Have You Seen Baseball On the Radio?
We are mere days away from Pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training. For baseball fans this event signifies the REAL start of spring. Dreams of the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues dance through fans heads as we anticipate the new season. New beginnings, where every team seemingly has a chance to be playing in October.
As the season approaches, as I’m sure most baseball fans can’t help, my mind is drawn to memories of baseball years past. Memories of not balls and strikes, or even hits and home runs, but memories of the way you felt at the ballpark or watching on TV, or even listening on the radio. Once such memory from listening to a game, sticks in my head.
Baseball was once called the game you can see on the radio. I learned what this really meant on October 31 – November 1 of 2001. Most of you may remember this was the Yankees-Diamondbacks world series the fall after the horrific 911 attacks in New York and Washington.
Some friends and I had dressed up and headed to a college Halloween party. The party was lame, and we turned on the TV at the party to the World series. It was the late innings, and the game was close. You could feel the tension in New York even through the TV. Not long after turning on the game we were asked to turn the TV off as it was too distracting from the party. The game was too intense to miss, so we left the party to go listen in my friend’s truck to catch the end of the game.
Midnight eastern was fast approaching and things looked dire for the Yankees, as the bottom of the 12th inning began. Just as Derek Jeter was taking his strides to the plate, Jon Miller announced the scoreboard in Yankee stadium was flashing the message, “Welcome to November Baseball!”. I still remember Jon Miller and Joe Morgan calling the game on the ESPN national broadcast. The descriptions of the energy, the tensions in the crowd and the call of the game, you could almost smell the grass and clay, and I felt the roar of the crowd, as Jeter blasted a game winning home run into the seats of the “short porch” in right field at Yankee stadium, tying the series at 2 games apiece. I will never forget feeling like I was at Yankee stadium, feeling the energy, and the excitement, all thanks to the call description and call by Miller and Morgan. I knew what it meant to SEE baseball on the radio. I had fallen in love with baseball all over again.
Another memory of SEEING baseball on the Radio happened to me while listening to a regular season Dodger broadcast the summer of “Mannywood”. It was a usual summer game, and I was listening to the game as I was working on some things for work. As the end of the game approached with the Dodgers trailing, things were shaping up for a potential big at bat for Manny. The incomparable Vin Sculley was on the call that night, as it seems he was for so many of my baseball memories. The crowd began to realize Manny was coming to the plate with a chance to change the fortunes of the Dodgers in this game, and they exploded with anticipation. Since coming to the Dodgers Manny was hitting like .500 and just lighting it up for Dodger fans. The anticipation what he was about to hopefully do, was palpable. In his unique smooth voice, and with a delivery only Vin could have made, he said five simple words: “Well, you don’t need me!” And he did not say another word through multiple pitches –until Manny had lifted a high long drive into the Los Angeles night!
Many years later now, I don’t even remember if he got a hit, a HR, an out, or even if the Dodgers won that game. I don’t remember exactly when the game was. But I remember how I felt, when Vin Sculley let me feel like I was at the game by just letting the crowd noise and energy pass through the radio to me, a mere Dodger fan, again, I could see baseball on the radio. Do yourself a favor and just listen to a game on the radio this season, you’ll be reminded of the magic of baseball on the radio.
All of us have many memories like this that remind us of why we love this game so much, and why for us baseball fans the approaching day for pitchers and catchers to report is OUR New Years Day, it is our new beginning. Good luck to all the teams and may all you fans enjoy another year of the greatest game on earth!
By Scott Carter