‘Let’s turn the page and let’s make it normal’: Marney Gellner on her milestone play-by-play for the Twins

If you’ve been watching the Twins and White Sox series you may have heard a familiar voice, but one that was new to the national broadcast box. This week Marney Gellner became the first woman to call regular-season play-by-play for the Twins.

Gellner is a longtime figure in Minnesota sports, but this week she was in the spotlight for the three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox. The Twins won the series. Gellner joined MPR News guest host Nina Moini to talk about the career milestone.

What was your reaction when you were first told you would be doing play by play for this series?

Gellner: Well, the Twins called me about a month ago and I was excited about the opportunity. I’ve been working Twins games since when I moved here to Minneapolis. I’m from Minot, N.D., but I moved to Minneapolis in 2002 and I’ve been working Twins games since then. So, I’ve been around the team, but I haven’t worked there regularly for probably three or four years. So, it felt like kind of a natural progression. It wasn’t anything that, you know, was my wildest dreams. It was just something that I had kind of hoped would one day be an opportunity. And then I got a call a month ago and was pretty fired up.

How did you feel after calling all these three games, one of them went into extra innings?

Monday’s game went into extra innings, we played 11. Tuesday’s game got rained out, so we played a straight doubleheader on Wednesday which means a half an hour between games. So how I felt was overwhelmed. I was swimming in information and stats and numbers, because baseball is very much a stats and numbers game. I just had so much information that I was trying to retain and gain and refresh. I definitely enjoyed myself. It was stressful, challenging and thrilling. I mean, it was so many different things. I wasn’t nervous, but I definitely think I was uncomfortable for the first probably three innings of Monday’s game. The first game until I got in a rhythm with the two guys who were next to me who are former Twins players, just kind of all that needed a little bit to work out. Then once we kind of got things smoothed out, then I felt like the rest of it went pretty well.

What is the relationship like with the color analyst and play-by-play analyst?

Well, there were two analysts for these games, both former Twins players, Justin Morneau and Denard Span. I have known [them] for a long time, because they played for the Twins when I was the sideline reporter for the Twins. So, I have friendships with them. I’ve worked with Morneau before, but not in a play-by-play or analyst role. So, it was the three of us kind of just chit-chatting before the game about what kind of areas they thought they would cover more or if I’m talking, try not to step over. But if you want to, you know, what signals should we use? What hand signals should we use? So it took a little coordination, a little effort on our part, to get it smooth.

Where does your signature homerun phrase, ‘better call mama,’ come from?

I came up with that when I worked three Twins games in 2019. It was spring training. They’re not official games and the atmosphere is very light. I didn’t know if I would ever get that opportunity again. I wanted to have a stamp on the broadcast. I am a mom; I have two kids and I’m very close with my mom. I just thought about when you hit a home run as a player or when you celebrate something in your life, whether it’s a home run or an accomplishment, a lot of us will reach out and call our moms and share that. I went with mama so that it would signify whoever that person is for you: if it’s a sibling, a dad, an aunt or an uncle. I know I put way more thought into it than most people probably do. Not many people get the chance to ever use a home run call. So, when I got these regular season games, I thought I might try to sneak them in there one time if I get a chance. Sure enough, Carlos Correa gave me a chance.

How do you hope to see the sports industry continue to become more inclusive of women?

Honestly, I think it already has. We have come a long way. The Oakland As have a woman doing play-by-play named Jenny Kavner. The New York Yankees have a woman named Suzyn Waldman who has been their analyst for years. So, in some ways, it’s been around for a while. And in some ways, it’s just taken a long time to take the next step. But, I also think let’s just move on, let’s turn the page and let’s make it normal. Let there be no need to make it a big deal because it’s so normalized.

What is next? What’s your next milestone?

How about hanging out at home and spending time with my husband and two kids, which I haven’t seen since Sunday. I do not mark my career by moments. I mark my career by if somebody still wants to hire me. Can I still make money? Can I still get dressed and go somewhere and be around other professionals for the day? Honestly, this was never my dream to be in this job. It’s just been good to me, it’s worked out and I have fallen into the right opportunities. I have no idea what’s next. I’m open to all opportunities. It’s been awesome, but I honestly am just trying to live a good life and raise a good family and enjoy it in the process.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

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