I thought that Elston's silence after the no-hitter was perfect. He allowed fans watching the game on TV to experience the sheer joy of the moment and experience the crowds reaction. He didn't blather on and on like most announcers would. McMullen did not agree with me. One of my favorite Gene Elston quotes was: (when talking about someone in a slump he said): "The longer he goes without a hit, the closer he comes to getting one".
Wasn't that Elston's last season with the Astros? Also for those of you that never heard Gene Elston, or those that did and want to hear him again, there are short audio clips of various Astros games at http://www.astrosdaily.com/ Scroll down to "Key Features" and click on "Vintage Audio and Video"
Milo may be terrible, but it was what I grew up with. It became part of my youth. I can remember back to the 1980 playoffs, but do not remember the play by plays from anyone else. When I look back at Astro's memories, the voice is always Milo's. It is like when I talked to a friend who is a Cubs fan. He said something to the effect that, he would rather get half a game with Harrey Carrey, then a whole game with out him. Thank you for sharing that sentimental moment, now let's get back to work.
I suspect that a few of us old timers remember Lowell Passe ("Hot diggity dog and sassafras tea"). Also, Harry Kalas started with the Astros. For those who don't recognize the name, you'd recognize the voice - he does the voice overs for NFL films. Elston was essentially fired after the 1986 season. One of McMullen's reasons was the lack of emotion he showed after the Scott no-hitter. As I stated prevsiously, I thought his silence was perfect for the situation. The last thing I want is some announcer stepping on top of the event.
He called the Braves games. As a matter of fact, he called Aaron's record breaking HR (715). He was also a Cubs broadcaster.
Anyone know the particulars on the rift between Milo and Skip Caray? I remember reading about it...supposedly Milo made a crack at Harry Caray after his death.
Harry always claimed that he was bigger than the game itself. One day, Milo got fed up and told him to go to the booth on an off day and see how many people show up just to watch him. He repeated that line after Harry's death and it pissed Skip off.
I agree about Milo, he's terrible even if I used to listen to him all the time growing up. My dilemma now is that Bill Worrell is completely horrible and frankly when the 'Stros are at home I can't stand to watch them on TV or listen to them on the radio. It's really that awful. Larry Dierker or Jimmy D should be doing color for home games. Worrell doing baseball just makes my skin crawl. I don't know why people don't like Bill Brown though, to me he does exactly what he should which is call the game and let the color man tell the stories and entertain the audience. Jimmy D is kick ass.
Harry Caray succeeded him with the cubs and I think there was some animosity between the two, Milo regarded Caray as sort of a self promoter. MIlo said something about the gigantic fuss they made about Harry Caray when he died in chicago, which was a little over the top for a guy who only broadcast cub games for 16 years.
Milo I can deal with; Bill Brown I actually enjoy. Bill Worrell, however, is annoying. To me he says the most obvious thing in a way that makes it seem like he's the only one who noticed it. I like listening to him and Calvin on the Rockets games, but wish he'd leave baseball alone.
I agree on Worrell. Brown is bad. Milo is excellent...glad he's here making radio broadcasts enjoyable!
My favorite is when Worrell says something stupid, then there's just a long silence from Brown. Normally he does a pretty good job of covering for him, but everyonce in a while he can't seem to choke anything out. "Wow! That ball was well hit! Did you see how high that bounced Brownie? That was amazing! Not many guys in this league could do that!" Bill Worrell calling a ball taking a big bounce and going up the middle.
My favorite Worrell moment came a number of years ago when Deshaies was still pitching for Houston. Other announcer: "The problem with Jim is that he's not consistent" Worrell: "He's consistent, just not all the time" Worrell was dead serious when he said it.
I like Brown, he's very knowledgeable, brings up relevant stats and questions and everything goes smoothly. What do you guys want, Calving Murphy as a play by play guy? Deshaies and Ashby are good also. Ashby has grown on me, I like his opinionated style. They both obviously care about the Astros which is a plus to me. I like having homers call the games. I used to love Milo, but what does he really bring to the table? I don't think he really brings that many insights, he's not all that clever, he's too nice, just nothing special except a good vioice. Worrel just says whatever (he thinks) sounds good.
