The Best and the En Fuego-est

Massive props to MLB.TV for airing the Ralph Kiner Night ceremony at Shea Stadium prior to the Reds-Mets game. I didn’t think they’d do it, since it wasn’t part of the game. But they did and it was great for Mets fans like me who don’t live in the NYC metropolitan area and can’t get the Mets broadcasts on SNY or CW11. The Kiner tribute was a little corny, but I like stuff like that.

I’m not sure why I feel so much affection for Ralph. I’m not a lifelong Mets fan and I’ve only been watching the Mets via MLB.TV for the past two seasons. For two seasons before that I listened to the games on MLB’s Gameday Audio. Before that I just read what was in the papers and watched whatever games that were on tv. I’ve never seen a Kiner’s Korner.

I picked the Mets to be “my team” out of the orange-and-blue back in 2002. Having lived in New York off-and-on between 1975 and 1983 I’d always kept tabs on them, but was much more of a Yankee fan. I’d even rooted for the Yankees in the 2000 Subway Series. (I hope Mr. Met can find it in his heart to forgive me.) But even then I’d been growing tired of the Yanks. They were a good team, but The Boss kept acquiring more and more prima donnas and their play was more corporate than that of men playing a boys’ game. In short: Not fun. The Yanks are like the Borg. The Yankees are a collection of talented baseball professionals. But I wanted to be able to get behind a team. Thus I rehabilitated myself into being a Mets fan. And part of being a Mets fan is accepting the Mets broadcast guys as part of the team.

Baseball announcers are, as Howie Rose put it during Ralph’s tribute, “the soundtrack of summer.” I’m not sure if it is like this for fans of other sports, but baseball fans seem to get attached to their team’s broadcasters, as well as develop an appreciation for other who call the games. Even though I was never a big Dodger or Tiger fan, hearing the voice of Vin Scully or Ernie Harwell takes me to another place. Another dimension, almost. The worries of the day fade into the background and this thing — a baseball game — becomes your sole reality for about 3 hours. It’s ethereal. So even though I’ve only heard Ralph for the past couple of years — and he works a limited schedule so it’s not like I hear him every game — he has become part of my summers, part of my baseball life.

And this is why Dan Patrick’s impending departure from ESPN has me so discombobulated. I’ve only been listening to the show for 18-19 months, but he became part of my day. The sound of his voice is more often than not reassuring, a signal that good and thoughtful entertainment was on the way. And even when he is annoying (I thought his head would explode the way he was ranting to KO about differential ticket pricing at baseball games) I know that all I have to do was wait a little while and he’ll calm down and move onto another topic and be witty and insightful. DP has been the soundtrack for my — and many others’ — afternoons.

I have to admit that last Thursday and Friday afternoons were more productive than usual because I turned off the radio rather than listen to DP’s substitute, good old What’s-His-Name — who wasn’t bad, but he just wasn’t DP. I got a lot done those two afternoons and it felt good. But I missed hearing DP. And KO. Whenever Keith wasn’t on it was like we got Laurel without Hardy or Bob without Ray. Now with DP leaving the air we won’t get Laurel or Hardy or Bob or Ray. We’ll get bubkes.

MLB.TV usually carries the home team’s broadcast, so when the Mets are not at Shea I often get stuck with the other team’s broadcasters. It’s not horrible, but it is a let-down. It’s like when you tune into the DP Show and you hear the voice of Some Other Guy. Like, ho-hum. Once in a while when the Mets are out-of-town MLB.TV will use the Mets broadcast, and that’s a real treat. We totally sucked eggs during that last series against the Rockies in Colorado, but at least I was able to watch the broadcast by Gary and Keith. (That’s Hernandez, not Olbermann, for those of you who haven’t been paying attention.) I mean, if you’re going to go down in flames you might as well go with those you love.

I found this video of Ralph being interviewed by Fran Healy on the Madison Square Garden Network.

He makes some interesting points on broadcasting. Not that DP isn’t contemporary, but I wonder if his style is a little too much Frank Sinatra and not enough rock-and-roll for the key ESPN demographic. DP’s style skews young, but I don’t think it’s as young as, say, Colin Cowherd’s or Doug Gottlieb’s. Which I have no problem with, because us dinosaurs deserve a sports talk show that we can call our own.

OK, I like the productive afternoons. But I miss the DP Show. The angel on one shoulder reminds me how good it is to be a responsible adult and a productive member of society, while the devil on the other shoulder says that I’d really be happier listening to DP call KO a Yankee Apologist and try to get him say something that will get him in trouble with his girlfriend.

Let’s hear it for the devil.