Crafting the Call -- the 2001 World Series
Episode 15 examines the dramatic moments of an epic Fall Classic as described by John Sterling, Michael Kay, Gary Thorne, Greg Schulte and Joe Buck
Crafting the Call is a YouTube series that I developed along with Jesse Goldberg-Strassler. Each week, we examine different aspects of baseball play-by-play announcing, offering our perspective as working professionals for fans, and advice for fellow broadcasters.
The 2001 baseball season just might be my favorite. I was on the San Francisco Giants beat and chronicled Barry Bonds’ record-breaking, 73-homer season for The Oakland Tribune.
I covered the All-Star Game in Seattle, which included an Ichiro Suzuki vs Randy Johnson matchup, and the Mariners took over the Puget Sound’s heart all year with a 116-win season.
You had the final seasons of Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken, Jr., the launch of “The Big Three” in Oakland, the debuts of Albert Pujols and Oakland native Jimmy Rollins, Rickey Henderson became the all-time runs scored leader, and an absolutely epic postseason filled with chilling moments that came down to the final pitch.
For this week’s Crafting the Call, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler and I looked back on the dramatic moments from the 2001 World Series, analyzing how John Sterling, Michael Kay, Gary Thorne, Joe Buck and Greg Schulte described the action.
Here’s the full episode:
Here’s a list of previous episodes:
Episode 1 – How to call an inside-the-park home run
Episode 2 – Vin Scully’s perfect words to describe Koufax’s perfect game
Episode 3 – Eck vs Gibson, four legends with four different calls
Episode 4 – How calling a Triple Play can be treacherous
Episode 5 — Harry Caray without the shtick
Episode 6 — Clocking a broadcaster’s fastball
Episode 7 — Opening Day philosophies
Episode 8 — “Touch ’em All Joe,” four voices call the end of the 1993 World Series
Episode 9 — Don’t blink … someone might Steal Home
Episode 10 — Early season check-in … how’s your voice?
Episode 11 — Appreciating longtime Reds announcer Marty Brennaman
Episode 12 — One Day in Baseball, May 1 through the years
Episode 13 — How did he catch that? Plus catchphrases to capture the moment.
Episode 14 — Chris Caray analyzes his grandfather Skip Caray.