Tigers Radio Analyst Bobby Scales: A Long-Shot Wolverine Who Keeps Proving He Has the Right Stuff

Scales, cut twice in high school, walked on at Michigan and became an MLB draft pick before enduring 10 seasons in the minors and finally joining Cubs. Now, he's making the cut in the broadcast booth

Photo Courtesy of Bobby Scales

Three Generations: Visiting the Comerica Park radio broadcast booth last season with analyst Bobby Leon Scales II (left) are Bobby Leon Scales III aka “Trey” and Bobby Leon Scales, Sr.

By Steve Kornacki

DETROIT – Life is good for a long shot who keeps hitting all the shots while tipping the Scales his way.

Unwavering belief combined with raw talent and will are a powerful combination. And in the case of Detroit Tigers radio analyst Bobby Scales, it enabled a Michigan walk-on from Georgia to become a pro prospect who endured 10 years in the minors before reaching the Chicago Cubs.

Along the way, his convictions also led him to make good on a promise to Wolverine head coach Geoff Zahn to sing “The Victors” with teammates as Big Ten champions on a mound at Ohio State. And to become a switch-hitter in college.

“I had a belief in myself,” Scales said. “And I have a capacity to work, and I’m not afraid to get in there and grind it. I mean, grind it. I loved that, and I loved the game. If you don’t do things to max capacity, you are not going to reach whatever potential you have.”

Scales played 1,302 minor league games – chasing his dream of the majors by taking the field everywhere from Idaho Falls to Buffalo with Pawtucket, Mobile and Lake Elsinore in between. He also played in Japan and Mexico.

Scales was a “Crash Davis” lifer in the bush leagues who achieved his goal of making “The Show” for 61 games and 137 at-bats in 2009 and 2010 for the Cubs. He even hit three homers in the majors – including a pair at Wrigley Field – to do something “Crash” (the fictional minor league career homers leader from “Bull Durham”) never realized.

Photo Courtesy of Chicago Cubs

Cubs second baseman Bobby Scales, getting taken out by Astros All-Star Lance Berkman, still turned two on this grounder off the bat of Carlos Lee.

What did it take to persevere through 14 seasons in the minors, with a degree in sport management from Michigan in his back pocket, to realize brief splashes in the big league pool near the end of his career?

“I felt I was a pretty good self-evaluator in my life,” said Scales, while glancing out from the broadcast booth at Comerica Park before a game. “I was a walk-on at Michigan, got cut twice from my high school team. I stuck to things and believed in myself.”

And so how sweet is it landing back in the majors in front of a microphone, calling the games of one of the best teams in baseball with classic veteran play-by-play man Dan Dickerson?

“I love it,” Scales said. “Just love it.”

Connections with Mariners All-Star second baseman Harold Reynolds and former Detroit Free Press Tigers beat writer Jon Morosi – both now with MLB Network – led Scales to the broadcast booth.

Reynolds became acquainted with Scales by getting his cell phone number from a friend in 2012. Reynolds learned Scales played on the Nippon Ham Fighters with Yu Darvish, and was interested in some inside info on the Japanese pitching star who had just signed with the Texas Rangers.

Reynolds surprised Scales by having MLB Network fly him out to their studio for an interview in Secaucus, N.J.

Scales, 48, who also does Tigers TV pre-game spots on the FanDuel Sports Network, got the broadcasting bug that day.

“This was fun,” he said to himself. “Can I do this? Yeah, I can do this.”

But it took several years after retiring as a player in 2012 to get a chance. Scales was director of player development and the farm director for the Angels for four years, and became a scout when their front office had upper-level management changes. He was minor league field coordinator for the Pirates, 2018-21, before joining the analytics data firm Sports Info Solutions as a vice president for baseball.

Scales received a call in 2023 from Morosi, asking if he was interested in connecting with the Tigers to fill a need. Long-time radio analyst Jim Price, who died that August, could no longer travel. Things happened quickly after Morosi connected Scales to Ilitch Sports and Entertainment executive Ron Colangelo of the Tigers, and Scales ended up doing 65 games that season. He did 88 in 2024 and is scheduled for 100 this year.

Dickerson was asked what he likes about Scales.

“Everything,” said Dickerson. “I mean, his breadth of experience means that I can go any direction I want to during the course of a game. You might want to talk about player development. You might want to talk about strategy. You might want to talk about pitch sequencing. And it’s amazing that he’s done it all. He can talk very knowledgably because of all his experiences.

