LORAIN – In his first season at the helm as a broadcaster for the Lorain County Ironmen, Jake Hromada has been enjoying the ride.
Hromada, who graduated this past year from Elyria Catholic, was contacted in May by Ironmen General Manager Pat McGannon, who had heard about Jake and his broadcasting talents from his time at Elyria Catholic.
‘He (Pat) actually called Elyria Catholic and said, ‘Hey, we’re interested in this kid. We need a broadcaster for the summer. We want to meet with him … we want to see if he is interested,’ Hromada said.
Hromada jumped at the opportunity to broadcast over the Internet for the Ironmen. He said that he was searching for a broadcasting gig for the summer, but was turned down by radio stations for internships since he wasn’t officially a college student.
‘I didn’t even know the job existed,’ Hromada said. ‘The fact that they called me was really nice and you feel kind of good inside about yourself.’
Hromada identifies himself as the No. 2 person when it comes to the radio broadcasting duties for the Ironmen games. He works alongside lead broadcaster Michael Bull.
‘He (Bull) lets me be independent a little bit on the air … we’re very conversational on the air too throughout the whole ballgame,’ Hromada said. ‘He and I have really developed chemistry over the summer.’
When broadcasting, Hromada is the color commentator in innings one through three and seven through nine. He calls play-by-play in innings four through six.
On top of having the chance to broadcast, Hromada says the opportunity to also travel has been one of his favorite experiences while working with the Ironmen.
‘We get some games where we can go on the road and we immediately come home. Some nights, you don’t get home until 1, 2 in the morning,’ Hromada said. ‘It’s really cool going out to places like Butler, Pennsylvania, Richmond, Indiana, Chillicothe, Beckley, West Virginia. The fact you get to see your team in other ballparks that are nice such as this one (The Pipe Yard), it’s really cool.’
With Lorain County’s season coming to a close, Hromada will prepare for his freshman year at Ohio University. He will major in journalism and hopes to continue his broadcasting career.
‘I spoke with the assistant athletic director down there, and right now, I have an internship in place with them. They actually gave me a lot of opportunities that will be presented to me in the future,’ Hromada said. ‘They already have a broadcaster, so obviously, I can’t call sports down there. They did present some things like sideline reporting for football games and they even brought up volleyball for the campus cable station. Anything I can get my hands on down there will be nice. Right now, they know of me and they’re expecting me to work hard down there.’
