Tanzer Thankful for Growth as Broadcaster with Marauders

Max Tanzer isn’t going to forget his time spent in Bradenton.

It’s 12:30 p.m., and the Bradenton Marauders have a game later today, Thursday, in Tampa. The two buses that will be taking the Marauders to George M. Steinbrenner Field for the third game of six scheduled this week with the Tampa Tarpons are parked outside of the Bill McKechnie home clubhouse.

Last road trip of the 2025 season. Playing on the side field at GMS Field – nicknamed “the Tank” - the Marauders' Tarpons game, just like all others played this Florida State League season, could be heard and viewed on MiLB.TV and the Marauders Broadcast Network.

Tanzer is the one constant voice calling the games this season. After the buses leave LECOM Park for the drive north on Interstate 75 to Tampa, Tanzer will be making the trip by car. He will be repeating his travel plans through Sunday. The 132-game schedule concludes next week with six games planned against the visiting Dunedin Blue Jays.

Although his plans for the 2026 MiLB season aren’t set, traditionally, broadcasters at the FSL Single-A level move on. Just as players work to move up the affiliate chain, so do broadcasters. Tanzer, a 2023 graduate of Ithaca College’s Sports Media program, if he does trade team microphones next season, he is a stronger professional storyteller now than when he arrived in Manatee County.

Hearing Tanzer tell his travel itinerary of coming to Bradenton last February is “one for the books”.

“It was a whirlwind, for sure,” Tanzer told The Bradenton Times on Thursday, who during the 2024 baseball season served as a broadcast intern for the Tampa Bay Rays. “I flew from Australia to San Francisco, to Seattle, then onto Bradenton. Within a day, I went through three time zones, arriving one day before the Pirates’ spring training opener.”

Originally from the Seattle area, Tanzer spent a day with his parents before jetting off to Southwest Florida for his new gig with the Marauders. Prior to being “the voice” of Bradenton baseball, Tanzer had spent the previous 11 months calling Melbourne Aces games of the Australian Baseball League.

For Tanzer, working a full FSL schedule has been an invaluable experience. Those before him, and those who will be hired after him, work alone. Being a broadcast team of one in 2025 has presented a challenge to Tanzer.

“Six days/games a week, you're in a situation where you have to figure out what to talk about. Sometimes, it’s an uncomfortable situation.”

Tanzer’s other FSL broadcast experience came when serving as a broadcast and media relations assistant with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Minnesota Twins affiliate) in 2023. Positioned as a broadcast partner with John Vittas, all home games were called, as well as 10 road games. Tanzer had the “luxury” of working with a partner to bounce conversations off.

What’s the key for a baseball broadcaster to keep on top of his job throughout wins, losses, blow-outs, extra innings, and rain delays?

“You need to bring energy to each broadcast. People listening in need to know that you love the game. There have been some games this season where I needed to hydrate; bottles and bottles of water. I knew that it couldn’t get any harder for me than this. Calling 132 games on my own, this is a rite of passage for those who are looking to grow,” Tanzer explains.

Energy most certainly is key when talking for the better part of two-plus hours during each game. Before the pre-game show and post-game wrap-up, Tanzer creates, edits, and distributes game notes for the media’s consumption. There are also interviews to conduct for the night’s broadcast. Work? Technically. For aspiring broadcasters like Tanzer, it’s passion operating on overdrive.

The more he puts a cap on the Marauders’ season, it’s evident that Tanzer lives, sleeps, and talks baseball. Morning to night, and at times beyond, Tanzer is akin to the character seen in the film Field of Dreams – a young Archie “Moonlight” Graham played by a very enthusiastic Frank Whaley. Neither of them could get enough of the game.

Tanzer admits to keeping a TV on well into the night and early mornings, with classic baseball games on, even during the hours that he is asleep. While in Bradenton and living at Pirate City, Tanzer happily tells of a friendship with fellow Marauders’ employee Brian Spradlin. To hear Tanzer tell it, Spradlin, manager - game presentation and marketing, is his equal with the love of the game.

The best training Tanzer feels his opportunity with the Marauders has been regularly throwing himself “into the fire” and working things out. When you’re a team of one in a broadcast booth, in most instances time isn’t on your side. But, once the National Anthem is played, and “Play Ball” is shouted, for Tanzer and others in his position, its baseball talk time. One of his favorite topics this season has been Konnor Griffin. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ top draft pick in 2024, Griffin began the season with the Marauders and remained with the club until being promoted, first to High-A Greensboro, and then to Double-A Altoona Curve less than two weeks ago.

“(Griffin) was so flexible with his time. He’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. When I would set up interview requests for Konnor with the media, he always said yes,” Tanzer recalls.

One of Tanzer’s highlights this season surrounding Griffin came during a game that the rookie’s parents – Kevin and Kim were visiting Bradenton.

“Konnor’s dad sat in the broadcast with me for five innings. That was so much fun. A large part of our games’ viewership is family and friends of the players. Many of them live far away from Bradenton. I feel it’s my job to be an ambassador to them.”

The enthusiasm Tanzer demonstrates for his craft and the people surrounding him is refreshing. He has shown the drive to succeed, like the players he talks about, to make it to an MLB club. After a brief stay in St. Petersburg after the Marauders’ season, Tanzer is off for a two-week assignment with the Arizona Fall League. The 30-game schedule begins October 6 and runs through November 12. Working with eight to 10 other minor league broadcasters, Tanzer will be at the microphone calling the action of baseball’s top prospects.

Tanzer is a go-getter, a baseball broadcasting globetrotter. How can you not root for him to make it big in MLB?