Bad sports, good sports: he’s outta here, and baseball won’t be the same

Posted on April 20th, 2009 by Alan Spoll

I am not sure which side of my column’s theme to apply this week’s main story. It is certainly Bad Sports to think that Harry Kalas will never again call a Phillies game. To me, Kalas was more than the voice of the Phillies. In many ways, he was the voice of my sports fandom. I have spent a great deal of my life watching sports, and there is no single individual who better personifies that time than Harry. I have imitated him a thousand times (never well), and imagined being him as much as I ever imagined being one of the sports stars that were playing the games with which I felt so involved.

Philadelphia has been fortunate to have had several iconic announcers during my lifetime. Merrill Reese is an Eagle through and through. Gene Hart could bring hockey to life like no one else. Richie Ashburn was the ultimate Phillie. But none of them were as enmeshed with the identity of the team he was calling like Kalas. Thousands of people walked through Citizens Bank Park on Saturday to pay their respects to Kalas and his family as his casket was displayed at home plate. Thousands. He never hit a home run, never threw a pitch, never tagged someone out or caught a fly ball. He merely told us what he saw. And he did it better than anyone else has ever done it.

R.I.P. Harry.

Good sports, continued:

2) Hitting for the cycle is an odd accomplishment. Sure, four home runs would be more impressive than a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game. But it is a rare enough occurrence that it is always reported with awe. Jason Kubel of the Minnesota Twins decided to put a cherry on the top of his cycle on Friday by making the homerun a grand slam. Nice work.

3) Continuing the theme of sports announcers moving on, John Madden retired this week. He was always entertaining, even when he seemed to be talking about anything but the game you were watching.

Bad sports:

1) The golf pro-am is an unusual type of sporting event. I guess our fascination with celebrity makes us interested in watching non-sports figures playing sports, alongside people who can actually play. If you are attending a pro-am where Bill Murray is playing, you may want to consider a hardhat.

2) I expect we will be hearing more about this one in the future. Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino has apparently been the target of some kind of extortion scheme by the wife of the school’s equipment manager. Details to follow, I guess.

Bad Sports, Good Sports appears every Monday.

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Alan Spoll

Alan Spoll is a software quality assurance director from the suburbs of Philadelphia where he lives with his wonderful wife and children. He has spent his entire life as a passionate fan of the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers, and Penn State. Recent Phillies success aside, you will understand his natural negativity. Follow me on Twitter - @DocAlan02