70 replies to this topic

[jon abbey]

I remember
His first day in the booth
After he retired.
God,
I'm so old.
He sucked at announcing,
But then he got better.

He probably got worse in the conventional sense, that call preserved above of Maris' 61st HR seems really good. He was endlessly entertaining, though, and I can't imagine these guys went through more than a fraction of his 40 years of broadcasts.

[jon abbey]

My copy of the new expanded edition just arrived, so I'll be sharing some more.

[jon abbey]

When Your Eyes Start Bouncing

That was a riot.
'Cause Velarde was gonna try and ca-
Watch this:

Now he runs by Velarde.
Velarde says:
"What's coming off here?"

And that's tough when
You're running hard
And your eyes start bouncing.

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May 17. 1992

[jon abbey]

Clete Does Eat

When you're frustrated,
You eat a lot.

And when you're in love,
You eat a lot.

And when you're hungry,
You eat a lot.

So Boyer's doing all three.
That's a little inside joke.

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August 9, 1992

[jon abbey]

Gone and Back

OH!
THAT'S GONE!
No.
It's not.

Close.
Off the wall.
Son of a gun.
I make a lot of mistakes like that.

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May 30, 1992

[Spacemans Bong]

He probably got worse in the conventional sense, that call preserved above of Maris' 61st HR seems really good. He was endlessly entertaining, though, and I can't imagine these guys went through more than a fraction of his 40 years of broadcasts.

I've got a Red Sox-Yanks game from 1961 where he's trying to play it straight, and he's pretty good except for the occasional Holy Cow!

They probably don't have many games from the 1970s. I suspect that might have been the zenith where he was still a competent announcer on the fundamentals (and just a younger, more energetic man in general - he was 75 in 1992, and he didn't seem that spry for 75) but with the Scooter charm and humor. I think as he got older the Scooter took over full-time. Not that I would have complained, he was hysterically funny. I have a piece of a game where there's thunder storms and Scooter's all but running out of the booth with fear while Bill White's trying not to die of laughter.

[jon abbey]

Not that I would have complained, he was hysterically funny. I have a piece of a game where there's thunder storms and Scooter's all but running out of the booth with fear while Bill White's trying not to die of laughter.

Hehe, awesome. I started watching/listening around 1976 (when I was 9), and only really remember him as the unintentional comedic genius and unabashed homer.

[jon abbey]

Chaos


This is very interesting.
Forget the game.
Right here.
Here's a guy can't see.
All right,
Gene Larkin is the NO!
Gene Larkin?
What did he do?
Base on balls.

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June 22, 1991

[SoxLegacy]

These are hysterical! Thanks for sharing these. About the only thing that could top them is a pic of Lindsey Nelson's jackets or some Jerry Coleman quotes.....

[terrynever]

Phil invented the WW scorekeeping code. "Wasn't watching." I used it a few times scoring games myself. Serious scribes would look over at my book and chuckle. I bet John Sterling does it, too.

[jon abbey]

Pressure


Tremendous pressure
In this ball game.
You cannot let up a minute

Whether you're pitching.
Catching.
Playing the infield or outfield.

Or coaching.
Or managing.
Or broadcasting.

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October 2, 1978
AL East playoff
NY at Boston
Ron Guidry pitching to Jack Brohamer
Fifth inning, two out, one base runner
Red Sox lead 1-0

[jon abbey]

It's Different in the Playoffs


Remember when we were kids?
And you threw a pitch you didn't like?
And you'd say, "Oops, slipped!"
And it wouldn't count?
Even if he hit a home run?

Can't work that here.

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October 14. 1976
KC at NY
AL playoff game
Third inning, Royals lead 3-2

[jon abbey]

Dream Day


It turned out to be
One of the most beautiful days.
I had no idea
I was going to play golf today.
I didn't bring any shoes.
Or balls.
Or glove.
Or clothes.
But they...
They gave me a full complement.
And I was very embarrassed to take it.

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May 26, 1992

[jon abbey]

There are a bunch of longer ones too, if I get enough encouragement, I'll type in some of those when I have a chance.

[Professor Longnose]

I had this book a long time ago. It seems to have disappeared. My favorite was my favorite moment in the history of announcing--the one about Texas being on the moon.

I loved Phil.

[jon abbey]

I had this book a long time ago. It seems to have disappeared. My favorite was my favorite moment in the history of announcing--the one about Texas being on the moon.

I just flipped through, I don't think that's actually in the book, although I saw a paraphrase on the web.

[jon abbey]

Mere Anarchy Is Loosed Upon The World


I tell ya.
Before long,
Football starts.
This weekend
In seriousness.
And pretty soon
It'll be hockey
And then basketball.
And then baseball
Will still
Be going on.
And it'll be
Very confusing.
Very confusing.

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August 31, 1991

[SoxLegacy]

You are now my second favorite Yankee fan. These are terrific--thanks for posting them!

Edited by SoxLegacy, 10 July 2012 - 08:15 AM.

[jon abbey]

Caps, Bees, Jokes, Pags


Today is Cap Day.
Today is Cap Day.

We have talked about the bees
That we had showed on camera

Out in Cincinnati.
I was just joking.

But my jokes are pretty sick
I've been told by certain people.

He didn't get it.
And Pags, a high fly to center field.

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May 10, 1987

[jon abbey]

To Murcer, an Explanation


I tried to ask Andy Stankiewicz.
He won't say anything though,
Why he's not playing a little more.
And I said, "Are you hurt?"
He said, "No. I'm not hurt."
"Feel great."

Of course,
He never does complain, Murcer.
But I figured I was talking to myself there
A little while,
And it was very uninteresting.
That's why I brought you in.

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Sept 1, 1992

[jon abbey]

I've been meaning to bump this for a while, here's a good one:

-------------------------------------

Toying With Seaver, Soaring With Utica

Utica, New York!
There's a cow up there.
That won its 300th game.
And stepped on my foot that day...
And he had a calf.
And they're both up there
On a farm in Utica.
And I went...

I tried to borrow a gun
To shoot the cow.
'Course it would happen to be a day
That some guy won his 300th game...

He'd never let me forget it.
They wanted,
The mayor wanted to have a parade.
With me and the two cows...

I said, "Forget it."

-----------------------------

April 27, 1992