How to finish calling a no-hitter
Crafting the Call: re-watching no-hit bids over the years to prepare myself in case I ever to get call one myself
I’ve never called a no-hitter as a broadcaster. This is my 11th year calling games for the Albuquerque Isotopes. Between other minor league teams, college baseball games, and spring training games, I’m somewhere between 1,600 and 2,000 games broadcasting baseball.
And still … zero no-hitters as a broadcaster.
Closest I’ve ever come? Two combined no-hitters spoiled to begin the ninth inning.
As a teenager, I was in the stands when Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter in 1990 in Oakland. In my first job out of college, the Watertown Indians threw a combined no-hitter. But we didn’t broadcast that game. When I worked on the Dodgers pregame and postgame shows, Jered Weaver of the Angels didn’t allow any hits … and still lost the game, 1-0, to the Dodgers.
That background is what made me excited for this week’s edition of Crafting The Call: how to finish calling a no-hitter.
My co-host, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler, has called six of them! Here’s a sneak peak at the start of the episode:
Jesse and I re-watched the endings of the following no-hit bids and analyzed them:
The night Dave Stewart threw a no-hitter in Toronto (Bill King on the call) and then Fernando Valenzuela also threw a no-hitter later that night in Los Angeles (Vin Scully on the call).
Dave Stieb getting denied a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth once, then twice, then a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning, before finally throwing his elusive no-no (Tom Cheek on the call).
Padres catcher Ben Davis’ controversial way of trying to break up Curt Schilling’s no-hit bid.
Henderson Alvarez tossing nine no-hit innings, then needing help in the bottom of the ninth inning to offically get credited with a no-hitter (Rich Waltz on the call).
The entire 9th inning from the no-hitter than Jesse called earlier this season.
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. To help support our work, subscribe, like, comment, or send us a suggestion for a future episode.
This is a link to the entire episode:
Here’s a link to all the episodes on YouTube:
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
Episode 15 — The calls that defined the 2001 World Series
Episode 16 — Close your laptop: Barry Bonds is up
Episode 17 — Appreciating Dave Niehaus with Ken Levine
Episode 18 — Wait! The game ended *that* way?!?
Episode 19 — Three voices, one incredible ending: 1986 World Series Game Six
Episode 20 — Say Hey! Capturing the greatness of Willie Mays
Episode 21 — Appreciating Ernie Harwell with Joe Block