Of course, the real fans had been replaced by fan image cutouts. That was okay. Our fans had been board for a few years now anyway. And I could live with the Naval officer singing ‘God Bless America’ at a remote location near a little league field.
But this had brought back memories from back in the day. That is before we had a TV to yell at. Back then we had sound affects but the announcer was using a telegraph tape to do the play by play. He would read the plays and pass them on to the listener, along with the sound of the ball hitting the bat. They used a mallet back then.
After that we had live radio, with actually ‘at the park’ coverage. Then black and white TV followed by living color. We have gone a long way with the coverage and fan involvement. Starting with a Saturday National TV Game of the Week to the coverage of every game every day. A fan’s dream.
I remember when the announcers would have small nets on a pole to try to catch foul balls. Now they are so far away they must use a monitor most of the time. Maybe the studio is not that farfetched.
Now we are stuck with no fans in the stands and missing announcers.
The Yesterdays
Along the way we had a bunch of milestones and a variety of announcers. Some boring. Some entertaining. I had a flash back to the characters we had doing the games.
Jack Brickhouse
It started for me with Jack Brickhouse on radio doing the play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games. Later he moved to TV. He was from my hometown so we listened to him.
Dizzy Dean
Then there was Dizzy Dean. As a radio announcer, Dean earned a devoted following. He was not noted for his command of the English language as he once described a base runner play: "He slud into third". Then he dropped his radio broadcasting to concentrate on the nationally televised "Game of the Week."
Red Barber
Announcer Red Barber did the first televised Major League baseball game. He called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
The 1955 World Series was the first televised in color.
Harry Carey
My favorite was Harry Carey. He broadcasted the Cardinals for a long time. He was expert at selling the sponsor's beer. Then he moved to the Cubs and things were never the same. In the middle of the seventh inning, he would sing ‘Take me out to the ball game’ to fans, while waving his microphone at them.
One Cub fan asked me a trivia question one time: “What is Harry’s favorite inning?” The picture of him singing to the crowd flashed through my mind. But before I could say the seventh, the fan responded: “The bottom of the Fifth.” Harry had moved on from Bud. Holy Cow!
Bob Uecker
Bob is still going strong. Bob is a current sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Facetiously dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by TV talk show host Johnny Carson, Uecker has served as a play-by-play announcer for Milwaukee Brewers radio broadcasts since 1971. Sometimes he broadcasts from the last row in the bleachers.
Mr. Uecker has a statue at Milwaukee’s Miller Park behind the last row in the upper deck. He had made the location famous in Miller Lite ads in the 70’s and 80’s.
He is always good for a flashback to his playing days. “The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up.”
Vin Scully
Last there is the legend, Vin Scully. He announced the first regular-season baseball game ever played on the West Coast, a Los Angeles Dodgers-San Francisco Giants game. In its first year airing Major League Baseball, the station aired only the Dodgers' road games. He was one of a kind. He did the complete game by himself.
Well, baseball is having a flashback to the good old days. Maybe the umpires will start working from home. It could improve the accuracy.
A big salute to our doctors and medical workers and our first responders.
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