Doesn't the term "Rookie Prospect" strike you as a little redundant? It reminds me of former O's TV play-by-play guy Michael Reghi, who used to call "home run bombs" when a hitter went deep. I think he grated on my nerves more than anyone else who's ever called Orioles games in my time as a fan, and that home run call was the greatest annoyance. Generally, we've had it pretty good, though. The glory days of Chuck Thompson or even Jon Miller might be long gone, but we could do much worse than the primary TV duo of Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer. They've developed a surprisingly good chemistry in just their second year together. It often sounds like they're having fun, and they're competent and sometimes informative. Sure, "Cakes" loves to hear himself talk, but at least he's not a willfully ignorant relic of the baseball Dark Ages like Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver. I don't listen to games on the radio very often (particularly since my antenna broke off last winter), but I've never had a quarrel with Joe Angel or Fred Manfra, or even the goofy-but-harmless Jim Hunter. Angel is forever in my good graces for a call he delivered at the end of a hard-fought victory over a certain team from New York in the summer of 2006. "Rodriguez grounds out, and...thaaaaaa YANKEES LOSE! THAAAAA YAAANKEEES LOOOOOSEEE!" He was, of course, mocking sycophantic Bronx Bombers announcer John Sterling. Any enemy of Sterling is a friend of mine.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Mike Oquist, 1994 Pinnacle #224
Doesn't the term "Rookie Prospect" strike you as a little redundant? It reminds me of former O's TV play-by-play guy Michael Reghi, who used to call "home run bombs" when a hitter went deep. I think he grated on my nerves more than anyone else who's ever called Orioles games in my time as a fan, and that home run call was the greatest annoyance. Generally, we've had it pretty good, though. The glory days of Chuck Thompson or even Jon Miller might be long gone, but we could do much worse than the primary TV duo of Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer. They've developed a surprisingly good chemistry in just their second year together. It often sounds like they're having fun, and they're competent and sometimes informative. Sure, "Cakes" loves to hear himself talk, but at least he's not a willfully ignorant relic of the baseball Dark Ages like Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver. I don't listen to games on the radio very often (particularly since my antenna broke off last winter), but I've never had a quarrel with Joe Angel or Fred Manfra, or even the goofy-but-harmless Jim Hunter. Angel is forever in my good graces for a call he delivered at the end of a hard-fought victory over a certain team from New York in the summer of 2006. "Rodriguez grounds out, and...thaaaaaa YANKEES LOSE! THAAAAA YAAANKEEES LOOOOOSEEE!" He was, of course, mocking sycophantic Bronx Bombers announcer John Sterling. Any enemy of Sterling is a friend of mine.
"...a willfully ignorant relic of the baseball Dark Ages..."
ReplyDeleteKevin, you weren't looking my way when you typed that were you? LOL
Oh man, I thought Gary Thorne and Bill Clement used to do a great job calling NHL hockey games back in the 90s (assuming that is the same Gary Thorne)...
ReplyDeleteShane - He is the very same Gary Thorne. O's fans affectionately refer to him as "Three Beers Gary" for his sometimes carefree style.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda glad that Buck Martinez isn't on as much. He's OK, but you could make up a drinking game for each time he says "effectively". And I think he gets wasted by the late innings and starts slurring...
ReplyDelete