It’s hot out, unbearable in some places, but not all announcers get to have the comfort of an air conditioned pressbox to work with so here is  a list of some items to have with you when the weather gets hot and unpredictable.

• Water – hydration is very important and you should stay well hydrated.  If you find it is hot out and you are not sweating, you need to drink something.  Here is some information from WebMD on how to prevent dehydration.
• Sports drink – also falls into hydration with water, but not everyone thinks about taking a Gatorade or Powerade with them when going to announce.  The first issue is it causes thicker saliva which can make announcing a little tougher, however if you’re going to be walking to/from the pressbox and it’s hot, you may want to have a sports drink with you.
• Umbrella – you never know when it’s going to rain or you’re going to be at the ballpark longer than you’d expected and that late-game storm rolls in.  Umbrellas are relatively inexpensive, portable and available in many places.
• Extra T-shirts – heat leads to sweat and sometimes you wind up doing more than you’d expected to do or under estimated the temperature.  An extra T-shirt or two in your bag will allow you to change when you get on site and started.  This is especially important if you’re going to be working in a pressbox that has air conditioning.  If you’re still going to be outside, leaving your shirt on with sweat will actually help you stay cool.  Here, Wired examines The Physics of Keeping Cool.
• Extra Work Shirts – if you work for a team and you have the ability to have more than one work shirt, do so.  For the same reason above with sweating, you may want to change shirts if you sweat through the first or had to battle rain when getting to your box.
• Three pairs of socks – why three, because you will need them.  This comes from years of working in professional baseball and having to pull tarp.  It was not uncommon to have 3-5 T-shirts in my desk and a package of 12 socks at any given time.  Without tarp pulls, you won’t venture too much into the elements.  But if you have to walk from your car to the stadium and it is raining, there is a good chance your feet are going to get wet.  When you get to your position, change your socks to prevent blisters.  Now, why more?  Because your shoes may still be wet.  The first pair of socks you change in to can very well get wet as well even though you avoid the precipitation.
• Extra pair of shoes – this isn’t as easy as always thought but if you have an extra pair of shoes, bring them.  You never know when you might step in a puddle and need to change your shoes.
• Extra pair of shorts – you’re probably working in a warm-weather environment and shorts are permitted.  You’d be surprised how many times an extra pair of shorts came in handy because of sweat.
• Extra underwear – it’s closer to your skin, like your shirts, so you might want to carry extra underwear so you can change and be more comfortable.
• A hat – even if you don’t like wearing hats, there are some situations where the hat will help keep the sun out of your eyes.  It can also prevent rain from falling on your face too!
• Sunscreen – stay protected, even sun coming through windows can do damage.
• A towel – with all this talk of rain, you need to dry off.
• Small gym bag – what are you going to use to carry everything?