Words to Live By
Watching Baseball on the Radio
My parents were out of town in October. As a matter of teen pride, I spent the unsupervised time throwing beer parties at the house. Game 7 was on a Wednesday, perfect time to have the guys over to support Anheuser-Busch.
It seemed so unlikely. I read this sign marking the birthplace of Jackie Robinson, in a house burned down in 1996. Only the chimney remained. The brick chimney was encircled by chain-link fence, wrapped tight as if to protect it from harm. The cast-metal sign marker was pockmarked by a shotgun blast.
There is no substitute for being present, on the scene. I listen specifically because I cannot be there; that’s what I need from the announcer. I can watch TV myself.
A trusted voice beckons the past into the present, a familiar phrase projects memories into the future.
At the beginning of the season, I did not think I’d be listening to more Sacramento A’s radio (non-family division) than any other. The A’s are a nomadic group of cost-controlled really fun ballers who find themselves in first place.
“Changeup!” Kevin Stocker, a former player and analyst on the WIP broadcast said to register his surprise at the pitch selection.
“Need to change something up,” Scott Franzke offered, aridly, during Sunday’s Phillies broadcast.
“Heh heh heh,” Stocker gave low-wattage assent.
It’s a Robert Altman movie of a baseball season and on Saturday John Henry, Sam Kennedy, and Craig Breslow delivered the first disruptive plot twist.
Rick Monday, showed radio listeners the game against the Mets on Wednesday but also the game Brooklyn played against the Boston Braves nearly eight decades ago.
“He scored the winning run,” Monday said of Robinson’s debut on KLAC. “He was oh-for-three as far as the bat. But as a human being, he hit a grand slam for society.”
“It’s not easy to sweep in four games,” Hill said.
“If you sweep in four games, I think they call that a mop,” Rick Rizzs said. This is his final year before retirement and his 41st with the Mariners.
It is a bona fide storyline. Crochet out, hurt. A pitching staff nonetheless more than holding its own. Undermined and failed by a lineup without punch or luck. A manager fired in a poorly handled out-of-town defenestration. The gang that couldn’t shoot straight, except for directly into its own foot.
Narratives once taken root are not destiny. There remains hope. Serendipity has a heartbeat.