Since he was young, Mike Antonellis has immersed himself in the world of baseball. From growing up playing to being a minor league broadcaster for the last 28 years, Antonellis knows the game inside and out. His knowledge of the game and experience seeing players move through the Red Sox farm system led to hosting the YouTube show, “Red Sox Now,” a daily show by Fan Arch. He also works as a part-time radio and TV announcer for the Triple-A minor league Worcester Red Sox and the associate director of development for athletics at Framingham State University. Storybench spoke with him about his career path. 

Edited for clarity and length. 

How did you first get into sports?

Growing up in Massachusetts, I was a huge Red Sox fan, so baseball was something I wanted to work in. Once I was in college and discovered a radio station there, that was the turning point. I did an internship in Milford where I did American Legion baseball for two years. Then I got an internship in 1997, and that led me to a full-time job. I’ve been very fortunate.

What led you to start hosting “Red Sox Now”?

LinkedIn. I always want to do more stuff. That’s just how I am. I can’t be content working nine to five. I have to have something else in the chamber. Fan Arch put something on LinkedIn looking for podcasters, and I didn’t really think much of it, to be honest. I just sent them something, they interviewed me two to three times, and  then they said, “Hey, do you want to do a Red Sox podcast?” I said “Sure.” It’s pretty crazy. It’s like a little community we have, and  we’ve built over 2,000 subscribers since April. It was just something I took a shot at, and what I really like about it is that it started at ground zero. I’ve grown with them, and now there are 30 or 40 different people doing podcasts. I was in when they only had two or three, so it’s fun.

What do you think has been the key to growing that? 

Fan Arch is really good at promoting it. I think people want to feel like you’re their friend, too. I’m just who I am. I don’t pretend to be “Hot Take Mike.” Everything is how I see it. People can tell that what I say is what I believe in,  and the credibility of being a broadcaster – the fact that I work for the Red Sox AAA team and have been doing baseball for 29 years – brings instant trust. I think people like my personality, and we have a great community. Being yourself is number one.

How much does watching players come up through the system help you in your role, and how much prep do you do? 

It’s like anything: the more you do it, the stronger you get. I think you probably use 5% of the stuff you prepare because baseball is a beautiful blank slate every day. Even in a baseball game that’s lopsided, there can always be something beautiful about it or something that comes up, and then you have to make it a really good show. You have to be a baseball guy that’s doing radio, not a radio guy that is calling baseball. It’s like a talk show. I do a lot of prep with just random things. I just talk about things in the Red Sox system, baseball-related things, all in the name of good conversation. It’s not as  labor intensive as you think.

Since you started, how has broadcasting changed as a whole? 

This is a much better time to be living. When I started, we used to have to splice with a reel machine. Now I can just load up Audacity, which literally takes seconds. All of that stuff is way better. I can upload a video, remove the audio in a minute and put in my own audio. I do that all the time, but the opportunities now to do stuff  are better than  they’ve ever been. You could start your own show on YouTube, Twitch,  anywhere, and you can learn. I think it was harder when I was younger because if you wanted to be on air, you had to go to a radio station or TV station, or you couldn’t do anything. I know there are tons of people streaming and all that now, and you can do it without someone telling you no. The opportunity is endless.

How do you see the industry continuing to evolve?

There  are a lot of influencers now in sports markets that are becoming bigger than the broadcasters. Here in Massachusetts, Jared Carabas is as big as they come. When I was a kid, it was just the broadcasters who were the voices. Now, it’s a bunch of different people, so the platforms are getting bigger outside of traditional radio and TV. As always, you have to adjust to that.

Do you have any advice for people who want to get into broadcasting?

There’s no linear path. Do as much as you can. Don’t be afraid to do other sports. When I was younger, I didn’t want to do non-traditional sports. Do them. You have to do things that make you nervous, but don’t get upset. It’s a long game, too. What you want and what you’re doing don’t always line up, and it can take a long time. You have to find peace at the end of it. You have to be happy where you’re living, what you’re doing, and if you find a job in a field that is not at a Hollywood level or a big league level, but you’re happy, there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re going to be taking fifty rights and fifty lefts . It’s a lot, but in the end, it’s so rewarding.