I know that everybody likes to fetishize Vin Scully, but Kalas' voice just says baseball to me. I could put a random Phillies game on in the background and enjoy it the same way I enjoy a Bill Evans jazz album. His voice slows me down and makes me relax.
This was Randy Johnson's fourth career start, so there's at least a little bit of historical significance here.
And if you're into uniforms, this was still the powder-blue era, before every team started to wear grey on the road. I would love to see more teams do this today.
And the Expos unis speak for themselves.
Not much crowd noise from the several dozen fans in attendance. Absolutely nobody sitting in the outfield or upper deck. A weird whooshing noise is part of the soundtrack, accompanied by some sort of mechanical banging noise. Glorious Stade Olympique.
The broadcasters are already advertising for Philadelphia Phillies Dream Week, a fantasy camp with retired players in February. Call 1-800-888-HERO. Also ads for 1989 season tickets.
Okay, so Kalas' greatness has been established. But he's being pulled down by his color man, Richie Ashburn. I know that Ashburn was a Hall-of-Famer (Class of '95), so he's being used here for name recognition/nostalgia for older Phillies fans. In the first inning, as Kalas is calling the game, Ashburn doesn't offer much insight. But he does wish Happy Birthdays and Happy Anniversaries to a handful of viewers.
Top of the 2nd inning, Ashburn is still wishing Happy Birthdays.
Bottom of the 2nd, Ashburn gives a shout-out to 'the sales staff,' which is whitewater rafting in the Poconos.
Bottom 3, Ashburn is reminiscing about baseball people he still golfs with in the offseason. Somebody is coming up from Florida to go golfing in a couple of weeks. 'Should be a nice evening.' The trainer from some team he played for lives in the Wilkes-Barre area. Another guy lives in Delaware. I guess that it's impressive that he remembers the name of the clubhouse man in 1948. (Unc Russell.)
In the middle of all of this, a baseball game is still happening. Marvin Freeman gets into trouble and is pulled in the bottom of the 3rd with the bases loaded. Scott Service comes in and hits the first batter he faces.
At the top of the 4th, the broadcast teams switch it up. Andy Musser takes over for Kalas. Nothing against Musser, but I'm just waiting for the 7th inning now, when Kalas will return.
Pascual Perez is shown in the dug-out. The previous night, he threw a two-hitter and lost. The previous week, he threw a rain-abbreviated no-hitter.
Randy Johnson pitches 6 innings. His line: 6 IP, 3 R, 8 H, 5 K, 0 BB. Graig Nettles pinch-hits for him in the bottom of the inning. This is Nettles' second appearance on my LG monitor this week.
Also in the bottom of the 6th, Kent Tekulve is shown warming up in the bullpen! Sadly, he never enters the game.
7th inning. Randy Johnson is out of the game, but Kalas returns. Circle of life.
Kalas mentions that Melido Perez is pitching for the White Sox that night. He has 11 wins, and his brother Pascual has 12. They have a bet for the 1988 season: Whoever finishes with more wins will win a cow. My favorite part of this article: “Melido is a cow collector. He says he already has 'cows and chickens and what do you call those other things? Pigs.' He has all these at home. Why? you ask. 'I like them,' he answered.”
In the 9th, Pascual is shown trying to light a cameraman's shoe on fire. He's wearing a warm-up jacket with his name and I-285 on the back. I loved Pascual. I went to a Pirates/Expos game when I was kid, probably in 1988, and somebody brought a banner that read 'Pascual for Perezident.'
This game was broadcast on WTXF-TV Channel 29 in Philadelphia.
'Of their time' advertising: Bud Light's 'Give me a Light' commercials were still going strong. One of them was an 'Indiana Jones' rip-off. Martin Mull did ads for Bell of Pennsylvania Yellow Pages. A brief shot of break-dancing in an Oldsmobile commercial. TWA commercials.
Also, Kalas and Ashburn talked a bit about the day's college football games, taking special glee in Missouri's 55-0 loss to The U.
This was a fun game to watch. Kalas is one of those broadcasters who makes any game enjoyable, and there was something charming about Ashburn's pointless doddering. The game itself was a good one, and it featured a future Hall-of-Famer still trying to find his game very early in his career. Overall, a good way to spend a February afternoon when you're waiting for spring/baseball season to get here.
