Black (and orange) Friday Radio Replay

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving when all things business start early.  Well, the Giants' flagship station, KNBR, decided to have their own Black (and orange) Friday.  Starting at 6am, they played all four Giants clinching games in their entirety - including celebrations, interviews and post game shows - in consecutive order.  The game 162 clincher against the San Diego Padres, the game 4 clincher against the Atlanta Braves, the game 6 clincher against the Philadelphia Phillies and the game 5 clincher against the Texas Rangers.  It all ended at about 11:30pm.

What a day of baseball on the radio.  All the best games for all the best reasons.  I managed to tape half of the NLCS clincher and all of the WS clincher.  These should be great for rainy days.

Giants Baseball Is On The Air!

At 12:05pm today, the first radio game of the year came on the air. Dave Flemming announced the starting lineups in a hurry and turned it over to Jon Miller for the first pitch. Music!

Congratulations, Jon Miller

I heard the news that Jon Miller was chosen as the Ford Frick award winner this year. He will be inducted into the broadcaster's wing of baseball's Hall of Fame. Now, Miller is just about the premier broadcaster in baseball. And he is one of my Giants announcers for thirteen seasons now.

It is really a pleasure listening to Miller on the radio. He is surrounded with other good professionals on the Giants broadcasting team. We are blessed here in the Bay Area to have such good announcers. I have listened to other announcers around baseball, both in travelling and in listening to call playbacks on the radio. Also there have been some fairly bad announcers here that have quickly been recycled to other teams. In my estimation, the Giants have one of the top broadcasting teams, thanks in large part to Miller. Jon has a great radio voice, descriptive vocabulary, knows the game, and is great at painting the picture the radio listener needs to follow the game.

Jon Miller has been elected to the Hall in what might be the middle of his career. I'm sure he won't become a slacker because of it, and I look forward to many more seasons of listening to his voice. It sure is a great sound when Spring Training starts. Congratulations, Jon Miller.

Baseball On The Radio!

Today is a wonderful day on the calendar. It was the first game of the cactus league season for the Giants (spring training) and the first game broadcast on the radio. After an entire winter of silence, simply hearing a baseball game on the radio is the best music I can think of. I am a fan, and an avid fan at that.

But, my fandom does not mean that I hang on every pitch of a game and ignore all else. For me, listening to games on the radio is a daily event during baseball season, but I enjoy it at least as much as background music as I do paying attention to every pitch. It is soothing to the soul and easy upon the mind. That we are completely spoiled here in the Bay Area with wonderful announcers that communicate the game so beautifully makes me want to live here forever.

Baseball On The Radio!

Today marks the first radio broadcast of Giants baseball from spring training. One of the greatest joys of winter is listening to the first game. Oh, what a day. Can't wait!

Hearing Yourself On The Radio

Back in the mid-80's in the A's bleachers, we discovered a fun little pastime. One day, one of the bleacher bums brought a walkman to listen to the game. One of us yelled, and the bum with the walkman said he could hear the voice over the radio. Each of us took a turn to listen. The distance from the bleachers to the crowd mike behind home plate used by the radio station was great enough to cause a delay in the sound. So, we could yell loud, then hear ourselves a second later on the radio.

I'm So Happy I Could ______

The Giants are on the radio, and it's the first inning right now. I'm so excited I can hardly think. Dave Roberts led off the top of the 1st with a hit, and he scored later in the inning. The Giants are going to win the World Series, I can just feel it. Next update.... bottom of the 1st.

Baseball On The Radio

This Thursday will be the first Giants spring training game, vs. the Cubs in Mesa, AZ. The game will be broadcast on the radio, at 12:05pm PST. I'll be tuning in. I love the first radio broadcast, even if it is a spring training game. The sounds of the announcers, crowd noise and even commercials are very beautiful indeed. I don't care much about the game, but just getting to hear it on the radio makes my spring.

Baseball Is Back!

For me, the return of baseball each year is not marked by pitchers and catchers stretching out their muscles, by intra-squad games, by the first scheduled spring training game, by the first televised game, or even by the World Baseball Classic. It is marked by the first time I hear a game broadcast on the radio. This is simply the sound of baseball. This last weekend, baseball returned.

"Holy Toledo!" Remembering Bill King

How sad it was to hear of the passing of a legend. I realized that I had listened to Bill my whole life. What makes a man like Bill King so special is not necessarily his peculiarity, because he certainly was peculiar, but his familiarity. Amazing calls of last-second long bombs for thrilling Raider victories, witty and eloquent descriptions of A's home runs, and rapid-fire accounts of a Warriors fast break certainly spoke for his talent and his personality. But simply hearing his voice for three hours at a time, every day for decades, while working in the yard, doing the dishes, driving in the car or falling asleep on the sofa was what won the heart.

The mundane in broadcasting is what constitutes the greatness of the broadcaster. Holy Toledo, Bill, I will miss you.