PA Announcer Remains Giant Presence in San Francisco

The San Francisco Giants opened their bay-side ballpark 10 years ago. In the last decade, it's been Pac Bell Park, SBC Park and the current AT&T Park. Managers have come and go. Superstar players have thrived and retired. Rusty, the mechanical ballplayer attached to the right-field wall, well, he didn't survive.

And for all but three games since Opening Day 2000, Renel Brooks-Moon has taken her seat over home plate, with her panoramic view of the Bay Bridge, the Oakland Hills and the Cable Car that sits out in the center-field arcade. Brooks-Moon was hired a decade ago as the only female public address announcer in Major League Baseball. She still is.

Anyone who thought the Giants brought her on as a gimmick, or even a let's-see-how-it-goes experiment underestimated her charisma, her grace, her talent and her ability to connect with the fans.

The Oakland native, with her warm, smooth delivery, has become part of the fabric of the experience at AT&T as much as the garlic fries and home runs into McCovey Cove.

"When I think of the things I've been able to be a part of, some of the great icons of the game that I've been able to meet, it just blows my mind," said Brooks-Moon as she sat in her box on a sunny San Francisco evening preparing for a game. "It still feels very surreal, 10 years later."

She's been behind the microphone for the World Series and an All-Star Game. Three years ago, she was asked to call the annual Civil Rights Game to honor her work as an African-American woman in the game.

"My seat's not too bad," Brooks-Moon said. "It's just been an incredible decade."

Giants president Larry Baer said the team hired Brooks-Moon for the long haul.

"I think we thought that it would be great if she was there in day one and in day 1,000," Baer said. "Fans like consistency. Wouldn't it add to the feeling of comfort and familiarity if it was the same person greeting you every day? We spent a lot of effort trying to find the right person."



Share Brooks-Moon said she didn't think in terms of longevity, though it's common for PA announcers to stay for many, many years.

"I was just surprised I got the job in the first place," Brooks-Moon said. "I was really preoccupied with coming in here and doing this right and doing a good job."

By the time a few seasons had passed and she was still in the chair, Brooks-Moon thought, "This might be a home for me for a while."

Brooks-Moon was always a fan. She has turned into a student of the game. She knew that as a woman she would be judged more closely, perhaps more harshly. She never wanted to give anyone any ammunition. She admitted she was "really nervous" about how fans would perceive her. But she's had "no drama.

"The fans have been so supportive. They come by the window and they give me a fist-pump and a wave," Brooks-Moon said. "Friday night, this one guy came by who might have had a few too many beers and he gave me a fist-pump and the guys in the scoreboard room said he went around the corner and said to his buddies, 'Dude, you didn't say hello to Renel. What's up with that?' So I guess that was a significant portion of his evening. Which I was delighted about."

She said she is particularly moved by the reaction of the kids at the ballpark.

"I think the little girls can see what the possibilities are and I love that the little boys don't care about what gender I am," Brooks-Moon said. "That never occurred to me that this would have some impact on kids like that. It's been a pleasant surprise."

Brooks-Moon said she feels a lot of responsibility.

"I want to be successful at this job. I want the fans' experience to be a positive one. I want to make sure that I'm respecting the game and be responsible to the fans and the players," Brooks-Moon said. "The fact that I'm the only woman doing it right now and the only woman of color, I take that very seriously. I take that pressure with me to the mike every night. I want to do well and I want to open doors for others to do this as well."

Baer said Brooks-Moon has an unmistakable cool factor. He said he has heard only a handful of complaints about her over the 10 years she's been behind the mike. And he can't remember the last one.

"She's so unique and San Francisco is a place that prides itself on being unique and unconventional," Baer said. "She strikes a perfect balance for you. She's someone who makes you feel comfortable. She's really upbeat and she can carry the crowd. People just like her."

Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow said he thinks Brooks-Moon has become one of the best PA announcers in the majors.

"She can light up a crowd in 15 different ways," Krukow said. "She's fantastic. She plays to the crowd. She knows exactly what's appropriate. She knows what is good taste and she makes us a classy organization because of how she does her job."


Brooks-Moon's day job has been as one of the Bay Area's most popular and enduring radio personalities. She's currently hosting the morning drive show on 98.1 KISS-FM. She's up at 4 a.m., gets home in time to grab a quick nap on the good days, at the ballpark by 5 p.m. and home by midnight. It's the day game after a night game that pushes her to the energy drinks. She works to protect her voice when she's not working and jokes that her husband is pretty happy about that.

"It's a grind," Brooks-Moon said. "But the greatest lesson I've learned is from watching the players grind it out."

She also admits that she longs for the days where she could sit in the stands and enjoy the game. Sometimes she manages to be a fan again, traveling across the Bay to Oakland to catch an A's home game when the Giants are on the road.

There are moments when Brooks-Moon still feels like a fan. She admits she is still intimidated by the players, doesn't want to bother them. And she still gets star-struck.

She met Ernie Banks at the All-Star festivities in 2007. She's had regular opportunity to chat with former players who work as out-of-town broadcasters -- Keith Hernandez, Dennis Eckersley, Rick Sutcliffe, Ozzie Smith.

"I can't believe that Joe Morgan (a fellow Oakland native) actually knows who I am," Brooks-Moon said.