There’s no way you can tell me that listening to a baseball game on the radio is better than watching it on TV.

I mean, come on. If a batter gets beaned in the head, I want to be able to see his helmet shatter. Yet some old timers will insist baseball games are better on radio.

While I disagree with that, I’ve always found it remarkably cozy to listen to good baseball announcers. In fact, I’ll often have a game on the TV in the background just to hear the voices.

With the playoffs in full gear — and the Cubs headed for the World Series* — I’ve been thinking about the best baseball broadcasters, past and present. Mind you, I haven’t been around for 60 years. And I haven’t heard games broadcast in every state. But here are my top ten announcers:

10.) Bob Brenly.

Okay, here’s where my bias comes into play since, you know, he is the color analyst for the Cubs. But the former World Series manager is pretty insightful. And I love how he and booth mate Len Kasper talk about music during the games. In fact, the source of two of my blog posts about music came from them.

9.) Ernie Harwell.

I have to admit, I’m not terribly familiar with the longtime voice of the Tigers, but the guy did it for 55 years, so let’s give him his due.

8.) Bob Uecker.

“I must be in the front row.” Remember those beer commercials? Good stuff. While that was scripted, Uecker was always funny, which is why he was a frequent guest on “The Tonight Show” during the Carson years (a.k.a., when it was good). The Brewers broadcaster always reminded me of a goofy uncle. Ironically, he’s fairly serious as a play-by-play guy.

7.) Steve Stone. 

A few years ago, Stone riled up some crybaby millionaires when he wasn’t as much of a homer as the home team wanted him to be. While Cubs players confronted him — one pitcher even called him during a game to complain — fans and WGN stood by Stone. But he quit anyway.

Known for his uncanny ability to predict what will happen — and for providing serious balance to partner Harry Caray’s silly – Stone is now a radio announcer for the White Sox. 

6.) Joe Morgan.

Much like Stone, Morgan seems to have ESP when it comes to what’s going to happen on the field. Plus, the ESPN announcer has a calming voice, and the former Reds infielder is not afraid to be critical of players.

5.) Jack Brickhouse.

When I first started watching the Cubs, Brickhouse — with his famous “Hey, Hey!” home run call — was a staple of the Cubs and WGN. Known for his enthusiastic support of the teams he called for, Brickhouse also worked games for the Bears, White Sox and Bulls. Remember that famous Willie Mays catch in the World Series? Brickhouse called it.

4.) Jon Miller.

I can’t really pin it down, but Miller just has a soothing voice that I could listen to on any occasion. He calls games for the Giants, but he’s best when paired with Joe Morgan on ESPN. Articulate and well-spoken, his most famous call came when Barry Bonds broke the home run record last year.

3.) Mel Allen.

When I was a kid, I watched “This Week in Baseball” religously, mostly to hear Allen’s voice. Primarily known as the voice of the Yankees, Allen called 22 World Series contests and 24 all star games. His many catch phrases included the most famous - “How about that!”

2.) Vin Scully.

There may not be a cozier baseball voice out there. While Scully has been the voice of the Dodgers for 59 years, I first heard him doing NBC games with Joe Garagiola – perhaps the greatest baseball commentator pairing of all.

There are too many great Scully calls to mention, but to name a few: Kirk Gibson’s World Series homerun, Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s homerun record, and Dwight Clark’s endzone catch in the NFC championship game.

1.) Harry Caray.

Of course! Remember my aforementioned bias? But, really — Harry was a true character. Although known mostly for his work with the Cubs, he started out with the Cardinals, the A’s and then the White Sox before settling on the North Side. 

It was with the White Sox that he started singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the 7th inning stretch. But Harry was known for many other things, like spelling people’s names backwards and boasting about his alcohol consumption.

One broadcaster I interviewed said Caray had a cooler full of Buds he dipped into every game. And a friend who met Caray once asked the broadcaster for an autograph, which he agreeed to give in exchange for the 6-pack the autograph seeker holding.

Hey, Cubs — “Let’s. Get. Some. Runs!”

* I know — I’ve fallen off the deep end

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What’s gotten into Eddie Vedder?

For a long time, he had this reputation as a moody guy who didn’t seem to like anything. But lately I’ve read about him playing ukulele, surfing and now writing songs about baseball.

