The Voice Silenced
April 13, 2009
April 13, 2009 – the day my childhood officially ended.
One of the last and most pure connections to my youth ebbed away today when I learned that Phillies Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas died two hours before the Phils’ scheduled Monday afternoon game against the Nationals. He was 73.
My immediate reaction was to call my Dad and break the news to him as if a loved one had just passed. And even though he’s a Yankees fan, he quickly sympathized and offered his condolences. Then my roommate (a Padres fan) chimed in with an e-mail lending a shoulder.
It’s kind of funny in an unfunny way how a broadaster — a guy who has no bearing whatsoever on the outcome of the game — can have such an indelible mark on the game itself. For my entire life, Harry Kalas was the voice I heard every night when I tuned in on my radio or flipped on the TV to catch the Phillies games. Many nights in grade school, Kalas was the last voice I heard before flipping the radio off to go to bed. Often times, those late-night listenings were covert. With it being well after my bedtime, I’d turn the radio on just loud enough to hear the strains of Kalas yelling, “Swing and a long drive, it’s got a chance, it’s OUTTA HERE! Home run Michael Jack Schmidt!” at which time I’d quickly turn the radio off and hide it because I could hear footsteps coming down the hall.
Nearly every Phillies memory I have is accompanied by a Harry Kalas voiceover, whether it’s real or I concocted it in my head afterward to fit the moment. To me, Harry Kalas was the Phillies. The two were inseparable. You couldn’t be a Phillies fan growing up during the last 30 years without at least once in your lifetime mimicking a Kalas home run call, whether it was while playing a backyard pickup game, watching the real deal on TV or even playing Nintendo. I probably drove my sister crazy by shouting, “Watch that baby! Way, way outta here!” when Bases Loaded’s Oko (the Philly team’s slugger) would crush a pitch toward the scoreboard and begin his home run trot, complete with high-fives at the end.
The Hall of Fame duo of Kalas and longtime Phillie Richie Ashburn (inducted as a player in 1995 – the same year as Schmidt) would never cease to entertain me, even though the Phillies lost far more games than they won throughout the late 1980s and 1990s (save for that magical season of 1993). I felt like I was listening to two old friends trading stories about life — only their lives were wrapped up in the National Pastime — while calling a baseball game.
That pairing was ripped apart in 1997 when Richie Ashburn died suddenly. At 20, I was heartbroken, but I was still young enough to embrace the future, which still included Kalas. Hearing Harry’s voice still booming with every home run call was enough to soften the blow.
Kalas was rewarded for his contributions in 2002 when he was inducted into the broadcasters’ wing of the Hall of Fame, a most deserving recognition, and one that thankfully came early enough for him and his family to fully appreciate.
To give some perspective of his longevity, Kalas was the eighth-longest tenured baseball broadcaster, calling every Phillies game since the very first game played in Veterans Stadium in 1971. He closed down the Vet in 2003 and opened Citizens Bank Park in April 2004. He was there for the glory days of the late 1970s (three straight divisional championships, 1976-78) and of course was on board in 1980, when the Phillies won their first World Series championship.
Harry was so beloved that his absence from broadcasts of the World Series (local broadcasters were forbidden to call those games), that Phillies fans protested until the rule was changed, allowing local announcers to call those games on the radio. When the Phillies won the National League East pennant in 2007 and 2008, it was Harry leading the stadium in a rendition of “High Hopes,” as he did in years past. While the song might seem corny and would probably get a sideways glance from cryptic fans, the Phillies faithful just joined in with him, belting it out.
Harry Kalas was as much a part of my youth and my life as anyone else. One hundred and sixty-two times a year, I hung on every word he said, living and dying with each inflection of his voice. I could hear him shaking his head at a blown call, being genuinely shocked at a squeeze bunt, and of course, jumping out of his seat when a two-out, pinch-home run won the game for the home team and sent everyone home happy. I could turn my radio off and drift off to sleep, comforted by the strains of, “And the Phillies have won the game, 5-4, on an RBI single by the Krukker!”
But today, my childhood officially ended.
Overmanaging 101
April 13, 2009
Hindsight is 20/20, so please excuse me while I rant and rave a little about something I can’t change. I play in two daily transaction leagues, one of which is my highest stakes league by a wide margin. In this league I snagged one of my favorite 2009 endgame plays, Randy Wolf, for $1. I also spent $29 on Dan Haren early on, expecting him and one of my keepers, $26 C.C. Sabathia, to anchor my pitching staff all season. We play with the following six pitching categories in this league: ERA, WHIP, K/BB ratio, wins, saves, and holds. We don’t play with strikeouts and there are three separate ratio categories, which devalues starting pitching more than in most leagues.
I also have Randy Wolf in a 15-team mixed league at $2. I do not have him in three other leagues because he sold for a little more. In a 16 team mixed league he went for $4. In my two 12-team NL only leagues he sold for $7 and $10. This should give you a clear idea of just how much I liked Randy Wolf–love him at a buck or two, but not really willing to spend anything to get him.
Anyways, I got into my head after a shaky first start that Wolf couldn’t possibly be trusted to pitch well in Chase Field matched-up against Dan Haren. As a matter of fact I thought Haren was an absolute lock in this game to outpitch Randy Wolf, so (you guessed it) I chose to bench Wolf for this start–costing me a win, and seven brilliant innings of two-hit pitching. As pissed-off as I am at myself right now I still stubbornly think I made the right decision; it just didn’t work out. Any thoughts?
Has Travis Hafner Returned To 2006 Form?
April 13, 2009
Flickr, The CJM
Six games into the season and Travis Hafner is doing his best 2006 imitation. As you may recall, Hafner hit .308 with 42 homers and 117 RBI”s in 2006, before imploding in 2007 (.266 avg, 24 homers) and 2008 (.197 avg, 5 homers). But this year, in just six games, Hafner is already hitting .300 with 3 HR and 6 RBI’s.
The question for fantasy baseball managers is whether Hafner is back to his former self, or if his early season production is a mirage that won’t continue. The easy and candid answer is that it’s too early to tell. We’ve written many posts about the dangers of over-valuing players based on a few good games. We stick to that.
Yet, there are some encouraging signs that give us hope for Hafner. First, his fundamentals look good. From 2004-2006 Hafner’ achieved an OBP% of over .400. In 2007 it fell to .385 and in 2008 it was a meager .305. But in his first 16 at-bats of 2009, he has an OBP% of .421 – 5 hits, 3 walks, and only 4 strikeouts. Second, the Indians are batting Hafner cleanup, which should give him plenty of RBI opportunities and good protection in the lineup. Third, Hafner appears fully recovered from last year’s shoulder surgery, which sapped his power and reduced his bat speed. Good health is essential for a return to form.
Now that all you Hafner owners are excited at his return to glory, let’s put a dose of realism into this post. Keep in mind two things:
First, Hafner has been in the majors since 2003, but he has hit over 33 homers only once, and over 28 homers only twice. In other words, the 42 homers he slugged in 2006 is not something you should count on even if he does return to form. A more realistic hope is a .300 average with ~30 homers.
Second, in 2007 Hafner started the year with a solid April. He hit .338 with 5 homers and 16 RBI’s. But a miserable May through August sabotaged his good start. Again, it’s a long season and a a good start is merely that – a start.
We think Hafner is due for a comeback year. Only time will tell how that manifests itself.
Did You Know…?
Did you know that Cole Hamels threw a career-high 2621/3 innings (including the post-season) last year?
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