Radio Baseball And Me

Last week a Friar Phil fan asked me why I choose to listen to radio when I could see the game on TV. Here's the relatively short answer.

We all know Harry Carey, the late Cubs TV broadcaster, who was the star of every Cubs home game. But before there were TV personalities on televised baseball games there were radio stars. And I listened to a lot of them.

I think, in another blog post, I told you all that my first exposure to baseball was in 1969 when my father took me to see the Mets at Shea Stadium. I was 6-years-old!

A few years later, when I was 9, I received an AM radio for Christmas. My father showed me how to tune into the radio station that broadcasted the Mets game. I was immediately hooked. Every time the Mets played, unless I was in school, I had my transistor radio and I listened to the great Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson and Ralph Kiner..

I would get goosebumps every time the Mets theme song, which you can hear here ,came on indicating the start of the game. Even hearing it today it still gives me chills. (You can hear the first Mets radio broadcast here ). I remember summer breezes as I stretched out on the grass, with my baseball and mitt, listening to the Mets game and Bob Murphy.

To be honest I didn't like the Yankees uniforms and caps. The Mets were a bit more colorful so I liked them better since dad was a Mets Fan. No offense to folks that like watching TV baseball and those who call the game but I got bored watching the TV. Radio allows a kid to use his imagination. Something that I think is lost here in 2018.

Even though I was on the east coast I also liked the California Angels. As a youth I would turn on a Yankee game only when the Angels were playing.

Anyhow later, as an adult, living in NYC you could stand on the outside subway platform, tune into the radio broadcast and see almost everything going on in Shea Stadium. It was sort of like the view people have at Petco Park's Park at the Park area.

When I was a young adult I moved to Florida and ended up in Lakeland, Florida an, at the time, the Sunshine State did not have a MLB team. But that ll changed in 1993. I immediately became a Marlins fan. I loved the caps as well!

Even though we had cable TV I had my 1993 era portable radio and chose to listen to the original broadcast team for the Marlins Dave Van Horne and Joe Angel. Our own radio personality, Jesse Agler, broadcasted with the Marlins from 2006 - 2007.

My last couple o years in high school I was a fan of the Houston Astros radio broadcasters Dewayne Staats and Larry Dierker..

I came to San Diego at the end of the 1999 season so I didn't get introduced to Ted Leitner until the 2000 season began. Almost 20 years later I remain a Padres fan and still listen to the games on radio.

The Angels radio broadcasters Terry Smith and Mark Langston do a great job for my favorite AL team.

Here at home we got rid of cable TV a few years ago when there was nothing but 1000's of channels with junk TV on it. Since I have spent at least the last 45 years listening to baseball on the radio it does not bother one bit. If I suddenly feel the need to watch and instead of recreate the action in my mind I can always subscribe to MLB TV.

I hope that answers the question!

I randomly found this video piece from last season about Ted and Jesse- watch it here.