Courtesy Delaware County Times

(April 6, 2009) It was exhausting enough being Harry Kalas in the late 1970s and ’80s, when the popularity of the Phillies play-by-play man was escalating with every “Swing and a looonnnng driiive!” launched by Mike Schmidt.

But these days, “Harry the K” can hardly take two steps in Clearwater, Philadelphia — or San Francisco for that matter — without stopping for an autograph, handshake or cell-phone picture.

To legions of fans, the velvety-voiced Hall of Famer is every bit the icon as the guys with the gloves. And far more accessible.

“It’s very humbling to be recognized and meet people who want your autograph or a picture,” said the 73-year-old Kalas, who will call his 39th Phillies opener tonight at Citizens Bank Park. “Being inducted into Cooperstown made a big difference. I remember Bob Murphy, the longtime Mets (broadcaster), said, ‘Harry, it’s going to change everything.’

“He was right.”

A longtime resident of Upper Providence, Kalas is optimistic as always about the Fightins’ chances of winning another N.L. East title. Whether they will repeat as champions is anyone’s guess.

“In the division you can never count out the Bravos (Atlanta Braves), but I think the main competition will once again come from the (New York) Mets,” he said. “The Phillies are fortunate they’ve struggled in September, but I don’t think you can count on that every year.

“If they go on and win the World Series again, they would be the first National League team to repeat since the Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds) of the 1970s.”

With a nucleus as strong as any Phillies team since the late 1970s, Kalas thinks the 2009 Phils have a good shot at another parade.

“Being around this club, you get the feeling they really want to do it again,” he said.

As long as health cooperates, Kalas, whose contract expires after this season, expects to be along for the ride.

“There’s no timetable for hanging them up,” he said. “The Phillies graciously told me that I can stay around for as long as I want, so we’ll see how this year goes and take it from there. I’m still enjoying it and the travel doesn’t bother me too much.”

Kalas underwent an undisclosed surgical procedure in February that kept him out for a chunk of spring training and was excused from a Friday afternoon appearance at Citizens Bank Park due to sickness. He had also planned to pass on Saturday’s game, but was feeling better by Friday evening and decided he was up for it.

“As Whitey used to say,” referring to former Phillies centerfielder and broadcasting partner Richie Ashburn, “you can take these golden years and shove ’em.”

After tinkering in sports broadcasting at the University of Iowa, Kalas began his broadcasting career in 1961, calling minor league games while stationed in Hawaii with the Army. He broke into the majors with the Houston Astros in 1965 — calling the first game in the Astrodome at age 29 — and joined the Phillies for the opening of Veterans Stadium in 1971.

During his time with the Phillies, Kalas has critiqued 14 managers — from Frank Lucchesi to Lee Elia to Charlie Manuel; called homers for sluggers Dick Allen, Schmidt and Ryan Howard; and balls and strikes for the likes of Steve Carlton, Curt Schilling and Cole Hamels.

Sprinkled in between were a few hundred Ricky Oteros, Kiko Garcias and Jerry Spradlins, who Kalas dutifully introduced in a trademark baritone that made fans think they could actually play.

He credits former Phillies shortstop and manager Larry Bowa for his trademark “Outta here!” home run call.

“We were standing around the batting cage at the Vet in the mid-70s and Greg Luzinski hit one off the upper deck in left center,” Kalas said. “Bowa said, ‘Man, that’s way outta here!’

“I thought it had kind of neat ring to it.”

For 27 years, Kalas was paired with Ashburn, the Hall of Fame center fielder with a disdain for pitchers and position players who would “give away an out” with a sacrifice bunt.

“I think about him so much, not just at the ballpark,” Kalas said of Ashburn, who died of a heart attack during a 1997 road trip to New York.

Born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill., Kalas spurned the Cubs and White Sox as a youngster after his first encounter with a Delaware County resident.

“The first game my dad took me to was the White Sox and Senators at Comiskey Park,” Kalas said. “I was 10 years old and it was a rainy day, so we were able to get seats behind the Washington dugout.

“It was a sparse crowd and there was no batting practice because of the rain.”

It was then that the pride of Marcus Hook, Mickey Vernon, poked his head out of the dugout and turned to look into the seats.

“He spots this wide-eyed kid and decided, for whatever reason, to bring me into the dugout and give me a baseball,” Kalas said. “From that moment on, I was probably the only Senators fan in Naperville, where all the kids were raised to root for the White Sox or Cubs.”

Kalas mentioned Vernon in his Hall of Fame speech in 2002 before a crowd that included a few thousand Phillies fans.

His affection for the Senators did not keep him from listening to several broadcasters he would some day join in the Hall of Fame — among them Chicago announcers Jack Brickhouse and Bob Elson and St. Louis Cardinals play-by-play man Jack Buck.

Other favorites include Murphy, the Dodgers’ Vin Scully and longtime Yankees announcer Mel Allen, Harry Caray of Cubs fame, and his former Phillies broadcasting partner By Saam.

“I think the key to calling a good game is preparation and I try to learn all I can about the players, coaches and managers on each team,” Kalas said.

Asked what irritates him during the course of a broadcast, Kalas directed his ire toward the mound.

“Slow pitchers,” he said. “Steve Carlton was a joy to watch because he didn’t waste any time between pitches. Jamie Moyer is very similar, unless there are men on base, but a lot of guys take forever to throw a pitch.”

In his earlier years, a lot of that downtime translated into blissful silence for Phillies fans listening at home. Kalas said the days when you could go 10 or 15 seconds without hearing anything but a far off hot dog vendor and Ashburn puffing away on his pipe are long gone.

“When I first came to Philadelphia, Whitey said, ‘Harry, if I don’t have anything pertinent to say, I’m not going to say it,” Kalas said. “He didn’t feel the need to fill the air with color commentary … Things are a little bit different today.”

While he still has a good rapport with players, Kalas said his exchanges are usually confined to the ballpark and team charters these days.

“I’m not so much of a night owl anymore,” he said. “After the game, I used to go out and have a couple of pops, but those days pretty much ended when I stopped drinking about five years ago.”

During his 58-year career, Kalas has called NFL and Notre Dame football games and Big 5 basketball games in addition to his work at NFL Films and numerous commercials and voiceovers.

A former resident of Wallingford and Radnor, he said Delaware County living has treated him well.

“My wife Eileen looked for places and liked Delaware County,” said Kalas, who has three sons, Todd, Brad and Kane. “We’ve got a house that backs up to Ridley Creek State Park. We’re only 25 minutes from the ballpark and we have deer in the backyard, so it’s a pretty good arrangement.”

Kalas is excited about the Phillies prospects this season and expects the competition to be fierce. “Once you become a world champion, your opponents seem to have that extra flow of adrenaline because they want to knock off the champs,” he said.

“Some teams are satisfied after they win the World Series. This team is definitely ready to defend.”