Once in a while, when the Red Sox are off, I’ll tune to the Yankees (on WPRV, AM 790) . I like the Yankees well enough and I like to follow the AL East.
The problem is listening to John Sterling’s play-by-play. Sterling may be the worst radio announcer of all time (we’re only talking 100 years). I hope he’s the worst. I hate to think there’s someone else out there that combines a more limited repertoire with the same excess of ego.
Admittedly I’m biased by experience. I grew up in the deciduous swamp of upstate New York listening to Yankee broadcasts by Frank Messer, Bill White, and Phil Rizzuto. From left to right that trio produced a blend of great playcalling and great storytelling. Later at night, through the crackle and hum of the analog band, I could pick up Radio Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell on WJR calling Tigers games.
Now I mostly listen to Red Sox games, broadcast by the solid duo of Joe Castiglione and Dave O’Brien. Castiglione has the traditional baseball delivery, gravelly and conversational, while O’Brien is a true professional — accurate, descriptive, and unobtrusive. It’s not surprising that O’Brien also calls games for ESPN.
Sterling does not match up well. It is not his insipid trademark calls, nor his proudly banal understanding of the game that make him awful. It is his lack of cadence and flow.
Thuhhhh pitch.
Sterling must say that 100 times a game. It’s like listening to a man clear his throat for three hours.
I have never noticed Castiglione and O’Brien coughing up a verbal tic like that, so I paid attention the last few games to their technique. What they do is simple. Instead of fixating on “the pitch,” they describe the context of the pitch. They might mention the count, the pitcher’s delivery, the actions of baserunners. Sometimes they don’t describe “the pitch” until after the pitch. Here’s a mix of their calls, the first five from O’Brien, the second five from Castiglione:
Jacoby edging off first base and Garza delivers…
The 2-1 to Ortiz…
The 2-2 on the way to Ortiz…
Bailey takes a strike on the inside corner…
The righty sidearms one for ball one…
The 2-1 pitch…
Count full, runner goes, the pitch is taken low…
Masterson is ready, slings it in there…
The tall right hander is ready, here it is…
At the belt, here it comes, high ball three…
Yes, there’s repetition. But it’s the kind of reptition within variation that makes for good music. Cadence and flow.
I seldom listen to radio broadcasts any more. I always liked Sterling, but may be because he was so very much more appealing than his partner Michael Kay, now these many years the Yankees’ TV PBP man. Kay’s problem is not banality. He’s impeccably well prepared, and is obsessive about minutiae. It’s his timbre, his elocution, and his personality that grate. I even disagree vehemently with Mets-boosting friends of mine who have labeled him a homer. While it’s true that for most of Jeter’s career, Kay has been practically worshipful, he treats the rest of the team objectively. Sure, he lavishes praise on Yankees who make plays, but he just as excitedly calls attention to opponents’ fine play, and will extensively criticize poor play, especially on the Yankees. In the early days of YES, the best booth combination was Bobby Murcer and Jim Kaat. Kaat’s opinionated and detailed analysis offset Murcer’s jocular hayseed ramblings. This year, the best by far are John Flaherty and David Cone. They’re both so very articulate and knowledgeable about the game, and both charismatic, though Cone far more so. The worst by far is Al Leiter with anyone. Paul O’Neill is likely second-worst. He’s very likable, but talk about hayseed. Not the most insightful guy. Because of his slurred and stammering delivery, I like Leiter almost as little as Ron Darling for the Mets. How Darling ever got into Yale I’ll never understand.
Posted by by Lehho on May 18, 2009 at 6:41 am