I love mlb.tv and watch a ton of games. The radio calls for both teams for every game are great for walks, bed, and a nice break from the tv noise you describe in your article. I’ve been “calling” games for years-watch the tv broadcast on mute, keep score, and call all the action. Doing the reds game tonight and I’ve been using the substack podcast a bunch. I think I’ve posted one of the calls and the rest I’m just saving to publish in the long offseason.
Groucho Marx included Vin in his will “For all the joy you’ve given me.” I remember, in the transistor radio days at Dodger Stadium, hearing his narration emanating from thousands of locations throughout the park. Great announcers taught many of us kids the nuances of the game and mythologized our childhood heroes. Great piece. Thanks.
I grew up on John Coleman calling games for the Padres. I felt connected to home when I went away for college or went on vacation and he’d be on the radio telling the baseball gods to “Hang a star on that one!” It also helped that the radio tower they used was an AM tower based in Tijuana that was stronger than legally available and you could get the station as far as Sacramento.
What you say is true, and the radio broadcasts from both sides of all games are available (I use them if I'm driving somewhere during a Twins game), but I do love the stats and that camera angle from behind the pitcher that lets us see the movement of the ball (and lately shows the strike zone, which is both fun and frustrating when the ump gets it wrong).
Great read. I still prefer the old style of watching before the silly K-zone box was put up live. It takes away the guessing game of whether, as a viewer, I think it is a ball or strike before the ump makes the call. Now, we have to assume while watching live, that the ump sees it exactly as the screen zone shows us.
I also find it more difficult to focus on the pitch being caught. You often can't see it hit the catcher's mitt because they dot the location with a small white circle as soon as it gets to the zone.
I always liked it when the replay added the K-zone after the pitch just to see for accuracy purpose, but it definitely takes aways from the lexperience while watching live, which is too bad. Keep things simple. Makes it better. Makes us pay attention more as well.
oh my goodness you nailed it with this one! I have hated the k-zone box for years and I didn't know if anyone shared my sentiment but you nailed it, they really should just put it up for borderline pitches in replays! it just doesn't let you learn anything about how the strike zone is from the top of the chest to the knees and you just trust the box even though its not perfectly angled... excellent comment!
The Tigers had Ernie Harrell (radio) and George Kell (TV) from childhood until into my 30s. It was like they experienced the game with the players because they personally knew them! And we did kind of know the players personally through the announcers. Also, the players were with the team to stay - unless there was a big trade. Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Jim Northrup, Denny McClain, Rubber Arm Lolich, Willie Horton, Bill Freehan, Ole Paw Paw Maxwell, Gates Brown, on and on. You got to know your guys, and they were loyal to the fans. Now many watchers can hardly name the players. Unfortunately it is too much contract price now. When Al Kaline got a $100,000 contract offer, he told the management no one was worth that much! Different era, different focus, different fans, different players, and different announcers. Anyone who lived that era misses it badly!
Tom Hamilton (Hammy) of the Cleveland Guardians captures the imagination like no other contemporary from simple pitch count phrases, "we'll do it again with two & two" to electrifying ⚡"A swing and a drive to deep right center, away, back, and gone!!!"⚾
"what used to be storytelling has become narration" wow you nailed it with that one.... fantastic read I hope we have a commentator come along who tells a story sooner rather than later
In 1958, after the Dodgers left Brooklyn for LA, Russ Hodges would broadcast the play by play in NYC, recreated from a teletype feed from the West Coast. There were sound effects of crowds, of bat hitting ball, of home run calls.
Vin Scully wrote books, not just stories, with his voice. There were so many voices, Ernie Harrell, Hack Buck, Harry Caray, Bob Prince, and others who gave us the “color of the mind”. I remember listening to “Morning Edition” with Bob Edwards in the 1980s and “Fridays with Red” with Red Barber who would tell story after story about baseball and life.
Vin Scully wrote books, not just stories, with his voice. There were so many voices, Ernie Harrell, Jack Buck, Harry Caray, Bob Prince, and others who gave us the “color of the mind”. I remember listening to “Morning Edition” with Bob Edwards in the 1980s and “Fridays with Red” with Red Barber who would tell story after story about baseball and life.
