaza’s parking garage,” I added. “We were on the wrong floor and thought our car had been stolen.”

Shearn writes and reviews segments before he goes on the air.

Shearn led the way through the doors of the YES offices where we headed to his corner of the world. We sat with him as he and a team of writers assembled segments for the Yankees Batting Practice Today show.

“Sorry girls,” said Shearn. “I usually write most of the show, but today it was going to be covered because I knew you two were going to be here. But sometimes things get crazy around here.”

We didn’t mind at all, naturally, as we were intrigued simply by being in the same room as Shearn while this process was occurring. With the push of a button on his desk phone, he was able to get audio clips or clarification from members of the production team while he was getting comfortable with the material.

“I usually read it through once or twice before we go on the air,” he explained. “You really never want to go out there without reading it over. I mean, I’ve done it and survived, but it’s not the same comfort level as if you read it beforehand.”

As soon as the finishing touches were added to the show, Shearn’s focus switched to getting ready to perform.

“You guys now get to watch me put on my makeup!” he said with a smirk. We then went into a very involved conversation about cosmetics, including the best kind of foundations and concealers on the market.

“You have no idea how much makeup I go through every month,” Shearn laughed, “because it’s not just my face. It’s my head, too.”

As he prepared for the show, we learned a little more about him personally.

“You two remind me of my daughters,” he began. “They’re young, but I hope they grow up to have the relationship you two have someday.”

“Yeah, we’re best friends,” Gina said.

“We want to do everything together, too, especially with our careers,” I added.

“You girls are hungry. I can see it,” Shearn told us. “You obviously want it. You’re gonna make it. It’s all about being passionate about what you’re doing, and you two obviously are.”

Needless to say, we were flattered by his words. An impressive sportscaster in the New York City market just told us he thought we were going to make it.

“If you girls ever need anything – advice, if you had a bad day and just need to vent – anything,” he said, “I’m here. And I feel like that’s part of my job now because I never had anybody there for me when I was coming up.”

Countless pieces of advice spilled from Shearn’s lips, and each and every word he said struck a personal note with us. It was definitely an office experience I’ll never forget – and the show hadn’t even begun yet!

Shearn put the finishing touches on his makeup, and we headed up to the studios with about ten minutes to spare. We took our fair share of pictures before the show began and then took our seats for a behind-the-scenes look of Yankees Batting Practice Today.

Gina on set of the Yankees Batting Practice Today show.

Sarah Kustok, on-air personality of the YES Network who was anchoring the pre-game show that night, then appeared in the studio, which was relatively quiet compared to how I thought it was going to be. There were only two or three people working in the actual studio aside from Shearn.

Here I am on the set of the Yankees Batting Practice Today show.

“Sarah, these are the Sorce Sisters, Nicole and Gina,” Shearn introduced us. “They are The Double Play and write a blog about their sports adventures.”

“Very nice to meet you, girls,” Sarah said as she shook our hands. “Chris is the nicest guy in TV!”

“Oh, please,” he said as Sarah gave him a friendly hug before heading across the studio to her set.

Shearn then took his place in front of the camera and teleprompter on the batting practice side of the studio, and the set seemingly came to life as soon as the lights popped on. Before we knew it, a familiar scene we’ve seen hundreds of times was being manufactured in front of our very eyes.

Halfway through the show during a commercial break, Jack Curry, another familiar on-air personality mainly known for his pre-game and post-game coverage, walked into the studio.

“Jack, these are the Sorce Sisters. They write a blog together and finish each other’s sentences,” Shearn told Curry.

“Girls, welcome,” Curry said. “How do you know Chris?”

“Well, I was covering Granderson’s rehab one night in….” I began, but before I knew it, I was being told to shut up. The commercial break was 15 seconds away from being over, meaning the show was about to go live again.

Chris Shearn performs a voice-over over this graphic.

Sarah Kustok and Jack Curry prepare for the Yankees pre-game show.

After the next segment, Shearn picked up the conversation where we left off.

“I met Nicole during Granderson’s rehab in Scranton last month,” he explained, “and Gina actually interns for the RailRiders.”

“Oh, nice!” Curry said.

Shearn performed the last segment of his show and as the final commercial break before the pre-game show began, Kustok and Curry both wished us well. We followed Shearn out of the studio for our last part of the tour – the production rooms. That’s where all the real magic happens.

This is where all the “real” magic happens.

We walked down a hallway containing multiple rooms decked out with high-tech gear, including the sound control room and so on. He then showed us the production room that is used for the Mike Francesa show.

“This is where it all started for me,” Shearn said as he pointed to a chair in the back corner of the room. “It took me a long time to work my way up the ranks and onto the air.”

Shearn served as producer for YES’ weekday simulcasts of WFAN’s Miked Up with Mike Francesa, eventually announcing the “Sports Sprint” periodic sports update in the middle of the show while being responsible for voice-overs, tape editing, and on-location production for remote sites. He has also represented YES on the sidelines of Ivy League football and basketball and of the Staten Island Yankees.

“I’m in the best market in the world,” Shearn said. “People work their whole lives to get to New York City. I’m here, and it’s awesome.”

Chris Shearn concentrates in the moments leading up to going live on the air.

Prior to joining the YES Network, Shearn served a sports anchor and producer for MSNBC and spent time working on programs including Attack on America. He also produced coverage of Super Bowl XXXV. The 1995 Rowan College graduate began his career as a sports producer for KTVU-Fox 2 in Oakland and has previously worked for SNS/Major League Baseball Productions.

“If you girls want to make the trip again this winter, you can come back when I do the [Brooklyn] Nets’ pre- and post- shows,” Shearn offered.

“YES!!!” Gina and I exclaimed at the exact same time, at the exact same pitch of squeak.

“You both remind me of my daughters,” Shearn said, proving to us throughout the experience that he is the ultimate family man. “I would offer to take you girls for dinner, but I have to go meet my wife at my daughter’s school tonight.”

He suggested that we check out Bobby Valentine’s Sports Gallery Cafe in Stamford and enjoy a fun, sporty meal while waiting for the Friday rush-hour traffic to die down.

“I have one more question,” I said. “I have to ask for my dad.”

“What’s that?” Shearn asked back.

“Why do you say RBI and not RBI’s when they’re plural?”

“We were just having a whole discussion about this the other day!” Shearn exclaimed. “If you have an ‘s’ at the end, it’s ‘runs batted ins.’ RBI stands for ‘runs batted in.’ The ‘r’ covers the ‘s’ in ‘runs.'”

“Oooooh,” I said. “Makes complete sense when you put it that way.”

“Yeah,” Shearn said. “I cringe every time I hear someone say RBI’s!”

There ya have it, Dad.

Shearn then walked us out to the parking garage where we parted ways, and Gina and I drove back to New Jersey in a state of complete and utter bliss.

So thanks, Granderson, for injuring yourself badly enough to have to rehab in Scranton this season. Without you, this occurrence might’ve not even been possible.

And a very special thank you to Chris Shearn for showing us the ropes and having faith in us. We won’t let you down!