COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. — If you've ever been to a West Michigan Whitecaps game, you know his voice well. You've heard it echo through LMCU Ballpark for 26 years.
Now, you get to meet the man behind the mic: Michael Newell.
“It's fun," he told FOX 17. "Whether there's 500 people here or 8,000 people here, it's fun.”
Newell got his start in 1997, just three years after the inception of the Whitecaps franchise. He's been high above home plate in his box on press row ever since.
“If you'd have told me when I was a kid, that I can work 26 years (and hopefully a lot more) announcing baseball games, I'd say, 'Sign me up. Absolutely!'”
Coming from a background in radio, Newell has always felt comfortable behind the mic.
In the mid-90s, he made a career change and became a school counselor.
“Then, a couple of years in, I saw this job advertised in the Grand Rapids Press — back when people read newspapers," he said. "I continued with my counseling job for years after that, because this was just nights and weekends. So I auditioned."
Newell auditioned for the role with 14 other people, including Bob Wells, the team's current Director of Fun.
At that time, though, there was only one opening. Still, the team pulled some strings and found a spot for both Newell and Wells.
"What if the roles were reversed?" FOX 17 asked Newell.
"Well, it would be a problem because (Wells) could do my job, but I can't sing very well. He was gone yesterday, so I had to sing the seventh inning stretch, and shortly after that, the crowd emptied," Newell joked.
Two men, who were complete strangers before the audition, have now become close friends working alongside each other for all 26 years.
Newell is in charge of introducing players before each plate appearance, announcing promotions, sharing in-stadium deals, passing along safety information and much more.
Newell guessed he's been in the box for about 1,800+ games. By now, hundreds of thousands have heard his voice.
However, Newell said no crowd is tougher than his four kids at home.
“Your voice has power. Does the same power that you have at the stadium carry to the power you have at home?" FOX 17 asked.
"That is a great question. The answer is absolutely not. Of course not. Bob and I always say that, at home, it's still, 'Take out the trash.' 'OK.'”
Even after all this time, Newell said he's never lost any love for the job.
“It feels special. It truly is an honor. I love it. I love this community," he said. "I want to do the best I can every time I open up the mic. Every game I get excited about it. Every time I hear that opening music, I'm like, 'I get to do this again.'”
Amid all the perks, there is at least one minor league problem.
"I still have to show my ID every time I walk in the gates because most of those people don't know my face," he said.
Maybe they'll have it figured out eventually. Luckily, the staff at LMCU Ballpark has a long time to make that happen. Newell, who's 62, said he doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon.
“My wife said, 'He would do it 365 days a year if he could,'" Newell said. "I could speak Spanish and probably fly into the Dominican league in the wintertime.”
For now, Newell's voice will remain a spring and summertime staple in West Michigan. He wants to keep it that way for as long as possible.
“Don't come up here and try to take my job," he said, half-jokingly, with a smile on his face.