Burlingame announcer honored by team, school

For Jamieson, it’s all about the game.

But that doesn’t mean people don’t appreciate what Jamieson means to Burlingame athletics, in general, and Burlingame baseball, in particular. Wednesday, Jamieson was keeping score and doing the announcing for his 500th Burlingame baseball game. That, in and of itself, would be enough to garner the honor of throwing out the first pitch.

But then John Horgan — a longtime announcer in his own right for the Panthers — revealed to those in attendance an even great accomplishment for Jamieson, who will be inducted into the Burlingame Athletics Hall of Fame at the 2018 Little Big Game in November.

“It’s a big shock to me,” Jamieson said of the Hall of Fame honor. But then he deadpanned: “Does it mean I’ll retire? We’ll find out down the line.”

Jamieson has shown the Peninsula that a first-class production can go a long way to making high school players feel special. From announcing the starting lineups for both teams, to between-inning music and even providing the walk-up music for Panthers batters at home games, Jamieson makes sure the players get a taste of big-time baseball.

Tony Brunicardi, a 2003 Burlingame graduate and a current assistant baseball coach at Skyline College, remembers Jamieson as simply a part of the team. Brunicardi said the best was when Jamieson handed out his own postseason awards for the baseball team.

“He had the ‘Tyler Jamieson awards.’ He had his own rookie of the year, his own Cy Young award,” Brunicardi said. “I appreciated it as much back then as I do now.”

The Brunicardi family has a closer bond with Jamieson than most, considering four of the five Brunicardi kids have come through Burlingame, with twins Justin and Nicole finishing up their senior year.

“He’s more Burlingame than all of us (Brunicardi kids),” Brunicardi said. “That’s saying something.”

While Jamieson has made his name as a baseball announcer, he really is a three-sport standout. He’s handled the school’s football and basketball statistics for several years and even handles the announcing duties for the Foothill College football program.

But it’s baseball where Jamieson has the most impact and it’s not lost on those who have been around the program.

“It’s his love. He loves doing it,” said former longtime Burlingame manager Rich Sciutto, who gave Jamieson his varsity “call up” in 2001.

And while Jamieson gave no indication about how long he will continue, he certainly won’t be forgotten thanks to his induction into the school’s sports Hall of Fame.

“He’s probably the most deserving member of the Hall of Fame for everything he’s done for this school,” Brunicardi said. “His contributions to athletics at Burlingame High School are more than anyone has done on the field of competition (at Burlingame).”

So, about that first pitch. A southpaw, Jamieson had a three-quarter release, almost a sidearm action, as he whipped the ball toward the plate.

“To be honest, considering I’ve never played pitcher or even warmed up, did I expect to make it to the plate? No way,” Jamieson said. “I was just hoping not to throw my arm out.”

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The College of San Mateo baseball team has some unfinished business to attend to this weekend — figuratively and somewhat literally.

The Bulldogs opened the 2018 campaign against San Joaquin Delta Jan. 26. CSM trailed 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning with the tying run at third and the winning run at second before the umpires called the game because of darkness and handed the win to Delta. I’m sure there was some kind of “revert to the previously completed inning” type of ruling, but it certainly wasn’t a ruling with which the Bulldogs were happy.

The Bulldogs and Mustangs will meet again this weekend, with infinitely more on the line than the first game because, unlike the season opener that was just the first of 39 regular-season games, the loser of this weekend’s series sees their season end.

Eleventh-seeded CSM will be on the road for the second straight weekend as it travels to Stockton to take on top-seeded Delta in a Northern California super regional, best-of-three series. Game 1 is 2 p.m. Friday, with Game 2 going off at 1 p.m. Saturday. The two would come back Sunday to play Game 3 at noon, if necessary.

CSM (28-14) advanced to the second round of the playoffs by beating No. 6 College of Marin in a doubleheader last Saturday after dropping the series opener 18-4 Friday. The Bulldogs came back Saturday morning with a taut 2-1 win and punched their ticket to the super regional with an 11-4 victory in the nightcap.

Delta (36-6) swept away No. 16 Taft, winning 4-1 Friday and completing the two-game sweep with an 8-1 decision Saturday morning.

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The CSM softball team will also continue its quest of for a state title as the Bulldogs host Sacramento City College in a Nor Cal super regional series beginning Friday.

The top-seeded Bulldogs (37-4) posted a pair of 10-1, mercy-rules wins in the regional against 16th-seeded Solano, while the 15th-seeded Panthers pulled out a 4-3 victory in the winner-take-all third game against Feather River.

The series begins at 2 p.m. Friday at CSM, with Game 2 scheduled for noon Saturday. In necessary, Game 3 will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. You can follow him on Twitter @CheckkThissOutt.