Oh well — good for him. And I say that not just because I’m glad he’s not so glum, but also because he’s a Cubs fan.

As the Cubs seek to reverse history (They’re in the playoffs two consecutive years for the first time since 1907-08), Vedder — at the request of Ernie Banks — has written a song about the Cubs, titled ”All the Way.”

When I read about the song, my first thought was: Ernie Banks is an Eddie Vedder fan?

Ernie’s not exactly from the Grunge era.

But then my second thought was: Will this replace the Steve Goodman song “Go Cubs Go” as the team’s victory song? Goodman, also known for his song “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request,” is the guy who wrote “City of New Orleans,” made famous by Arlo Guthrie. 

Unfortunately, Goodman never got to see his last request realized. In 1984, just four days before the Cubs made their first playoff appearance in nearly 40 years, Goodman died of leukemia at 36.

Some of his ashes were later scattered near home plate at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs didn’t make the World Series that year. (They haven’t been in one since 1945.) But Cub fans are optimistic that they’ll make it back – hopefully during Vedder’s lifetime.

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When I was a kid, I had a thing for mustaches.

Not in a weird way, mind you; I just liked mustaches.

In fact, whenever I started to draw a picture of a guy, he’d inevitably wind up with  this thing that looked like a cat tail above his mouth. Nothing fancy. Just your tasteful, little-bit-of-hair-above-the-lip-but-not-too-crazy mustache.

And, of course, I wanted one of my own. But unlike my friend Mel — who had a full beard and mustache in the 7th grade — I couldn’t grow facial hair. So the best I could do was make a fake one — usually with yarn or whatever fell on the floor after a haircut.

So you can imagine how excited I was when Yankee slugger Jason Giambi sported a retro ’stache, thinking, from a scientific standpoint, that more hair would help his hand-eye coordination. And then you could imagine how disappointed I was when I learned he’d shaved it because, contrary to everything we’ve learned, mustaches really can’t help you hit a baseball better.

Back in the day, the Major Leagues was always a reliable place to find a good mustache. So much that some have even made lists of top ten baseball mustaches. (What — no Reggie Jackson?)

There have been good mustaches on TV and film, except that, really, when you talk about actor mustaches, there’s really one that’s far superior to all others.

In music, the Eagles gave us great mustaches. But check out this facial hair by Lindsey Buckingham. But, of course, just like everything else in music, the Beatles ruled when it came to facial hair.

So I’ve had this mustache for about 15 years now. My wife and daughter have never seen me without it. Heck, I could have a tattoo* on my lip, and they’d never know.

So I recently told myself that maybe it’s time, like Jason Giambi, to give it up. To go smooth. To hack the ’stache and be free of it all. 

I said that to myself. But then, all of the sudden, I was like: “Why are you talking to yourself?” And then I added: “About mustaches?”

And it was then and there that I decided to keep the mustache. Because, like Lionel Richie, I believe in the mustache. I see value in the mustache as a cultural icon. And I know I must carry on that tradition.

Because, really, when all my heroes let me down (both John Oates and Tom Selleck have shaved) who will be left to carry the torch?

* of a mustache

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March 20, 1963

Spring training in Palm Springs?

Yep.

The Boston Red Sox lost 5-1 to the Los Angeles Angels at the Polo Grounds in Palm Springs.

Daylight major league baseball a few hours from San Luis Obispo drew the sports editor Johnny Nettleship south for a game. With an afternoon paper the film could be developed overnight and be fresh for the next afternoon’s edition.

According to Wikipedia the Angel’s owner, movie star, Gene Autry lived part time in the desert town so it made a natural fit for spring training and their class-A minor league team. The Angels called it their training home from 1961 to 1992.

The team in the Los Angeles ballpark would win the World Series against the Yankees that year. Unfortunately for them, it was their roommates the Dodgers.

The Angels and Dodgers would share Dodger Stadium from 1962-1965 until the Angels headed south on I-5 for their own home and began their many name changes. They have had more identities than Sybil; we knew them as California Angels, Anaheim Angles, and Los Angles Angels of Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga.

I still hate that Rally monkey. Yeah, my name is Dave and I am a Giants fan.

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