Remember the days when NBC and ABC televised the Fall Classic and ratings were soaring? The anticipation and excitement for the World Series was something that we could only dream of today.
Not that I'm saying these recent World Series lacked anticipation, but back then it had a Super Bowl feel to it. It's no surprise with broadcasters like Vin Scully, Joe Garagiola, Keith Jackson, and Howard Casell, just to name a few. It was a beauty watching a game listening to Hall of Fame talent. It was like watching an artist working on a masterpiece.
But for some reason Fox lacks that magic, even since their first World Series broadcast in 1996. Since 1999, the last time another network (NBC) other than Fox televised the Series, Television ratings have averaged a rating from 10 to 13.
Back in the 1980's, ratings would soar over a 20. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have been great broadcasters and provide great baseball knowledge but they lack the enthusiasm, charisma, and charm that the 70s, 80s, and early 90s broadcasters provided.
Remember watching Game 6 of the 1995 World Series? How funny Bob Uecker was during the game? He and Bob Costas were were very informative but also were thinking outside the box on other ways to make watching baseball more enjoyable. Vin Scully was a master at this art, he would broadcast baseball like a poem. Scully afterall was and still is a poet and a genius himself behind the mike.
Baseball's contract with Fox expires in 2013. My hope will be that Fox's succesor or Fox themselves will be provide a more fun way to watch the World Series. Hopefully those broadcasters will provide the energy, enthusiasm, and magic that will attract more fans like me to watch the Fall Classic no matter who's playing.
Men behind the mike, like Jack Buck in 1991, will make any call so memorable like for example "To deep right center, to Mitchell, and we'll see ya tomorrow night!" We will tell our grandkids where we were when the call was made. Because if today two "unpopular" teams would meet in the Fall Classic it would be MLB's nightmare but that wouldn't be the case 20-30 years ago.
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