{"id":6316,"date":"2021-05-14T10:01:07","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=6316"},"modified":"2021-05-14T10:01:07","modified_gmt":"2021-05-14T15:01:07","slug":"playing-days-behind-him-uwl-eagle-rottino-takes-swing-at-broadcasting","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/playing-days-behind-him-uwl-eagle-rottino-takes-swing-at-broadcasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing days behind him, UWL Eagle Rottino takes swing at broadcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photo
Former UWL Eagle Vinny Rottino, \u201902, has joined the broadcast team of \u201cBrewers Live,\u201d providing pre- and post-game analysis on Bally Sports Wisconsin. \u201cThere have been a number of challenges,\u201d Rottino says, \u201cbut I\u2019d say the biggest one has been learning to talk about baseball without getting too far into the weeds.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former UWL Eagle Vinny Rottino is back with the Milwaukee Brewers. But this time, he\u2019s traded his bat and glove for a microphone.<\/p>\n

Rottino, \u201902, has joined the broadcast team for \u201cBrewers Live\u201d this season with Bally Sports Wisconsin. He\u2019s providing pre- and post-game analysis alongside hosts Craig Coshun and Dario Melendez, and fellow analyst Tim Dillard.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an exciting but challenging change for Rottino, who had a 14-year playing career before serving as a scout for the Texas Rangers the past four seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to watch all these former baseball players doing analysis or color work on TV, but it never once crossed my mind that it would be an option for me,\u201d Rottino explains. \u201cThere have been a number of challenges, but I\u2019d say the biggest one has been learning to talk about baseball without getting too far into the weeds. I think I have an interesting and insightful perspective to bring, but I need to make sure it\u2019s digestible for the average fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Rottino says he has much to learn about the broadcasting world, he does have an endorsement from a widely respected sportscaster.<\/p>\n

One of Rottino\u2019s colleagues with the Rangers was Mike Anderson, the older brother of Brewers\u2019 longtime play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson. The younger Anderson thought Rottino would be a strong addition to the broadcast team, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian has been an unbelievable resource and has really helped speed up the learning curve,\u201d Rottino notes. \u201cAs busy as he is, he always has time to call, text and answer any questions. He\u2019s truly a pay-it-forward kind of person. He lives by that philosophy. He really sets the tone for everyone on the production team and the broadcast team. It\u2019s been a great group to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rottino\u2019s path to broadcasting was much like his path to the majors \u2014 unconventional.<\/p>\n

The Racine native received minimal interest from collegiate baseball programs. UWL was one of the few that reached out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t recruited anywhere except La Crosse and a couple others. I was a late bloomer physically,\u201d says Rottino, who\u00a0majored in chemistry<\/a>. \u201cThe experience I had in La Crosse I don\u2019t think I would have gotten anywhere else. I got to play right away as a freshman, even though I wasn\u2019t one of the best players on the team. And the people in La Crosse and on campus \u2026 just their energy and excitement were contagious. I really enjoyed my time at UWL and have a ton of great memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time he was a senior, Rottino was an All-American standout. He credited an unlikely source \u2014 Whitney Dining Center \u2014 for aiding his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the reason I was able to put on weight and make it to the major leagues,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Rottino signed with the Brewers in 2003, worked his way through the minors, and made his major-league debut in 2006.<\/p>\n

After the Brewers traded him in 2009, Rottino spent time with the Dodgers, Marlins, Mets and Indians.<\/p>\n

Later, he played in professional leagues in Japan and South Korea. He made one last push in MLB, spending the 2016 season with the White Sox, before retiring.<\/p>\n

Now, with much of his career still ahead of him, Rottino is focused on maximizing his potential as a broadcaster, the same way he made the most of his playing skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never pursued anything in my life with a half-in sort of mindset, so I\u2019m kind of all-in at this point,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m having so much fun in broadcasting, and I\u2019m starting to realize that I could be pretty good at this. There\u2019s a long way to go, but if I could make this a full-time career, that would be a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former UWL Eagle Vinny Rottino is back with the Milwaukee Brewers. But this time, he\u2019s traded his bat and glove for a microphone. Rottino, \u201902, has joined the broadcast team for \u201cBrewers Live\u201d this season with Bally Sports Wisconsin. He\u2019s providing pre- and post-game analysis alongside hosts Craig Coshun and Dario Melendez, and fellow analyst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":6318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-6316","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/6316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=6316"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=6316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}