Chaminade junior Thomas Gamba on calling Yankees game: 'It was absolutely electric'

When he was seven years old, Thomas Gamba was often told he knew more about sports than most adults.

On Sunday night, the now 16-year-old Garden City native showed the nation the depth of his knowledge when he was behind the mic for the ESPN KidsCast broadcast during the MLB Little League Classic. The Yankees fell to the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, in 10 innings at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

“The atmosphere was absolutely electric,” Gamba said. “An event like this brings together everyone that loves baseball and it was such a cool thing to see all those little leaguers with the pro players. I tried to channel their joy through my calls and give fans an exciting experience.”

Gamba is entering his junior year at Chaminade High School, where he has called over 100 games varying from soccer to volleyball and basketball to lacrosse through the school’s sports media program. He joined as a freshman and started as a fill-in for the public address announcer before finding his voice as the Flyers’ go-to play-by-play commentator.

“I wasn’t that nervous because I was thinking of it just as a Chaminade game, but instead it’s the Yankees,” Gamba said. “I knew my stuff, so I was confident going in. There was a lot of things to take into account and I had to steer the ship which was really hard, but I'm proud of how I handled it. It was a great experience.”

Pat Reichert, an English teacher and the director of the school’s program, remembers the first time he heard Gamba’s voice.

“Thomas has such maturity, you don’t think you’re listening to a kid calling the game,” Reichert said. “You put him behind the mic and he shines. To see someone have that level of natural comfort is a privilege to witness and I couldn’t be happier that the country gets to discover how special he is.”

Gamba was the youngest of eight finalists selected by the network through Bruce Beck’s Sports Broadcasting Camp and received a call from Beck after he heard a clip of him calling a Flyers’ freshman lacrosse game. The preparation began right away.

"Ever since he got that call, he’s been researching every single day from morning to night,” said Allison Gamba, Thomas’ mother. “The only time I saw him after we got to Williamsport was for just five minutes in the catering room. He’s so dedicated to his craft and his life revolves around sports broadcasting.”

Gamba’s favorite part of the weekend was working with the crew of young reporters. While they had never met before, he said their chemistry came naturally.

“We only practiced twice before the game, once with one inning of a Yankee game from May and then we did a practice with each other the day before. We didn’t know each other at all before I got the call that I won, so I think all of us succeeded because we were overprepared and did our research.”

But Gamba is most excited about returning to the press box at Chaminade.

“Every game is important whether it’s Chaminade or ESPN,” Gamba said. “The most important thing for me is giving back and I hope my experience is a lesson for other kids like me that hard work and preparation will get you far.”

By Carissa Kellman

carissa.kellman@newsday.com@CarissaKellman