Today is the 25th anniversary of one of the most famous moments in World Series history.
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| I obviously don't own this card (but I am a huge fan of the number). |
I hate Kirk Gibson but this actually has nothing to do with that. My eternal dislike of him began a week earlier and to tell the truth, I was never fond of his humorless rah-rah football mentality. And I am certainly not here to praise Mr. Gibson - nor am I here to bury him, sadly - but to praise the calls of this home run. I have never run a scientific poll on this blog so I figured now would be as good a time as any.
As baseball fans know, this homer spawned not one but two of the greatest calls of all time and I would like to find out which one you think is better.
Now, the one you seem to hear most often is the radio call of Jack Buck's succinct exclamation:
On the other hand, the TV call by Vin Scully is equally understated:
Note the very long pause to let the moment breathe and then the brilliant turn of phrase.
I have also added my own reaction to Gibson's lucky swing to the poll, located in the right margin of the blog. While that particular call only went out to an audience of 5 or 6 of my annoyed neighbors it is easily one of my personal best.
4 comments:
Scully trumps everyone. As usual.
I am a writer, and thought and brevity are very important tools for us folks, so Scully's call has always appealed to me.
Buck talks through Gibson's entire trip around the bases. He doesn't say anything inane or pointless like a lot of today's announcers would -- instead it's sheer joy and amazement -- but it's a much different style that probably appeals more to talkers than understated types.
@NO - it is also the difference between radio and TV. On radio, you can talk more and Buck does (well, as you stated). Scully, in his experience and genius, just lets the pictures tell the story. Both are true masters of the craft and chose the proper reaction for their appropriate medium at the time. A good counter example to Buck here on the radio call is my favorite Buck call of all time - "And we'll see you tomorrow night" from the 1991 WS. Since he was on TV, he then shut up for a good minute. That was an amazing call. I didn't even mind when his kid paraphrased it two years ago it was so good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuAnVlRWf7o
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