The older you get, the faster it goes. I’m talking about life, that is. That’s something my father told me many years ago when I was a mere teenager. I didn’t quite grasp what he was saying back then, but who cared. I was just a kid playing baseball and having fun. As life begins to fly by, we tend to forget the simple things. The things we take for granted. Technology has changed the way we do many things in life and most for the better. However, listening to baseball on the radio can’t be matched. It simply can’t.
It’s hard for me to imagine what baseball was like for my father and his friends growing up. It had to be something special. You never saw baseball on television and your only image of baseball was if you were lucky enough to see a game in person, what you imagined in your head or you listened to your local radio play by play man paint the picture of baseball like no one else. That’s what I remember my father telling me stories about. We tend to emulate our father’s and do as they did. You never asked why, you just did it.
Growing up in Houston, I remember so vividly holding my transistor radio to my ear and desperately trying to hear my Houston Astros. Sometimes I had to hold it above my pillow near the window. Other times I needed some tin foil to get a better signal. A signal? A good radio signal? Are you kidding? How many times would you lie in bed at night waiting to catch a little clarity of play by play of the game. I would get so excited if I heard a complete sentence or two. There was nothing better than hearing the great voice of Harry Kalas tell me that Joe Morgan had just hit a “base hit up the middle”. Do you know how amazing that was? It was phenomenal!
Of course, technology improved and I got a new radio with with better reception. Even though I went to many games as a youngster in the Astrodome, there was something about listening to my team on the radio. My team, my Astros! It was therapy, it was relaxation, it was candy, it was ice cream, it was soda pop, it was bubble gum, it was everything. It was baseball on the radio. There’s nothing like listening to baseball on the radio.
I know we have every sport in the world at our fingertips that we can listen to or watch on television, online, iphones, etc…etc…Yes, it’s greatness. I love it, I admit it. I have Direct TV with all the sports. I have access to Internet and can listen to and now watch any game at any time. It wonderful. Football and Basketball are spectacular to watch in person and are okay to listen to on the radio. To me, both are better in person by far. If you have a terrific announcer, it’s great. Yes, the announcer does make a huge difference.
But there’s still something about listening to baseball on the radio. It’s soothing, comforting, relaxing, and enjoyable. I can’t explain it even though I’m trying. It’s just good. I don’t know many people that can sit out on their front porch or back patio at night, have a cold brewsky or an iced tea and listen to a football or basketball game on the radio. You won’t do it. You’d rather go inside, turn on your 65 inch HD TV, and watch it from your chair or on your couch. I don’t blame you. I would too. Trust me, I’ve got the set up and love watching all sports from my throne.
But, back to the patio and porch thing. I can sit outside with a cold beer or iced tea and listen to baseball. I’m a tea guy, the beer is for my friends. I can drive around in my car and listen to inning after inning of baseball. I’ll sit in my driveway and listen for an extra twenty minutes, because it’s baseball. I’ll mow the yard and listen because it’s baseball. Clean out the garage and I’ll listen because it’s baseball. My hat goes off to those who have come and gone in the radio booth. Mel Allen, Red Barber, Russ Hodges, Bob Prince, Harry Kalas, Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Curt Gowdy, and many more. Our dear friend Ernie Harwell who is battling sickness and still with us today, was one of the greatest to ever grab a microphone. Vin Scully of the Dodgers is still around and is as great as ever. Why? Because they can paint a picture. Make you believe you’re sitting in the front row eating a hot dog only twenty feet from Pee Wee Reese taking his cuts in the on deck circle.
Oh yes, baseball is once again in the air. Can you smell it? Can you taste it? Can you feel it? Can you see it? Can you hear it? Please, find yourself a radio, grab you a cold beverage and head to your patio or porch so you can experience the greatness of baseball on the radio. Truly, there’s nothing like it!
