NEW YORK, NY – Today the the temperatures in NYC will reach a high of 62 degrees and a low of 29 degrees. That is just nuts. Is it related to what we’ll be talking about today? Not really. It just impacts how I pack to go to Indianapolis to remotely call a Major League Rugby match being played in Washington, DC… Things sometimes make no sense in life. Yet, I digress. Here’s today’s slate: Tim McCarver & Professional Rugby.
Tim McCarver
81 years is way too early for a man so full of life to be gone. It was a good run, though. The late Tim McCarver was an integral part of two World Series winners, an All-Star, caught in 4 decades and had a long career on the mic. That last part earned him enshrinement in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Yours truly had the pleasure of spending one glorious summer working as an intern for the Mets. My job was basically to read the sports ticker (Google it) and feed Tim McCarver, Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy any info coming from other games. Lifeguard by day, sports heaven employee by night. Pretty cool… And McCarver couldn’t have been nicer. Always a smile. A hello. A thank you. He had that glint in his eye that those that enjoy the ride of this thing called life have. He was a guy that could talk to the janitor and the intern the way he spoke to any dignitary.
Some fans didn’t care for his style of calling a game from the booth. I did. I thought he was great. As for calling a game from behind the plate, he was the preferred choice of Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton. Does that mean he was good? You bet your ass it does. He was, ironically, a smart guy that chose the Tools of Ignorance to make a living.
Thanks for the fond memories, Tim. Rest in Peace.
Now to something different. Just watch:
