ST. LOUIS -- You've heard him on radio for decades. You've seen him on television. If you're old enough, you watched him play. But social media? No, that's never been part of Mike Shannon's repertoire.
Until Wednesday.
Shannon, who has been broadcasting Cardinals games since 1972, will "Twittercast" the Cards-Pirates game Wednesday. So if you're a follower of @Cardinals, Shannon will be delivering the action, 140 characters (max) at a time.
"While his voice is synonymous with Cardinals baseball, this will be Mike's social media debut," said Bill DeWitt III, president of the Cardinals. "This should be a lot of fun as Mike makes the transition from behind the microphone to behind the computer or smart phone for one night to tell the story of the game in 140 characters or less."
Shannon will be working from Mike Shannon's Grill in Edwardsville, Ill., where he will host the @Cardinals Twitter Takeover. In addition to game description and personal anecdotes -- the commentary you've come to expect over the years -- Shannon will tweet answers to fan questions and more on @Cardinals under the hashtag #MikeShannon.
As for his trademark cackle, well, we're not sure how that translates to Twitter-speak.
