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DeMarsico is reinventing, bit-by-bit, how television broadcasts a baseball game. He has brought a cinematic flair to SNY\u2019s coverage of the Mets, creating a different look to the broadcasts that has caught the attention of fans and other media outlets. One example that went viral online was when DeMarsico had a cameraman follow the Mets\u2019 ace reliever Edwin Diaz as he made his way in from the bullpen to the pulsating song \u201cNarco,\u201d by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet, taking the time when a commercial would normally air to create a sense of the dramatic showdown coming between the pitcher and batter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New York Times<\/em>, in an article this summer, described DeMarsico\u2019s approach: \u201cHe uses unusual camera angles, forgoing the typical center-field shot at crucial moments, instead filming the action from behind the right fielder or near the visitor\u2019s on-deck circle. He employs split screens to highlight confrontations between pitcher and batter. In a tense at-bat between D\u00edaz and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich earlier this season, DeMarsico began the shot with D\u00edaz\u2019s face in the left side of the frame. He then faded in Yelich\u2019s face on the right side, gradually having D\u00edaz disappear. Fans had a chance to truly see the pitcher and the batter staring each other down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For DeMarsico, 35, it\u2019s a matter of doing what comes naturally to him. He grew up playing baseball – and spending summer nights in Belmont, N.C., watching Mets games on television with his dad. He majored in film studies as a student at NC State, hooked in his freshman year by a class on subversive film as art. \u201cIt blew my mind,\u201d he says. He\u2019s a fan of baseball movies like Major League<\/em> and The Bad News Bears<\/em>, and a student of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Brian DePalma. He was a walk-on player for the NC State baseball team, spending three years as the warm-up catcher in the bullpen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBaseball is a much more cinematic experience than most other sports,\u201d he says. \u201cIn football, it\u2019s hard to build personal stories because they\u2019re all wearing helmets and pads. Basketball moves so quickly \u2026 there\u2019s no time to build the drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn baseball, there\u2019s so much time between every pitch, between every foul ball. You can really set the scene before each pitch. It\u2019s a game that lends itself to my interest, and I\u2019ve been able to inject a little bit of my personality into the broadcast this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeMarsico has been working at SNY since 2009, when he had an internship the summer before he graduated from NC State, taking over as the lead game director for the Mets in 2019. But it\u2019s only this year, in his third season as a director, that he feels free from pandemic restrictions to flex his creative muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result, he hopes, is a more entertaining production for the fans watching from home. \u201cBaseball gets dusty,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a broadcast sport that\u2019s gotten a little stale in my opinion. We\u2019re in the entertainment business, and I like to engage the viewer visually. We do things that people aren\u2019t used to seeing on sports broadcasts. I think that could be part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But DeMarsico also recognizes that the game itself remains paramount. \u201cI didn\u2019t get the job at SNY because I love DePalma,\u201d he says. \u201cI speak baseball better than English. My knowledge of the game is the reason I got the job initially. Whatever I do cinematically, it\u2019s still baseball. The folks at home want to see the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photos courtesy of John DeMarsico \u201909<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n Being the director of the television broadcast of a Major League Baseball game may seem like a straightforward affair that doesn\u2019t require much creativity. Point a camera at the pitcher, show the batter as he tries to hit the ball, and then capture the fielders as they catch and throw the ball. Toss in a few shots of the fans and a graphic on the league standings, and you\u2019ve got the bases covered, so to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, few things are as simple as they may seem to outsiders. That\u2019s particularly true with John DeMarsico \u201909, the game director for SNY, the regional sports network that broadcasts New York Mets games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeMarsico is reinventing, bit-by-bit, how television broadcasts a baseball game. He has brought a cinematic flair to SNY\u2019s coverage of the Mets, creating a different look to the broadcasts that has caught the attention of fans and other media outlets. One example that went viral online was when DeMarsico had a cameraman follow the Mets\u2019 ace reliever Edwin Diaz as he made his way in from the bullpen to the pulsating song \u201cNarco,\u201d by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet, taking the time when a commercial would normally air to create a sense of the dramatic showdown coming between the pitcher and batter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The New York Times<\/em>, in an article this summer, described DeMarsico\u2019s approach: \u201cHe uses unusual camera angles, forgoing the typical center-field shot at crucial moments, instead filming the action from behind the right fielder or near the visitor\u2019s on-deck circle. He employs split screens to highlight confrontations between pitcher and batter. In a tense at-bat between D\u00edaz and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich earlier this season, DeMarsico began the shot with D\u00edaz\u2019s face in the left side of the frame. He then faded in Yelich\u2019s face on the right side, gradually having D\u00edaz disappear. Fans had a chance to truly see the pitcher and the batter staring each other down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nDeMarsico\u2019s Favorite Baseball Movies<\/h2><\/a>
DeMarsico\u2019s Favorite Directors<\/h2><\/a>
DeMarsico\u2019s Favorite Ballparks to Visit<\/h2><\/a>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/magazine.alumni.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Photo1-1024x771.jpg\")
DeMarsico\u2019s Favorite Baseball Movies<\/h2><\/a>