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As a baseball fan growing up near Rochester NY in the 1960′s, author Curt Smith could tune in radio and television stations from around the country, delivering the play by play from some of the legends of the game. In his imagination he could see Yankee Stadium, Forbes Field, or Tiger Stadium among others, through the voices of Mel Allen, Bob Prince, and Ernie Harwell. The national game of the week on CBS television delivered pictures to accompany the fractured English of Dizzy Dean. The influence of those word pictures launched Curt on a career that includes numerous books on baseball from the broadcast booth.
In his 2005 book Voices of Summer: Ranking Baseball’s 101 All-Time Best Announcers
He shares his top five:
5) Red Barber
4) Jack Buck
3) Ernie Harwell
2) Mel Allen
1) Vin Scully
In an attempt to find out who might be the up and coming play by play announcers who could ascend to this level, we get into a discussion about the obstacles in front of the practitioners. Whether it is dividing loyalties and working multiple sports under a network contract, or going were the dollars are and starting out in television where the pictures tell the story, Curt has a hard time identifying someone today who he clearly could vote for in the Broadcasters Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Back in the days before email, I used to type up a letter to some baseball friends of mine with baseball tidbits, group predictions on the season, and a section about the calls that we loved from our favorite broadcasters. Most baseball fans can still hear that replay of a moment fresh in their minds and be transported to that time once again. I share with Curt my recollections of Al Michaels serving as the play by play voice of ABC during the 1986 ALCS and can still hear his excitement over the events that had unfolded before him during Game 5 in Anaheim.
Curt has some strong opinions about the fact that Major League Baseball, at the highest levels, does not have an overall sense of how to televise the game to make it more attractive in this current environment. He shares that an inquiry to the Commissioner’s office regarding any issue with a broadcast could not be directed to the proper individual simply because they do not have such a person.
The one shining light that we do have in terms of broadcast of baseball is the MLB Network. Curt has high praise for the quality of the in-house production, archival footage, and studio programming, and we look towards the network as a the standard bearers for baseball in all mediums.
We finally get to Curt’s current book 
.. Pull Up a Chair: The Vin Scully Story
We have to jump for joy around here because we had been operating under the assumption that the 2010 season was going to be his last behind the microphone. Curt assures us that the announcement was premature and that any decision will be made when Vin confers with his wife Sandra and they decide to walk away.
As a tutorial for new fans who might discover Scully during these last seasons we offer this advice. As he poetically segues from descriptions of groundballs to player comparisons to literature, remember that he has been doing this for almost 60 years. The man has a remarkable memory with the ability to instantly access any possible appropriate reference.
Second, Curt points out a fantastic point with regards to the format of the broadcast. Vin Scully is there to have a conversation with you the fan, and you alone. There are no other inane sidetracked conversations taking place with a partner, attempting to find a groove. Enjoy the time that you have alone with Vin Scully sitting beside you at the ballgame!
The book is the first biography of Vin Scully. We thank Curt Smith profusely for his great insights and for taking the time to join us on Cover the Bases.
You can find information about Curt at his web site, and we look forward to any other books that he delivers in the future.
If you like hearing about the baseball books we profile on Cover the Bases, it might be time for you to pick up a Kindle from Amazon, so that you can take all the best Baseball Books with you no matter which stadiums you visit.
Let us know in the comments what you think about the Cover the Bases podcast. We would love to hear from you. Send a Tweet to @baseballisms with a quick message, send us an email or visit our Upload page with a video message. We look forward to growing a community of fans interested in the poetry of the game of baseball!
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