Pablo Torre Finds Out

Episode: "The Show, the Voice and Grandpa: A PTFO Surprise"

Date: May 22, 2025
Host: Pablo Torre (with John "Boog" Sciambi, Kim Soriano, and Matt Soriano)

Overview

This episode is a delightful blend of generational fandom, baseball nostalgia, and meta-humor, as Pablo Torre sets up a heartfelt, lightly mischievous surprise for Kim Soriano—the 86-year-old "sports grandpa" who went viral for playing every game of each Yankees season in MLB The Show and meticulously scoring each one by hand, just as if he were at the ballpark. Baseball broadcaster and real-life MLB The Show announcer John "Boog" Sciambi joins in on the surprise, ultimately meeting one of his most dedicated (and sharply opinionated) listeners. The conversation explores the personal, almost sacred rituals fans maintain, the merging of analog and digital sports culture, and what it means to truly love the game.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Ritual of the Voice

• Pablo opens with playful banter with Boog Sciambi about vocal talents and the unique comfort of professional sound studios.

• Boog shares stories about the "silly" but meaningful ways his voice connects with young fans (03:48):

  "It’s the one space—when a nine or ten year old kid is excited to meet me or I say 'Hey, do you play MLB the Show?' and they say yeah and I say 'I’m that guy.'"
  (Boog Sciambi, 03:48)

• Pablo teases the main attraction: a heartening and eccentric viral story about a grandfather, a video game, and a lifetime of Yankees games, real and virtual.

2. Meet Kim Soriano: Grandson-Shared Fandom, Analog Devotion

• Kim joins the show in-studio with his grandson Matt, instantly charming everyone with his dry wit and thick New Jersey accent.

• He reveals his real name (“Kim”—it's a family joke) and his ritual:

  • He hand-scores all 162 Yankees games each year in MLB The Show, using custom scorecards (10:36).
  • He starts with 182 blank copies every spring and plays one game per day, mirroring the real Yankees schedule (11:09).

  "I'll play a game and they may come close to the game that I’m actually playing, what they play. Sometimes it scares me."
  (Kim Soriano, 12:24)

• Pablo is wowed by the analog/digital crossover, calling Kim "the Internet’s favorite sports grandpa... merging a beloved analog ritual with the video game world" (09:54+).

• Kim only plays as the hitter—he automates pitching, baserunning, and fielding (13:13).

• Injuries? If they happen in real life, he manually adds them to his video game roster using a handwritten guide on a scrap of paper (14:18).

• He describes the emotional highs and lows:

  "In the playoffs, I have never gotten to the World Series except for last year... Sometimes my wife says, 'What, are you crazy?' Because like I'll strike out and I'll... go bang the table."
  (Kim Soriano, 15:16, 15:42)

3. The Surprise: The Real Boog Enters the Game (Literally)

• Kim critiques MLB The Show’s commentary:

  "That’s the thing I don’t like about this game: the announcers are too repetitive. It’s the same thing. So I put it on the lowest volume I could think of..."
  (Kim Soriano, 17:43)

• Pablo has muted the in-game commentary, secretly piping in live play-by-play from Boog behind the glass. Boog skillfully announces Kim’s gameplay, adding in real-time references to Pablo and the studio (19:24–24:52).

• The ruse works until Kim, ever the careful fan, notices the announcer mentioning things that shouldn’t be possible (his blue sweater, "Pablo," etc.):

  "How was that done? They mentioned your name and the blue sweater. How was that? Who was broadcasting the game?"
  (Kim Soriano, 25:14)

• Realization and delight mix with sharp critique—Kim recognizes the voices and questions the plausibility, but quickly pivots back to the fun.

• Boog emerges for the reveal (27:29), and Kim is both a little dazed and clearly moved by the experience.

• They bond over their mutual love of keeping score, sharing and comparing their scorecards (32:28+).

4. Inside the Voice: The Art and Grind of Video Game Announcing

• Boog explains the technical process behind voice acting in MLB The Show (34:34):

  "The way we have to record it in order to stitch it together—I have to say 'Aaron Judge,' and then I say 'Judge,' and then I say 'Judge' so that they can stitch them all together so that I can say 'Aaron Judge from California.'"
  (Boog Sciambi, 34:34)

• The duo discusses the limitations of video game commentary—how repetition is inevitable for the superusers who, like Kim, play hundreds of games each year.

5. Closing Reflections: Baseball as Ritual and Connection

• Kim discusses his decades-long attachment to the game, both real and virtual, and how the ritual keeps him engaged and emotionally invested (37:07).

• He shares childhood memories of simulating baseball in the backyard—suggesting the game is a lifelong passion, migrated from steps and stickball to PlayStation and scorecards.

• Asked what he'd say to Boog, Kim sums up with heartfelt baseball fandom:

  "I just hope it continues until I go to the Great Beyond. No, I just want the game to continue because I enjoy playing it."
  (Kim Soriano, 38:53)

• The episode ends with a classic baseball joke, co-signed by all in the studio.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s exciting that in some way I might be impacting some kid’s love for baseball through this silly game.”
  — John "Boog" Sciambi (04:19)

• “I have never been bored playing this game. I look forward to the next day, and that’s it.”
  — Kim Soriano (11:50)

• “Sometimes it scares me because I’ll play a game and they may come close to the game that I’m actually playing, what they play.”
  — Kim Soriano (12:24)

• “You have instructions you’ve written down on a torn off scrap of paper ... Go to gameplay ... set injuries to manual so you can control it.”
  — Pablo Torre, impressed by Kim's dedication (14:32)

• “The announcers—yeah, they’re on top of it ... So repetitive and realistic...”
  — Pablo Torre (22:33, with tongue in cheek)

• “How was that done?... They mentioned your name and the blue sweater. How was that?”
  — Kim Soriano, putting the pieces together (25:14)

• “I just hope it continues until I go to the Great Beyond… I just want the game to continue because I enjoy playing it.”
  — Kim Soriano (38:53)

Segment Timestamps

• 00:36 – Pablo and Boog banter; discuss voice work and the comfort of the studio
• 03:48 – Boog talks about younger fans recognizing his voice from MLB The Show
• 08:04 – Kim Soriano introduced, explains his background and surname
• 10:36 – Kim describes his binder and score-keeping ritual
• 11:09 – Describes prepping for each new season with blank scorecards
• 13:13 – Kim explains his style of play (only hits, automates the rest)
• 14:18 – Kim explains how he adds injuries to his roster, with handwritten instructions
• 17:43 – Kim critiques the repetitive nature of video game commentary
• 19:24–24:52 – Live play-by-play prank: Boog announces Kim's gameplay from the control room
• 25:14 – Kim gets suspicious about the live commentary referencing his real life
• 27:29 – Boog emerges for the surprise reveal
• 32:28+ – Kim and Boog compare and discuss their methods of score-keeping
• 34:34 – Boog breaks down how video game commentary is recorded
• 37:07 – Kim reflects on why the game and the ritual mean so much to him
• 38:53 – Closing thoughts from Kim on his love of the game
• 39:29 – Final joke and the episode wraps

This episode is a heartfelt, humorous, and meta-exploration of the love for baseball and the ways fans—of all ages—find meaning, ritual, and even family in the sports (and games) they love. It is as much about human connection as it is about fandom, making it a highlights reel of everything Pablo Torre Finds Out does best.