Say what you want about Joe Buck and Tim McCarver, I’m right there with you. Joe Buck’s lack of emotion often ruins big moments and among other things, Tim McCarver does not know how to count. However last Thursday night, during the best game in over 100 years of baseball, Joe Buck killed it.
Maybe you were paying attention to David Freese’s penetrating eyes after blasting the game-winning homerun, or maybe you were like me, simply reveling in the moment. For many sports fans Joe Buck’s call was a relatively standard one. It was short and modest, allowing the moment to be the star; “Freese hits it in the air to center… We will see you… tomorrow night!” Many people however, because they were too young when it happened or because they aren’t big baseball fans, were unaware of the historic significance of the call.
20 years earlier Joe Buck’s father, Jack Buck, made a very similar call in a very similar situation. It was game 6 of the 1991 World Series between the Twins and the Braves. In the 11th inning Kirby Puckett came up to the plate. I'll hand it over the video at this point, but go ahead and tip your hat to Joe Buck on a job well done.
Just another reason why baseball is the greatest of all sports; the unchanging aspects that give the game its identity and character, and transcend generations.
ReplyDelete