The voice of baseball
MorrellMan
Posts: 3,238 ✭✭✭
A recent thread talked about Bobby Murcer being an announcer for the Yankees, which I, and apparently others, did not know. I've been listening to Vin Scully since 1958. Due to certain business decisions made by the Dodgers in recent years, I tried to become an Angel fan, but I just could not get past those announcers. To me, Vin Scully is baseball, and I've always felt blessed to be able to listen to him everyday from April to October.
Is there anybody out there with Vinnie's abilities announcing for other teams in other cities?
Is there anybody out there with Vinnie's abilities announcing for other teams in other cities?
Mark (amerbbcards)
"All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
"All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
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He also only does about 1/4 of the games, Singleton and Kaat do many more.
His golf schedule is a bear, and only allows travel to certain select games and cities.
He and McCarver were about as obtuse and mis-spoken as it gets.
........but he does bring a sense of humor with him.
Scully, is classic baseball for sure.
In the modern era, when I hear Joe Buck (and all his anti-Yankee sentiments) I always think of october.
edited to add:
why??
got an announcer set to register?
murcerfan - I caught a bit of the Yankees-Mariners game yesterday and Paul O'Neill was doing the commentary. Is he a regular? For a player I could not stand I was pretty impressed with his broadcasting. He made some "insider" points that I thought were great.
Maybe George could ask Murcer to retire again because he has a young phenom TV announcer.
Even though Murcer is very bad behind the mike, he sounds like Scully when compared to former Yankee player AND former Yankee announcer Rick Cerone.
Scully is by far the best. Bob Brenly was very bad when he was with FOX.
Gary Thorne is very good, and will probably do more national baseball when the hockey season is over.
but the Yankees can get away with Murcer when the have outstanding non-player announcers like Michael Kaye , who used to do radio with Charlie Steiner, who is very good.
in fact I had the game on the radio today and hardly missed watching.
Triva quiz: who was Nuxhall's radio partner before Brennaman? Al Michaels (1971-1973)
Steve
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Growing up in San Diego, I loved listining to Jerry Coleman announcing the Padre games. His mixups were classic...he had one that went: "Winfield's going back, he hits his head against the wall, and it's rolling toward second base!"
Steve
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I would love to have heard him, but he was unfortunately a little bit before my time
Steve
Hearing good announcers can add so much to a game and is probably more important in baseball than any other sport because baseball is not perpetual motion so it lends itself well to entertaining announcers.
Regarding the thread, I grew up in L.A. and always will enjoy listening to Scully. He made the games come alive on the radio when the only TV games were up in S.F. I do have to admit that I would also enjoy the emotion Jack Brickhouse would display those summers I spent at my grandfather's farm in Indiana.
According to everything I remember seeing, his last name is spelled "Facenda". Just to double check, I did a Google search and came up with the below website about Philadelphia broadcasters where they have a rather decent bio of him.
Facenda Website
Steve
Thanks for the idea. I did a google search on John Fascenda and he shows up under that name too. That site you showed with the picture sure looks a lot like my neighbor. He must be telling the truth. I suspect Fascenda is the correct spelling but I guess I'll just have to watch some ESPN Classic and check it out.
I recently bought a CD of a old live broadcast of the 1968 World Series Game Five won by Detroit and Jack Buck & Phil Rizzuto sp did the game and Ol 'Dizzy Dean was interviewed on the pregame.
WHAT A CLASSIC!!
How about Russ Hodges with the Giants. ("The Giants won the pennant! The Giants won the pennant!") How many times did he say that when Bobby Thompson's hit the HR against Dodgers in the 51 NL playoff game?????? I think 12....??????
Todd
Edited to add : I hate the Yankees
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Outside of the Cubs there are a few other good broadcasters for other teams that I got to listen to every now and then, Jack Buck, Vince Scully, Mel Allen, Bob Uecker, and Marty Breneman that I thought did superb jobs. I loved Mel Allen in "TWIB".
Scott Jeanblanc
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Dave,I met Murcer on the CPT tour and he has got to be the funniest ex major leaguer I've ever met.Go meet him on the CPT and just BS with him.he talked baseball with my father and me for about 15 minutes,craking jokes about his horrible golfing,athletes on steriods etc..and everyone around him was in stitches.He was non-stop one liner after the other.
I think the oddest bird to catch calling a game is David Justice.He adds the street perspective to commentating.
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The current Sox radio voices are average at best. Joe Castiglione has been there for 25 years and is an institution, but his sidekick, Jerry Trupiano, is atrocious. Every deep foul/fly is a near home run. Pathetic.
If you get NESN (the Red Sox cable network) you gotta like Jerry Remy... he brings a lot of insight, personality, and opinion to his broadcast. And best of all, he doesn't take himself too seriously. That's what I never liked about Vin Scully on national TV... good voice and delivery, but I swear he thinks he is the Napoleon of broadcasting. And in World Series broadcasts, he is so NL-partisan, he makes a wretched unbiased announcer. Too bad. A waste of terrific talent!
