It appears that Vin Scully is the last of his breed. With the passing of the lovely Ernie Harwell, the man with the velvet voice and the huge heart, one more of the iconic baseball announcers is gone. We've lost Rizzuto, Buck (the elder), Harry Carey and others and there doesn't appear to be many others to take their place.
When play by play men spend decades with a team, an unbelievable bond develops between them and their team. Curt Gowdy was the voice of the Red Sox. Rizzuto for the Yankees. Buck was the guy in St. Louis. And Harwell had become that kind of institution. He broadcast games until he was nearly 90 for gosh sakes. It doesn't get any better than that.
The sad thing is, there isn't much out there that replaces them. The Bay Rays have a really good one. Michael Kay for the Yankees? The Red Sox have a pretty good one. But none yet have the heft of history or the bond with the fans that takes decades to cement.
Of course, their is always the color guys like Hawk Harrelson, but from what I read from Chisox fans, they aren't that thrilled there. How about it, Fan Friends? Who do you listen to and like a lot? Are there any out there besides Scully that you think are icons? The Fan would love to hear from you. There just may be some still out there.
In any case, rest in peace, Mr. Harwell. You will be missed.
1 comment:
I actually like Hawk, but to be fair he sometimes seems more concerned about getting in his patented Hawkisms than calling the game. And his bias can get annoying.
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