Free baseball radio app in the Google Play store. You can listen to any team....it's pretty invaluable to me. 🙂
I love mlb.tv and watch a ton of games. The radio calls for both teams for every game are great for walks, bed, and a nice break from the tv noise you describe in your article. I’ve been “calling” games for years-watch the tv broadcast on mute, keep score, and call all the action. Doing the reds game tonight and I’ve been using the substack podcast a bunch. I think I’ve posted one of the calls and the rest I’m just saving to publish in the long offseason.
Groucho Marx included Vin in his will “For all the joy you’ve given me.” I remember, in the transistor radio days at Dodger Stadium, hearing his narration emanating from thousands of locations throughout the park. Great announcers taught many of us kids the nuances of the game and mythologized our childhood heroes. Great piece. Thanks.
I grew up on John Coleman calling games for the Padres. I felt connected to home when I went away for college or went on vacation and he’d be on the radio telling the baseball gods to “Hang a star on that one!” It also helped that the radio tower they used was an AM tower based in Tijuana that was stronger than legally available and you could get the station as far as Sacramento.
What you say is true, and the radio broadcasts from both sides of all games are available (I use them if I'm driving somewhere during a Twins game), but I do love the stats and that camera angle from behind the pitcher that lets us see the movement of the ball (and lately shows the strike zone, which is both fun and frustrating when the ump gets it wrong).
Great read. I still prefer the old style of watching before the silly K-zone box was put up live. It takes away the guessing game of whether, as a viewer, I think it is a ball or strike before the ump makes the call. Now, we have to assume while watching live, that the ump sees it exactly as the screen zone shows us.
I also find it more difficult to focus on the pitch being caught. You often can't see it hit the catcher's mitt because they dot the location with a small white circle as soon as it gets to the zone.
I always liked it when the replay added the K-zone after the pitch just to see for accuracy purpose, but it definitely takes aways from the lexperience while watching live, which is too bad. Keep things simple. Makes it better. Makes us pay attention more as well.
oh my goodness you nailed it with this one! I have hated the k-zone box for years and I didn't know if anyone shared my sentiment but you nailed it, they really should just put it up for borderline pitches in replays! it just doesn't let you learn anything about how the strike zone is from the top of the chest to the knees and you just trust the box even though its not perfectly angled... excellent comment!
The Tigers had Ernie Harrell (radio) and George Kell (TV) from childhood until into my 30s. It was like they experienced the game with the players because they personally knew them! And we did kind of know the players personally through the announcers. Also, the players were with the team to stay - unless there was a big trade. Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Jim Northrup, Denny McClain, Rubber Arm Lolich, Willie Horton, Bill Freehan, Ole Paw Paw Maxwell, Gates Brown, on and on. You got to know your guys, and they were loyal to the fans. Now many watchers can hardly name the players. Unfortunately it is too much contract price now. When Al Kaline got a $100,000 contract offer, he told the management no one was worth that much! Different era, different focus, different fans, different players, and different announcers. Anyone who lived that era misses it badly!
Ernie Harwell was the voice of my childhood.
Tom Hamilton (Hammy) of the Cleveland Guardians captures the imagination like no other contemporary from simple pitch count phrases, "we'll do it again with two & two" to electrifying ⚡"A swing and a drive to deep right center, away, back, and gone!!!"⚾
"what used to be storytelling has become narration" wow you nailed it with that one.... fantastic read I hope we have a commentator come along who tells a story sooner rather than later
you can still sit on a porch and have the action of a baseball game conveyed to you via wireless
In 1958, after the Dodgers left Brooklyn for LA, Russ Hodges would broadcast the play by play in NYC, recreated from a teletype feed from the West Coast. There were sound effects of crowds, of bat hitting ball, of home run calls.
One had to suspend disbelief.
Vin Scully wrote books, not just stories, with his voice. There were so many voices, Ernie Harrell, Hack Buck, Harry Caray, Bob Prince, and others who gave us the “color of the mind”. I remember listening to “Morning Edition” with Bob Edwards in the 1980s and “Fridays with Red” with Red Barber who would tell story after story about baseball and life.
Vin Scully wrote books, not just stories, with his voice. There were so many voices, Ernie Harrell, Jack Buck, Harry Caray, Bob Prince, and others who gave us the “color of the mind”. I remember listening to “Morning Edition” with Bob Edwards in the 1980s and “Fridays with Red” with Red Barber who would tell story after story about baseball and life.