I was reading last night's game thread on the train this morning and I saw that you have apparently abandoned your home run call, "What do you think about that". I would hate to think that it was because of the ribbing you get for it here on the Box.
"What do you think about that" was just starting to grow on me.
Personally, I think the key to a good home run call is how you sell it. Jerry Howarth's "Let's admire that one" is not a magical phrase without his delivery. I think that you've been giving "What do you think about that" a genuine bolt of enthusiasm this year that has elevated it.
Frankly, I think you've been really good this year. Cerutti too. The two of you sound like you're having a lot more fun and the comfort level seems to be much higher.
Here's the thing: you guys have a really tough road in Toronto, because we've been spoiled with a quarter century of Tom and Jerry. I didn't realize how good we've had it until I went on a road trip to Boston this summer and caught a bunch of different baseball games on the radio in the car on the way there and back. Plus we watched all kinds of games on ESPN and NESN while we were down there, and my wife and I agreed that we'd take you and Cerutti any day over whoever those guys were.
Candiotti has also been a lot of fun. In fact, the moment that it dawned on me that something was different this year was during a telecast early in the season from Minnesota with Candiotti. I don't remember the final score of the game or even who won, but I remember that you guys were absolutely electric. One call stands out in my mind, on a ball that looked like it was going to be a home run, where you said "it's going...going...it's...IT'S...FOUL!" with such delirious relief that I could feel just how into the ballgame you were.
The problem is that no matter how good you are, you are going to be compared to a team that we've been listening to for 25 years. That's a little unfair to you, to say the least. I know that sixty years from now I'm going to be sitting in some rocking chair on some porch listening to a ballgame and saying, "Things were better in the old days when we had Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth" no matter how good the current broadcast team is.
When we take digs at you in the game threads, or at least when I do, please know two things: first, it's because we see you so often. We're the kinds of fans who watch every single game and pick it to pieces, and you're part of virtually all of them. It has to be at least a little flattering that one of your ball or strike calls can merit as much attention as a pitching change. Second, I'm of the opinion that because we see so much of you we start reacting to you like you're part of the gang. I take a fair amount of abuse for my shoes, my obsessive-compulsive behavior and my general goofy optimism from the crowd that populates Batter's Box, but none of it is meant to hurt me. It's like some kind of crazy badge of honour, really. Up in 518 we've taken to shouting "What do you think about that" in unison to celebrate home runs.
Finally, I'd like to address the "watercraft" issue. There is an ongoing joke on Batter's Box where we descend into fits of giggles when Cerutti says "watercraft" during the opposing pitcher's scouting report. The word "watercraft" is such a novelty on Canadian television that I'd bet twenty bucks that you'd hear the f-word more times in a year on the CBC than you'd hear "watercraft" on all channels put together. And I'll tell you, before I went to bed last night I stayed up late enough to see the opposing pitcher's scouting report because I wanted to hear Candiotti say "watercraft". Really, this is completely true. My wife and I turned to each other and said "Where's the watercraft?" when we realized that the report was no longer sponsored by Sea-Doo. It was a real letdown.
I'm kind of glad I didn't stay up to watch the whole game, because I'd have missed "What do you think about that". I believe that it is a good homerun call when you deliver it the way you have been this year, with energy and genuine excitement, and I'd hate to see it shelved just as it was being perfected.
Sincerely,
Aaron, a.k.a. Named For Hank, the guy with the banners.
Bauxites, do you have anything to add? I challenge those of you opposed to "what do you think about that" to come up with something that is both better and different from everyone else's homerun call.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040720115648999