Is there a better radio play by play guy in baseball right now than Howie Rose?
Whereas some announcers will talk about atomic bombs, Howie will use descriptors like “…to the deepest part of the park, nobody will get this one….” and subtle information-sharers like “…grounds to the shortstop, Jose Reyes.”
Ceetar caught another example of the majesty of Howie…and as part of Honor Among Bloggers you are going to have to click here to find out what it is.
I love the subtly. How he can interject a joke about Long Island without missing a beat, still describing the play as it’s going on, without getting overly theatrical about it.
I enjoy Eddie. Not sure he’s one of the better announcers but I like his vibe that he might have stopped off at O’Malley’s on the way over.
Howie is great. I particularly enjoy his New York-specific pop culture references, like occasionally quoting “The Honeymooners” or doing a bit of a Ralph Kramden imitation. Younger fans may not get that, but it’s a nice touch for those of us on the right side of 35.
HOWEVER, I think he has no chemistry with Wayne.
I’m not a Wayne Hagan fan. He uses too many obscure references, trying to be all philosophical sometimes.
I like the rare occasion when they have Eddie host on Wfan(not counting the pregame). If I were a program manager over there, I’d have a weekly show dedicated to each in season team, just to break up the monotony, and I’d have Eddie Coleman host the Mets show.
Not to mention Howie’s use last night of the word tucchus…
Howies great, but to call him the best in baseball you need to devote a few months listening to all the announcers out there….the radio calls are available via internet, so that’s a project for you Shannon.
Bob, i have the MLB app. Any suggestions on who to check out?
Not that it’s not a worthwhile project, but it’s also an impossible one. A lot of what we appreciate about Howie is that local stuff that a random listener in Seattle is going to be clueless about. (What? He changed in Jamaica? What is he talking about?) A ball could bounce off the top of the wall and stay in play, Howie could say “Run Timo Run!” We’d all know exactly what he was talking about, but chances are a Dodgers fan listening to the broadcast would be clueless. “Who’s Timo? Did Howie just forget who was on the basepaths?”