“He was a player, an up-and-down guy. He knows what it’s like to stand in there against 98 [mph fastballs]. Played in Japan. Scouted. Player development. That makes it fun for me. I just like picking his brain every day. It’s a real joy, and we want to bring insights to the games. [Tigers manager] A.J. [Hinch] wants us to know the game at his level. I never will, but Bobby probably does.”

And the dedicated work regimen Scales performed as a player has carried over into his new endeavor.

Dickerson said, “He’s a hard worker and he wants to be the best at whatever he’s doing. We have become good friends and that’s been the best part. And he’s funny, man! He’s a good mimic and ask Peter Chase [former Cubs public relations man now with the Tigers] how good he is at imitating [former Cubs manager] Lou Piniella. Oh, my God! It’s beautiful.

“Bobby’s really, really good at this. I’m so happy that he’s my mostly everyday guy.”

Scales was born in Southfield, Mich., and grew up outside Detroit in Troy, attending games with his father, Bobby Leon Scales Sr., and listening to Ernie Harwell call Tigers games on the radio with his grandfather.

“This all started with Lou Whitaker at Tiger Stadium,” said Scales of the Tigers’ All-Star second baseman. “My first game was in August of ‘84 and I was 6. Lou was my favorite player. [Royals Hall of Famer] George Brett hit a ball my dad almost caught. And I loved watching [Detroit Hall of Fame shortstop] Alan Trammell and Lou.”

The family moved just outside New York City the next year, and he recalled watching Rickey Henderson steal bases in pinstripes at Yankee Stadium and trips to Shea Stadium to watch young phenoms Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden.

He was hooked on baseball and moved to Atlanta in 1986, where he gravitated to watching visiting players such as Wolverine Hall of Famer Barry Larkin of the Reds. Scales said he wore No. 11 while growing up for Larkin and Pistons Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas – another of his heroes.

“And then I got to get coached by Tram on the Cubs,” said Scales, shaking his head in disbelief.

Scales beat all the odds in reaching the majors. He got cut from the freshman and junior varsity teams in high school, and didn’t become a contributor on the varsity until finally getting an opportunity as a junior and crushing a homer. If Milton (Ga.) High varsity coach Tim Chastain hadn’t seen him leaving the locker room after getting cut from the jayvees, and worked it out that Scales did get on the jayvee squad, it all could’ve ended right there.

How Michigan Won His Heart

And if it weren’t for his maternal grandfather, Robert Lee Smith, who worked 37 years on the Detroit-Hamtramck Chevrolet assembly line, Scales probably never would’ve applied to attend Michigan.

“I got a Michigan hat and T-shirt in the mail from my grandfather,” said Scales. “Then the Fab Five went to the [1992] NCAA regional at the Omni in Atlanta, and we got tickets. [Chris] Webber got the tip and took two dribbles. Jimmy King throws the alley oop and Juwan Howard throws [down a dunk] on their guy!

“I was in the eighth grade. I looked at my dad and said, ‘I don’t know what the requirements are, but I’m going to Michigan.’ ”

He applied in 1994 and was accepted.

“I get goose bumps just thinking about my first time on campus,” said Scales. “It was just special.”

Photos Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Bobby Scales, above, credits Wolverine assistant coach Chris Harrison with “building my left-handed swing” after becoming a switch-hitter in college.

Bobby Scales, above, fires a throw to first base after fielding a grounder at Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Scales had no college offers to play baseball, but attempted contacting Michigan head coach Bill Freehan. Nine phone calls produced nothing, but Wolverine assistant coach Ace Adams answered the 10^th call and told him to come by the office when he arrived in the fall of 1995. Freehan soon retired but Adams stayed on the staff and assured Scales that Zahn would let him walk on.

This is what Scales said to sell Adams: “I want the opportunity to wear that ‘M’ on my chest. If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I’m going to walk up that hill and I’m going to go be great [in academics].”

Scales worked on hitting left-handed that summer to teach himself switch-hitting to increase his chances. A scout for the Royals suggested that to him, and Scales made it work. At summer orientation in Ann Arbor, he recalled chumming with future Wolverine football stars Tom Brady and Charles Woodson.

Scales made a quick impression that fall on Zahn, a former Wolverine star himself who was 111-109 in 13 seasons as a Major League starter for the Angels, Cubs, Dodgers and Twins. Zahn recalled watching an early practice in 1996 and telling assistant coach Chris Harrison, “This kid really wants to play.”

