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Friday, July 20, 2012

SBN: Cody Ross And The Call Of The Year

As I said last night…“Somebody get Hawk Harrelson a Nehru straightjacket…PRONTO!”

Cody Ross hit a walk-off home run against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Let’s listen to Hawk Harrelson paint a picture with his words!

(Also, a celebration GIF after the jump! Cody described it as “a bunch of pirañas attacking me.”)

Repoz Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:16 AM | 30 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: red sox, white sox

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1. Chris Needham Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:32 AM (#4187829)

He'll get ripped because he's a terrible announcer and a terrible homer, but...

I actually like that reaction. He gets out of the way, lets the crowd sounds and the celebration carry the day. Quite unintentionally, he did something excellent.

2. Jeff Francoeur's OPS Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:41 AM (#4187833)

deleted

3. Shredder Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:44 AM (#4187836)

Yeah, I kind of agree with Chris. That's arguably the best walk-off call for the other team I've ever heard Hawk do.

4. McCoy Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:45 AM (#4187837)

So we have a link that leads to a link of the actual content?

Actual link to the video

5. Drew (Primakov, Gungho Iguanas) Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:46 AM (#4187839)

That's arguably the best walk-off call for the other team I've ever heard Hawk do.

For me, that translates to "He's slightly less of a pathetic ####### on this call."

6. Jeff Francoeur's OPS Posted: July 20, 2012 at 09:49 AM (#4187842)

On the other hand, was anyone else disgusted by Matt Vasgersian's call on MLB Network? Talk about an explosion of latent Red Sox homerism. It's as if he was rooting for the Red Sox the entire night and just couldn't contain his joy. Very irritating coming from a national broadcast.

7. Shooty is in the Trust Tree

Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:03 AM (#4187854)

That's the call you make fun of Harrelson for? Weak.

8. Charles S., annoyingly insightful Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:04 AM (#4187855)

Every national announcer likes the exciting play. Vasgersian also went nuts over the double play that Ramirez started to thwart the bases loaded Red Sox rally in the 7th. Unless there's something I don't know about Vasgersian, I have to assume he would have been just as excited had the walk-off shot come at the Cell.

9. McCoy Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:08 AM (#4187857)

That's the call you make fun of Harrelson for? Weak.

Agree. Santo would go silent as well when the the opposing team stuck a dagger in the Cubs or when the Cubs were melting down.

10. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:09 AM (#4187859)

I actually like that reaction. He gets out of the way, lets the crowd sounds and the celebration carry the day.

Shut the hell up and let the crowd and the players tell the story should be the mantra of every TV guy. Make the basic call then just allow the pictures to do the work.

11. SoSH U at work Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:14 AM (#4187862)

That's the call you make fun of Harrelson for? Weak.

I thought it was hilarious. If I felt there was any chance that Harrelson was genuinely letting the sound and pictures tell the story, that would indeed be a great broadcasting decision. But since I'm positive that Hawk was instead pouting off mike about the injustice of it all, I'm not giving him any credit for blundering into this.

12. Flynn Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:14 AM (#4187864)

Vasgersian's from SoCal, isn't he? I doubt he cares for the Sox.

Has baseball stopped doing those Must-C plays on MLB.com? The branding is lame, but I'd really love to hear the WEEI radio call of the homer. Joe Castiglione's voice usually rises a couple octaves on plays like that.

13. DKDC Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:23 AM (#4187869)

On the other hand, was anyone else disgusted by Matt Vasgersian's call on MLB Network?

I didn't hear/watch it, but I find it offensive and disgusting when any person expresses joy in reaction to a Red Sox scoring play.

14. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:39 AM (#4187877)

I don't know much about his personal life, but of all the announcers I would expect to be inappropriately biased when calling a sporting event, Matt Vasgersian would be last on the list. He seems like he was grown in a lab to be the perfect smug and neutral sports broadcaster who doesn't particularly care about anything except getting the cadence right and staying upbeat.

15. SteveF Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:40 AM (#4187880)

Dave O'Brien actually had the call for the Red Sox local radio. You can hear his call here towards the end of the clip, but it's pretty standard.

16. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:44 AM (#4187884)

I love that Hawk is an MLB announcer. I love that he is a homer. I love when he gets pissed off at the umps or the other team. I love this call.

17. Harveys Wallbangers

Posted: July 20, 2012 at 10:48 AM (#4187887)

how in the holy blank did ross a) get his bat around on that pitch and b) keep it fair?

that pitch looked like it was burrowing inside on him. maybe my eyes are finally shot because i have watched it several times and i still don't understand

18. bunyon Posted: July 20, 2012 at 11:04 AM (#4187896)

They should have let Quintana finish.

