Voices of the Past Muted In Today's Game

As a student at Fordham and more importantly an employee at WFUV radio, I've been blessed to meet and talk with many key figures and legends in the sports media industry. And as a youthful sports fan, it's easy to get excited over the prospect of Bob Costas, Mike Breen, or Jim Nantz coming to the Bronx.

However, to date, my favorite and most rewarding workshops have been the two hosted by men who didn't even make the trip to Fordham, but instead called over the phone, those being perhaps two of the members of broadcasting's Mount Rushmore - Vin Scully and Ernie Harwell.

For that reason - the grace and humility showed to me, and my classmates, all aspiring broadcasters of one kind or another - I was personally saddened when I heard of Harwell's diagnosis of incurable cancer this past week. Even though he says "he's ready to face whatever happens," it seems unfair and too soon. Imagine, at 91, too soon. But that's the kind of man Ernie was, by all accounts, and the kind of legend he became when behind a microphone.

This past Sunday, with Ernie's tragic diagnosis still fresh in my head, I tuned in for the Mets' tilt versus the Cubs. Alongside Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and maybe even Ron Darling, another distinct voice came through my television set - a blast from the Mets' past. Ralph Kiner, one of the originals, along with the late Bob Murphy and Leslie Nelson, was in the booth, to impart a little history, tales of baseball as it was. The storytelling that connects one generation to another, one Mets' fan to the next.

That got me to thinking, why have the older statesmen of baseball broadcasting been fazed out? Age of course has something to do with it, as Harwell is 91, with Kiner not far behind at 86. But Scully is still going strong for the Dodgers at 81. It is preference more than age. Around baseball, teams and networks are going for more of the slick-talk new-age announcer, pushing the old-school storyteller off to the curb.

With the Yankees, surely fans appreciate hearing recollections of the 90s teams, as those are areas that Paul O'Neill, John Flaherty, and Al Leiter can provide, as well as play-by-play man Michael Kay. However, outside of Ken Singleton, who was never a Yankee player (although he grew up near and around the Stadium), there is no historical perspective the way Phil Rizzuto used to do it. At least not since the death of Bobby Murcer, or the retirement of Jim Kaat.

I don't profess to have all the info or all the answers, but the Yankees' plight would seem to mirror that of the rest of baseball - no more room in the ever-growing booths for the voices of our father's game. For the Mets, take advantage of Kiner's last good years, the Tigers, Harwell's last years period. And for the Bombers, lure back Kaat, because the fans of today and tomorrow need the connection to the past, one that soon enough, might be lost forever.

- Dan-O