Calling his own shots: Local valet has dreams of big league broadcasting

By Phil Dailey

Andy Bishop came real close to making it to the big leagues this summer, but for now, he’ll have to continue to hone his craft here in San Diego.

Bishop, a 24-year-old bellman/valet at the Grande Colonial on Prospect Street, was one of 30 finalists for summer job in New York City, a gig that would have included working in Greenwich Village and watching Major League Baseball — interviewing star players and celebrities, all while chronicling his experiences via social media.

But Bishop, who was one of 30 selected from a group of 22,000 applicants, was not chosen as one of the nine finalists of the “MLB Man Cave” contest.

For now, Bishop is back in La Jolla, but his dream of becoming a broadcaster is far from over.

“It’s kind of a dream job for anyone who wants to do any type of broadcasting or who is a baseball fanatic,” Bishop said of the competition. “It almost launched me into my dream job but I came up just short. I just have to keep working at it.”

Bishop grew up in Poway and became a sports fan “going to all the Padres and Chargers games in the mid-90s when they had some pretty good teams,” he said.

But sports has become more about watching from the stands. The past few years Bishop has been calling games for KBCSports.com, a website that streams games from all across San Diego County. If you’re a fan of The Bishop’s School or La Jolla Country Day football, chances are you may have heard Bishop on some of those games the past few seasons. Bishop was assigned the CIF San Diego Section Division V championship game last year as well.

Bishop’s skills as a broadcaster are mostly self-taught. He does hold a bachelor’s degree in communication from Pacific Union College in Napa, but never took broadcasting classes. Bishop says he is going to take some college classes in broadcasting this summer.

“It’s a fun industry that I’m trying to get into,” Bishop said. “I want to pursue it as long as I can and eventually make a living at it.”

But for now, he’s just doing everything he can to get into the sports world, which also includes moonlighting for the San Diego Padres as a “ballpark navigator,” a job that let’s Bishop give tours around Petco Park to fans.

Though he may not have the professional credentials just yet, it appears he’s affable, a quality needed to be a viable sports broadcaster.

“He is very approachable and has a natural way of making others feel at ease — many of our guests and coworkers feel like an extended family member when they interact with Andy,” said Kim Avant, assistant general manager at the Grand Colonial.

There won’t be any job in New York City this summer for Bishop, rather, he’ll just be “driving some pretty fancy cars around” at the Grand Colonial and preparing for another season of broadcasting high school football games in San Diego.

“I am always looking for an opportunity,” Bishop said.

Check out Andy’s Man Cave video here