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Vote: Make the call on Best Call, TV/Radio Award
- Updated: October 26, 2016
An announcer is only as good as yesterday’s performance. — Hall of Fame broadcaster Curt Gowdy
There were 2,427 Major League Baseball games streamed live on MLB.TV in the 2016 regular season, resulting in memorable performances not just by players but also by announcers who had to live up to the moments. Five of those broadcasts produced a candidate truly worthy of your consideration in the category of Best Call, TV/Radio.
Voting is underway through 2 p.m. ET on Nov. 11 to help decide this and many other categories in the Esurance MLB Awards, and this one especially hits home for the average baseball viewer. We share a special affinity for those singular voices that have described the game, taught us the game, made us feel the game. Those voices are the priceless connection that remains such a rich part of baseball tradition.
Unlike last year, when a Bartolo Colon hit led to Best Call, Radio, and when a Vin Scully description took home Best Call, TV, those two categories are being merged into one now. And like last year, an unbelievable Colon hit and a Scully call are again among the nominees. The other three are the description of Max Scherzer’s 20-strikeout effort, Tyler Naquin’s inside-the-park walk-off, and a Padres third baseman literally diving into some nachos.
Here is a breakdown of the five calls we can’t forget:
“Randy Johnson, Kerry Wood, Roger Clemens and now Max Scherzer!” OK, it wasn’t a proper chronological listing, but who cares? Nationals radio voice Charlie Slowes officially and emphatically pronounced it a quartet as Scherzer threw an 85-mph slider past Detroit’s Justin Upton to tie the record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. Scherzer’s milestone night is also nominated in the Best Performance category.
“Excuse me sir, but there’s a third baseman in my nachos!” There are two kinds of cheese at a baseball game: The kind that is hard to hit with a bat, and the kind that you brought back from the concession …
