Subscribe to SI
Give the Gift of SI
Extra MustardSI On CampusFantasyPhoto GalleriesSwimsuitVideoFanNationSI KidsTNT

Aug. 12, 2005

Free E-mail AlertsE-mail ThisPrint ThisSave ThisMost PopularRSS Aggregators

Because the world needs another sports blog ...

Gotta have shtick

Watching White Sox games on the Extra Innings package should come with a disclaimer: "You may get an incurable case of Hawk Harrelson on the brain." How else can you explain the following exchange I recently had with my wife:

Wife: "Bad news, honey. My great uncle has cancer."

Me: "Hegone!"

Yeah, I know. Brutal. You can't say something like that and not expect some hellacious karma coming your way. But I couldn't help it. I had been watching a lot of the Hawk on White Sox broadcasts and become addicted to his silly little catchphrases that are easily applicable to everyday life. For example, what if somebody gets fired from work? "Grab some bench." You sell the most cars at your dealership that month? "You can put it on the board ... YESSS!"

But it's not just the Hawk. Thanks to broadcast vehicles such as Extra Innings and XM Radio, many hardcore baseball fans have been exposed, for better or worse, to nearly every announcer catchphrase around. The shtick is being laid on pretty thick out there, folks. I'm gonna list my best and worst here, but I'll need you guys to fill in the blanks on the ones I'm missing.

Top Five

1. "Hegone!," Harrelson, White Sox. The "gone" part needs to be said with a twang to get the full effect.
2. "There's a long drive ... it ... is ... out-ta here!," Harry Kalas, Phillies. He's our latter-day John Facenda.
3. "Fly, fly away!" Dave Niehaus, Mariners. If it's a grand slam, he says, "get out the rye bread and mustard, grandma, it's grand salami time!"
4. "Get up, get outta here. Gone!" Bob Uecker, Brewers. The franchise stands for nothing if not mediocrity, but Uecker is superb.
5. "How about that!," Mel Allen, Yankees. TWIB hasn't been the same without him.

Bottom Five

5. "Back, back, back, back ... gone!" Chris Berman, ESPN. He was funny once, in 1987 I believe, but his act grew tired long ago.
4. "Yippee!" Chip Carey, Braves. I'm not sure if he really says that, but that's what everything that comes out of his mouth sounds like.
3. "It is high! It is far! It is ... gone!," John Sterling, Yankees. Announcers who can alienate both his team's fans and those of the opposition are rare, but he pulls it off.
2. "The-uhuhuhuh Yankees win!," Sterling. I work in New York and have yet to meet a Yankees fan who can stand him.
1. "It's in the win column!," Joe Angel. I'll never forgive him for killing the radio call of Craig Counsell scoring the winning run against the Indians in Game 7.

-- Jacob Luft (1:00 p.m.)

I used to unfortunately live in N.Y., and as a Sox fan the only games I got to watch or listen to were covered by the Yankees broadcasters so I know where you are coming from when you comment on John Sterling. There was nothing, and I mean nothing worse than when him and Michael Kay were on the radio. That being said, you are forgetting some of the better Sterling quotes like ... "Bernie goes boom!," "Bern baby bern," and "let's not forget the Giambino!"
-- Justin Noone, Bedford, N.H. (1:11 p.m.)

I like Ernie Harwell when he says "he stood like a house on the side of the road" every time someone watched a called strike three.
-- Micah, Temperance, Mich. (1:11 p.m.)

"Way back, way back, waaaaaaaaaay back ... gone! Home run." Jerry Trupiano of the Red Sox rules.
-- Mark, Boston (1:21 p.m.)

I've always been partial to Duane Kuiper's (Giants) call: "He hits it high, he hits it deep, he hits it's out of here!"
-- Jeff, Sacramento, Calif. (1:21 p.m.)

Lay off Sterling man! His call of a Yanks win is true greatness. It must really be a struggle for you to write one column a week without finding a way to get some Yankee bashing in.
-- RS, Dallas (1:21 p.m.)

You got the name wrong. It's "the always loathsome John Sterling."
-- Bullfrog, New York City (1:21 p.m.)

Bob Uecker is the best. I am glad that he is finally getting some national attention in the last few years. Nobody says more with less.
-- Eric Gass, Milwaukee, Wisc. (1:26 p.m.)

I am not a Yankees fan but I think there is no better, more definitive home run call then Michael Kay's "See ya!"
-- Andy, Ottawa, Ontario (1:26 p.m.)

Marty Brennaman has two classics: "That's a big ol' hang with 'em" and "And THIS ONE belongs to the Reds!"
-- Jeffrey Allen, Peoria, Ill. (1:26 p.m.)

Continue

Search