Off-season diversion: Vintage MLB radiocasts on YouTube

A nice way of forgetting about the too-cold-for-golf weather (but, no snow yet, except for one trivial dusting) ...

My definition of "vintage" is when my detailed memory of MLB started, which was 1969-71 ... great stuff when my baseball cards came to life in mostly empty stadiums.  The highlights and low-lights so far:

* Many broadcasts of the troubled 1971 Angels ... found what I was looking for when the Angels played at Boston on June 4 ... 'Bad Alex' Johnson loafed down to first base on a ground out to third base in the 1st inning and got his azz nailed to the bench for the rest of the night.  SoCal was fortunate to have Enberg and Scully on the air at the same time.  The Dodger broadcasts on YT were from its network affiliate in Phoenix, AZ and the Angels broadcasts were from Mesa, AZ.

* LA Dodgers at SD Padres, 9/4/69 ... Willie Davis' 31-game hitting streak came to an end in front of less than 7,000 disinterested witnesses.  The expansion Padres were hideous and couldn't draw flies ... second banana Dodger broadcaster Jerry Doggett (who was quite good) talked about what a pleasant drive it would be down to San Diego for the weekend to watch the Dodgers and catch the sights there.

* Vin Scully was excellent for the Dodgers, but I could never call him my favorite because he was so overexposed ... he was everywhere!  Btw, when it came to selling a commercial, NOBODY was better.  He was golden for Farmer John meats and his pitch for Schlitz Malt Liquor over ice (he emphasized the ice) was not to be believed ... I can't remember which game he opened with that spot.

* Chuck Thompson of the Orioles ... ugh ... Game One of the 1971 playoffs (O's vs. A's) was enough.  This guy just LUVED to hear himself talk.   His wingman Bill O'Donnell took over for part of the game and was a welcome relief.

* I sampled Red Barber from the Yankees broadcast on Mother's Day, 1966.  How is this guy a legend?  He didn't project his voice and had marbles in his mouth.  How did the people of Brooklyn(!) ever understand him?

* Speaking of 1966, there's a Mets game where Ralph Kiner called Ron Swoboda "Ron Hunt" two or three times (Hunt was not in the lineup!) when the ball was hit to him in left field.   I once worked with a guy who thought Ralph was drunk on 'Kiner's Corner', but I'm not buying it.

* Speaking of Ron Hunt, Tom Seaver nailed him in the back of his batting helmet (8/31/69).  I couldn't remember Seaver ever beaning anyone before, but this had to be an accident since Hunt was a frickin' kamikaze in the batter's box.  Kiner said Hunt was conscious while on the ground, but as a precaution he was carried off on a stretcher and sent to the hospital overnight.

* Speaking of the Mets, I think Bob Murphy is my all-time favorite ... like a comfortable pair of bedroom slippers.  His work on Game Three of the '69 playoffs against the Braves never gets old.  Lindsey Nelson of the Mets, like Scully, was overexposed to be Number One in my book, but he was still one of the best ... he could rattle off the scores, pitchers and home runs of an out-of-town game between pitches of the game he was broadcasting like a machine!

* I sampled Bob Prince of the Pirates (Montreal at Pittsburgh, 9/28/73) ... I really don't like broadcasters saying "We".   There was a pleasant break from this when he invited Maury Wills into the booth to chat for two or three innings ... Wills was in town to do NBC's Saturday broadcast the next day.

* Fascinating 7/20/69 broadcast of the Dodgers at Giants ... the PA announcer asked for a moment of silence/prayer for the safe return of the Apollo 11 astronauts.  Gaylord Perry of the Giants won the game and hit his first career homer ... Doggett interviewed him after the game and alluded to his alleged spitball;  Perry said he was "disturbed" a few weeks earlier by umpire Chris Pelekoudos, who came out to the mound every inning to inspect him (and found nothing) ... it ruined his rhythm and he said "I should have won that game."

*******

In about seven minutes, Happy 2022 to all.