Then, in a game at Texas A&M that season, the freshman batting left-handed fouled away several pitches and caused Zahn to make quite a comparison to his Hall of Fame teammate with the Twins and Angels.

“I said, ‘That’s Rod Carew,’ ” Zahn recalled. “And he ended up getting a hit up the middle. I don’t want to call him a genius, but here was a kid out of Atlanta, who worked his rear end off, and was always finding ways to make himself and his team better.”

Scales credited Harrison with “building my left-handed swing.”

Scales, playing second base with a .371 batting average in his senior season of 1999, was the Most Outstanding Player in the Big Ten Tournament. He led the Wolverines to the championship with teammates such as classmate J.J. Putz (2007 All-Star with 40 saves that year for the Seattle Mariners) and catcher David Parrish (New York Yankees first-round pick in 2000).

They also were Big Ten regular season champs in 1997 before hosting the conference tourney won by the Buckeyes.

“They took their team out on our mound and sang their fight song,” said Zahn of OSU. “Bobby put his finger toward me and said, ‘Before I leave this school, we’re going to sing our fight song on their mound!’ Now, you take that with a grain of salt. But, lo and behold, in 1999, as soon as we won the tournament in Columbus, Bobby took ‘em out on the mound and…”

Zahn chuckled and paused, recalling OSU two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin, then an athletic department administrator, being in an uncomfortable position.

“Archie Griffin handed us the trophy as we sang ‘The Victors,’ ” said Zahn, now laughing. “Bobby came and found me. He pointed at me again, and said, ‘I told you so!’ And on the field, he just stood out with some big RBI at-bats.”

What did Scales remember about that celebration and shouting out the fight song at the top of their lungs?

“Mission accomplished,” he said with a slow smile.

Michigan had turned the tables on OSU in ‘99. They traveled to Columbus for the conference tourney that produced the automatic NCAA Tournament qualifier, and beat the Buckeyes, 8-6, in the first round before out-slugging Minnesota, 13-10, in the championship game.

Scales still ranks ninth in Michigan’s single-season statistics with 20 doubles in ’99, and his 75 runs scored that year rank second to the 81 Mike Watters had in 1985. He sparked that 34-win championship team as a senior, but their season ended with a loss to No. 3 overall NCAA seed Cal State Fullerton in a regional championship game.

He hit .300 each of his last three seasons, amassing 226 hits (10^th all-time for the Wolverines), 167 runs (seventh all-time), and 112 RBI with 15 homers.

Scales became the Carew of those Wolverines.

“And Carew was the best hitter I ever saw,” said Zahn of the Panamanian who totaled 3,053 hits. “Bobby even held the bat like Rod.”

And he also made All-America, All-Big Ten and won the prestigious Bob Ufer Award as the athletic department’s top senior student-athlete demonstrating exemplary leadership, spirit and service to the University of Michigan.

The San Diego Padres took him in the 14^th round of the 1999 draft, and he toiled for 10 seasons before finally making it with the Cubs in 2009. He also got shots from the Phillies, Orioles, Red Sox and New York Mets – who cut him for the final time May 21, 2012.

However, those two stays with the Cubs remain sweet memories. He batted .248 for his career with 34 hits (eight doubles, two triples and those three homers) and 19 runs with 17 RBI and a .401 slugging percentage.

“I got my first hit off [Giants two-time Cy Young Award winner] Tim Lincecum,” said Scales, who played second, third and left field for Chicago. “My first home run was off Edwin Moreno [of the Padres] as a pinch-hitter in a night game at Wrigley. It was a first-pitch fastball up and I hammered it way out to right field and a 19-year-old kid from Northwestern got it [and returned it].”

Now, he’s back in the big leagues as a broadcaster. He does his homework and looks “for things behind the scenes” while establishing a rapport with players before games during clubhouse conversations.

“I want to find out how things happened in games,” said Scales. “I’ve learned not to try to be someone I’m not – be authentic. I’ve been in this game 25 years and I have knowledge, and I’m curious.”

He has a son, Bobby Lee Scales III, called Trey, and is engaged to Monica Best.

“I’m blessed,” said Scales. “I’ve had unbelievable teachers and mentors in this game. And Dan [Dickerson] falls into that category.”

He looked out at the field again and added, “I love this, man. I’m tickled, blessed and fortunate to have gotten these opportunities. And I just want to do right by it.”