Courtesy Sporting News

(June 2, 2010) While this weekend was a national holiday, it was a Halladay in Philadelphia. Yes, yes, the pun has been ridiculously overused, but hey, when the best pitcher on the National League champions throws a perfect game during Memorial Day Weekend, what else would you expect the headline writers to grab?

Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in Major League history. Carlos Ruiz gets nearly as much credit for being the catcher of record. A host of other players have their names in the box score as well. But let's be honest, most of us will never know what that feels like. When you're a kid, did you ever in your wildest dreams imagine throwing a perfect game in the Major Leagues? If you're anything like me – or any of us who grew up in the video game era – you probably envisioned yourself calling the game from the broadcast booth more times than you ever imagined pitching it. This weekend, I had the opportunity to catch up with the two gentlemen who were asked to do just that.

Tom McCarthy (left) had television broadcast for the Phillies, while Scott Franzke had the play-by-play on radio. I asked both a few questions about calling the historic game:

What it was like to call a game that started out as a very typical regular season game and ended as a part of baseball history:

McCarthy: This experience was one that you will never forget as an announcer. To do this on daily basis is a privilege, but to call a perfect game was more than I could have ever imagined. A playoff game has a different kind of energy than a regular season game. That game had the same kind of energy as a playoff game.

Franzke: Obviously at the start it's like any other game and you just get ready for it the same way. Then you start to see the innings pile up and the outs pile up, you realize what's at stake and you just try to stay with it as best you can – stay focused – and understand that people are listening and in tune with what's going on. You've got to be as close to every pitch as you can because all it takes is one to end the attempt. I guess it's a lot like any other game, you just try to say with it and stay focused on it.

When did they start to feel like the game was more than just an ordinary start (even an ordinary Roy Halladay start) and they could be in for something special:

McCarthy: I could feel the adrenaline in the seventh inning start to increase and get to a different level than what I had ever experienced before. After the eighth, I wanted to stay out of the way, let the pictures tell the story and just be accurate because there was so much information to get through. Our producer, Jeff Halikman and our director, JR Aguila, were unbelievable. They made it a lot easier to tell the story.

Franzke: You're constantly updating because it's radio -- maybe not as much on TV because you have the graphics and the boxes that come up that let somebody know that the other club doesn't have any hits -- but on radio you're constantly rehashing the score. You're constantly going back over what happened during the course of the game, so it's not unusual that you mentioned he's retired the first nine batters or the first 12, but I don't think until you get through the fifth you start to put an emphasis on the fact that, hey, this is a perfect game or this is a no-hitter.

I'd say it gets a little more serious in the sixth and then you get through the seventh and then you really jump into the eighth. I think once your in the eighth, you're in full perfect game watch or no-hitter watch.

Was either nervous about old baseball superstitions of jinxing a perfect game or a no-hitter by talking about it? What was the plan and how did they address that issue throughout the game:

McCarthy: As for the superstitions, I don't get caught up in them because I think it would be a disservice to the listeners or the viewers. I didn't want to pound the fact that it was a perfect game, but I always feel like it is important to tell the story. You have to. I think I said no-hitter a few times and perfect game twice, but I didn't say it over and over again. I have always felt that way. I thought the video [the telecast showed video of Jim Bunning's perfect game for the Phillies] was important to put the outing into perspective and I was excited that we had it handy. With all of that said, I did stay in the booth the whole time and not move.

Franzke: I don't think I shied away from saying the actual words. It's funny that I mention it a number of times that he's been perfect. I can't tell you when I might have said the words perfect game together. I sit next to, obviously, an ex-player and he has a lot of things ingrained in his mind – in terms of Larry Anderson – from the days of being on a bench and being with guys who may be in the process of throwing a no-hitter. He's got certain superstitions, but I've always said, look, especially on radio, there's just no way around it. You have to say it. You have to let people know what's going on. You have to understand that two-thirds of your audience at any given moment are either turning on the radio or turning off the radio. They are getting in and out of their cars, by and large, so you have to make them aware, constantly, of what's going on.

Again, I don't know whether I did it enough, whether I do it too much, but I certainly don't try to avoid saying the words just because of a ball player's superstition or whatever superstition the fans have.

Were they aware that more people – including those around the country – took an extra interest in the game? Also, was the last call something scripted, or does something like that have to come naturally in the pace of the game? Can you prepare for a perfect game call, and can you over-prepare for it:

McCarthy: I think as broadcasters you always take the same approach, no matter what the situation, but your senses do peak in a situation like this. You want to be exact with your facts and clear with your descriptions. I don't worry about the national peak-ins, but I am focused on making sure the description is accurate. I owe that to the viewers and I think I owe that to the player.

Franzke: I think you have to [let the game dictate your call]. Maybe for other guys it's different but for me, I'm probably just not clever enough. If I spend enough time thinking about what I'm going to say six outs from now, I'm going to mess up the five outs in between. I think you have to just try to stay with what you're doing.

Obviously you want it to be good. You hope that all the many games you've done where it hasn't meant anything and nothing's been on the line and it hasn't been a big moment, that's kind of your training…the repetition, and in a way, like a player, you swing 1,000 times just to make sure you're ready to swing once. It's kind of the same way. You're simply reacting. You're simply just describing. You get down to the very basic essence of play by play, which is: tell them what you see. You try to take that approach, at least for me, that's what works the best.

What was it like in each booth? For McCarthy, it sounded like Chris Wheeler started to cry at least twice. For Franzke, Larry Anderson has been notorious for cheering over big calls (yet somehow enhancing the call in the process). What was it like working the game with them, both on and off the air?

McCarthy: As for the in between innings stuff, we kept the conversations to the norm, saying this guy is filthy or he is dealing on the corners. We talked about the home plate umpire and how good he was. But a lot of our time between innings was spent researching information and confirming facts and looking at old box scores. It was intense. It was fun, but intense. I loved every bit of it and I hope we can do it again some day. Maybe his next start!

Franzke: We were both pretty nervous. I think [Anderson] even said it on the air in the ninth inning. He said, "who do you think is more nervous, us or Roy Halladay?" I said, "obviously us." Athletes, especially athletes of his caliber, one of the reasons they are so good is because they have the ability to slow the game down. I didn't have any way to slow my heart rate down or slow my hands down from shaking.

It's a big moment. You're trying to stay focused, but you realize you're about to release a tremendous amount of emotion because it bottles up and it builds and it builds over the eight, eight and a third, eight and two thirds until finally you can release it.

blog comments powered by Disqus