19. Dale Sams Posted: July 20, 2012 at 11:17 AM (#4187915)

While I like the shower of blue at the end...liquid fireworks!!

It's still a live play, that was fun Aceves, but MLB should nip stuff like that in the bud.

...maybe I'm being too much of a scrooge...

20. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: July 20, 2012 at 12:05 PM (#4187982)

On the other hand, was anyone else disgusted by Matt Vasgersian's call on MLB Network? Talk about an explosion of latent Red Sox homerism. It's as if he was rooting for the Red Sox the entire night and just couldn't contain his joy. Very irritating coming from a national broadcast.

That's pretty much his standard home run call. I had never heard of him until I played MLB: The Show in 2007 and heard him exclaim SANTA MARIA~ when I, as Cliff Floyd, drove one out.

21. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit Posted: July 20, 2012 at 12:06 PM (#4187985)

how in the holy blank did ross a) get his bat around on that pitch and b) keep it fair?

that pitch looked like it was burrowing inside on him. maybe my eyes are finally shot because i have watched it several times and i still don't understand

A friend and I had that very conversation last night. Either your eyes are fine or mine are shot too because I fully expected that ball to go foul.

It's still a live play, that was fun Aceves, but MLB should nip stuff like that in the bud.

Think of the brawl that might have ensued if Pierzynski was there waiting to make sure Ross touched the plate and got soaked. He'd have taken on the whole Red Sox team. As it is the home plate ump did not look particularly delighted.

Technically while a live play the Red Sox had already won when Punto scored so there was no real issue. It's probably something that shouldn't be allowed just in case (call it the Raul Mondesi Jr. rule) but as a practical matter it's not going to be an issue.

22. Rickey Fredonia Fudge Duckery Precious Twiddle Posted: July 20, 2012 at 12:30 PM (#4188011)

1. No way Harrelson was "getting out of the way." He was pouting, which is why the other guy had to come in after the trot, put some words around the play itself, and then let Hawk was indignant about how unfair it is that his starting pitcher didn't get a win after such an effort.

2. The end of effect was fantastic. Of course, any end effect that results in television announcers shutting up and letting the game play itself via images is fantastic. An end effect that shuts up Harrelson is just double-stuffed Oreos good.

3. The Gatorade bath at home plate was way too much and someone should be fined for that ########.

23. Dale Sams Posted: July 20, 2012 at 12:42 PM (#4188033)

I fully expected that ball to go foul.

I stood up and actually bent over as if..I were looking around the foul pole...on TV. (facepalm)

24. Stevis Posted: July 20, 2012 at 12:55 PM (#4188056)

It's still a live play, that was fun Aceves, but MLB should nip stuff like that in the bud.

Actually, a home run is a dead ball award--but that being said, there is still a play going on, the bases still must be run properly, and the umpire (and AJ Pierzynskis of the world) certainly have to observe that, so yeah, it'd probably be best to quietly kibosh that sort of thing until the play was fully over.

25. salvomania Posted: July 20, 2012 at 01:14 PM (#4188090)

I was at the game, sitting directly in front of about 7 White Sox fans whose collective reaction was eerily similar to Hawk's...

From my vantage point (center field---from where I could follow the ball's arc in its entirety from home plate to the monster seats) it had the height and it seemed to have the distance, but I had no idea that fair/foul might even an issue...

26. Guapo Posted: July 20, 2012 at 02:14 PM (#4188175)

I like to think that was a big bucket of Manny Ramirez's urine that was sitting around the clubhouse.

27. Rickey Fredonia Fudge Duckery Precious Twiddle Posted: July 20, 2012 at 02:18 PM (#4188180)

I like to think that was a big bucket of Manny Ramirez's urine that was sitting around the clubhouse.

Test Cody Ross now!

28. Dale Sams Posted: July 20, 2012 at 03:36 PM (#4188246)

Manny has Porphyria?

29. Tom Nawrocki Posted: July 20, 2012 at 03:46 PM (#4188259)

I love that Hawk is an MLB announcer. I love that he is a homer. I love when he gets pissed off at the umps or the other team. I love this call.

I love that he's such a fan. As Post 25 notes, he felt exactly how White Sox fans felt when the play happened.

And really, what does Hawk need to say at that point? What could he possibly say to make the White Sox fans' enjoyment of that play any better?

30. Orangepeel Posted: July 21, 2012 at 05:20 PM (#4188807)

^Quit being dumb. He should have been excited to see his team and the team of everyone who listens to him lose.

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Friday, July 20, 2012

SBN: Cody Ross And The Call Of The Year

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