On radio, John Sterling is disgusting. His "Thuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhh Yankees win" is so forced he sounds like a carnival barker. Give me a break!
And Scott is right, Mel Allen on TWIB was priceless! I'll never grow tired of "How about that!".
Just a New Englander's opinion.
Dave
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Did I leave anything out?
However, we did have Chick Hearn in complete senility for over twenty years with the Lakers. Sure, he invented "the popcorn machine", but he also mistook a young boy dressed in black as the microphone and almost drooled him to death. I was always surprised when Nick Van Exel would dish the ball to Elgin Baylor. Luckily, his contract wasn't renewed when he died.
However, one man stands above all the rest when it comes to announcing. There would be no bowling if not for Chris Shenkel. He was able to go years without just laughing out loud and running across the lanes naked. He turned men like Mark Roth and former pitcher Earl Anthony into athletes. And, he never "outed" Nelson Burton, Jr..
S.
On radio, John Sterling is disgusting. His "Thuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhh Yankees win" is so forced he sounds like a carnival barker. Give me a break!
Completely agree on Sterling, he used to announce Atlanta Hawks and Braves games. He does sound forced and was not popular with Atlanta sports fans. I think the TBS crew is great - four different personalities that usually have interesting comments even when the game is dragging. Skip Caray does come across as a tad egotistical at times though.
Some of the worst you forgot, thankfully, were Dave Nelson, Bob Brenly, Dave Otto and Josh Lewin (who Harry ran out of town).
I watched wayyyyyyyyyyy too many games when I was young and still have many Brickhouse-isms in my speech when talking about games.
I picked up the 3 CD audio recording of the 1969 Opening Day and it was great to hear Vince and Lou.
Harry and Steve were probably the best overall combo.
Great memories.
Keith
1. Dave Niehaus and Rick Rizz (just ignore all the ex-M's who hang out with them--it's usually better that way).
2. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan (be curious to get some general commentary on them--I used to really enjoy them but no longer have cable and don't hear them much anymore. And the time that I did recently something was missing from the Sunday Night Baseball telecasts of yore that I can't put my finger on.).
3. Skip Caray & Don Sutton, who've been mentioned previously.
For those who may have missed it, it was no accident Niehaus threw out the first pitch at the first game at Safeco Field. Whatever deficiencies he may have in pure game-calling ability (and I personally, can't find many) are made up for in style points. My understanding is that he was the first to call A-Rod A-Rod, which is a fun bit of trivia, and he has an infectious enthusiasm for what he's doing.
So there's my two cents. I definitely wish I had more experience with some of the now-retired (and/or deceased) legends of the booth--I sense I'm missing out.
Peter G.
The thing that I"m afraid of is that my son and his friends will never have this discussion- announcers have gotten so generic it really doesn't warrant a debate.
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I can't picture Vin as a girl, but he had some beauty queen genes tucked away somewhere in his DNA.
S.
<< <i>There would be no bowling if not for Chris Shenkel. He was able to go years without just laughing out loud and running across the lanes naked. He turned men like Mark Roth and former pitcher Earl Anthony into athletes. And, he never "outed" Nelson Burton, Jr.. >>
Gotta love ABC Wide World of Sports. I remember watching those two guys as a kid.
I'm surprised you did not mention the one and only Marshall Holman !!
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I have been fortunate enough to have "heard" all the great announcers mentioned with the exception of Dizzy Dean. I think the greatest "solo" artists, in order, are Mel Allen, Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell and Jack Buck. Just my preference, but the personal styles of Harry Cary and Red Barber always seemed to get in the way.
As far as "teams"go, Phil Rizzuto and Bill White (Frank Messer was a windbag when coupled with one of them) has been the most enjoyable and knowledgable duo I have listened to. And although they may not come accross the same on TV, I find the Jon Miller/Joe Morgan combo great "listening."
George Kell and Al Kaline were also great announcing the televised games. They were never afraid to criticize their own team.
<< <i>I think the true measure of how to answer this question is basis the radio play-by-play. After all, we are talking about the "voice of baseball." Not the video enchanced version of someone reacting to what you are looking at. The measure of a great "voice" is how they create the image in the listener's mind of what is actually taking place, along with their insight into the game. >>
Exactly Dirty Harry - play-by-play means just that. Vin paints such a vivid picture of the game on the field that it's poetry. Jerry Doggett was a great foil to Vin Scully; his delivery was much more dry, he never tried to emulate Scully, but they never broadcast as a "team" - Doggett would spell Vinnie in the third and seventh innings. Someone else refered to the "magical" quality of Vinnie's broadcasts - there were two extended periods in my life where I owe Vinnie my a$$. Without being too maudlin, suffice it to say that the only bright spot and relief in my day was switching on the radio and hearing Scully say "It is indeed a beautiful day for a ballgame..."
"All evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing."