Comments on Rany on the Royals: Reason #8: The Voice.

Wow! I just got through reading all of the posts a...

2008-03-24T18:56:16.391-05:00

Wow! I just got through reading all of the posts and it brought a smile to my face the entire time. I never knew other people remembered the Rey Sanchez GW HR call. I remember that night, listening to the game. I still think of that call every now and then "What is going on here?!" And I always imagined him turning to Ryan and saying that (lol!). It was so nice to see I'm not the only one!

I sure hope that the last several years of awful b...

2008-03-24T15:57:13.982-05:00

I sure hope that the last several years of awful baseball in KC has worn on Denny, because in 6 or 7 years that I've been a die-hard Royals fan, I have yet to grow fond of Mr. Matthews.

Nothing would drive me more nuts than for him to lazily describe a soft fly ball off the bat of a Royal...the outfielder settling easily under it.....home [yawn] run.

And "the 2/1/no outs to go"

Thanks for doing a post on Denny. I'm a few years...

2008-03-21T16:33:42.993-05:00

Thanks for doing a post on Denny. I'm a few years older than Rany is, and I DO remember Denny doing meaningful games in 1980 and 1985. Believe it or not, Denny CAN get animated and excited. Not tottally nutty excited, but excited nonetheless.

However I digress. The one thing I really wanted to say is this: I have NEVER known a summer without Denny calling the games for the Royals,

I like Splitt as an analyst, but not as a play-by-...

2008-03-21T00:55:02.811-05:00

I like Splitt as an analyst, but not as a play-by-play guy. Some of the most akward moments on the TV broadcasts last year were when Splittorff and Davis swapped rolls midway through games. Davis has no credibility as an analyst and Splitt isn't exactly a play-by-play tour de force.

Davis is a major homer, which translates better to radio than television. Now I won't think, "What game

Listening to Denny and the Royals is one of my fav...

2008-03-20T23:41:37.453-05:00

Listening to Denny and the Royals is one of my favorite childhood memories. That said, my favorite Denny line actually came in a garbage game last year against Tampa Bay. It was a Sunday game and there were a ton of runs, errors, and all around bad baseball and it had been like that all weekend. At one point, Ryan said, "What HAVEN'T we seen this weekend, Denny?" Denny responded without

Mitch Holthus!?nathan, you must be kidding.Holthus...

2008-03-20T09:42:16.146-05:00

Mitch Holthus!?

nathan, you must be kidding.

Holthus is the antithesis of Denny Matthews: in your face, loud, obnoxious, a complete homer, and the master of the contrived catch phrase (Touchdown, Kan-sa-city!!!, or referring to Larry Johnson as the Centaur.)

I don't know how Lenny does reach over and punch him in the face.

I despise Holthus more than Bob Davis

I started listening to Denny and Buddy, and later ...

2008-03-20T08:33:56.896-05:00

I started listening to Denny and Buddy, and later Fred & Denny, in 1969 when my parents made me go on Sunday afternoon rides in the country in northern Kansas. Has it really been almost four decades?

The greatest call in Royals history, and maybe baseball history, though, was Fred's on that glorious October night in 1980: "There's a high fly ball... deep right field... THERE SHE GOES!

@ Nathan:And before Holthus, we had Kevin Harlan. ...

2008-03-20T06:56:34.017-05:00

@ Nathan:

And before Holthus, we had Kevin Harlan. Kansas City has had an embarrassment of riches on the radio waves.

One last point...is it possible Kansas City has th...

2008-03-20T00:14:04.879-05:00

One last point...is it possible Kansas City has the best baseball/football tandem of radio announcers? Mitch Holthus, with the Chiefs, is excellent, providing an intelligent, accurate and exciting account of every play. And Len Dawson is simply the best color man I've ever heard, in any sport. He's constantly telling you what the quarterback is doing right or wrong, what the defense ought to be

By the way, I liked Fred White too. If the Royals ...

2008-03-20T00:05:45.882-05:00

By the way, I liked Fred White too. If the Royals canned him because he was too much like Matthews, it might have been their dumbest move of the late 90's.

I first started listening to the Royals on Radio w...

2008-03-20T00:03:11.014-05:00

I first started listening to the Royals on Radio when I was a teacher in Longton, Kansas and my wife and had no TV. It was so long ago, 1972, that Buddy Blattner was on the air with Denny. Through the years, I have enjoyed listening to Denny and his special take on the game. The Royals couldn't have done better than they did for themselves than they did when they signed him for their

Denny Matthews is truly a treasure. I would rathe...

2008-03-20T00:02:46.592-05:00

Denny Matthews is truly a treasure. I would rather listen to him call a game than watch it on TV. One thing I particularly like about him is that he doesn't seem to be trying to sell enthusiasm like some announcers, who think you'll care more about the game if they yell a lot for no particular reason. Matthews knows that if you're tuned in, it's because you like baseball, and he's there

Man it would be cool if Denny could see this threa...

2008-03-19T22:28:23.040-05:00

Man it would be cool if Denny could see this thread, I wonder if he truly realizes the many people that appreciated his work. I always have and also am a huge fan of Fred White. While going to school in the KC area in the late 90's I was fortunate enough to arrange an interview with Fred for a broadcasting class. Instead of doing 10 minutes over the phone Fred offered to take me out to lunch,

Denny is absurdly good at what he does. I've liste...

2008-03-19T21:12:45.922-05:00

Denny is absurdly good at what he does. I've listened to every broadcast team in baseball, over the course of multiple seasons and the only other radio broadcaster on the level of Denny is Vin Scully. He is the absolute best at what he does, level headed and collected, he becomes part of the game. Royals baseball wouldn't be the same without him.

This post just could have said the following and m...

2008-03-19T17:32:39.042-05:00

This post just could have said the following and made it's point:

"Listen to Denny Matthews and then listen to Hawk Harrelson. 'Nuff said."

But, of course, Rany went into a little bit more detail and we are all the better for it -- just like we are better for having Denny.

P.S. According to Hawk's last Sprint Training broadcast the White Sox have "a ton to be excited

Great post. I cannot agree more that Bob Davis is ...

2008-03-19T17:15:47.978-05:00

Great post. I cannot agree more that Bob Davis is simply irratating to listen to. I used to pass on the TV broadcast and listen to radio for the simple fact that Bob Davis was invovled. Now it looks like it will be the other way around.

I couldn't agree more. Your description of Matthe...

2008-03-19T16:27:55.171-05:00

I couldn't agree more. Your description of Matthews was right on the money...and Ryan's start in KC was very rough with excitement coming at the wrong places.
Having listened to Denny for 30+ years myself, I must say he has improved as well. His description has always been stellar, but I remember hearing replays of Game 6 and 7 of the 85 Series and there was very little emotion for the

I think it shows the depth of Royals fans' feeling...

2008-03-19T15:37:33.088-05:00

I think it shows the depth of Royals fans' feelings about Denny that less than 24 hours after you posted it, this post already has more comments (27) than all but your introductory post and your post about "The Park."

I moved to the Detroit area in 1985, and had the same reaction that you had to Ernie Harwell. He grew on me over time, but hearing this Hall of Famer made me appreciate

Rany,Great post as always! You really touched on ...

2008-03-19T14:05:57.027-05:00

Rany,

Great post as always! You really touched on a great memory for many Royals fans, me included.

My family likes radio announcing so much, we mute the TV and play the radio feed for commentary. It's great, except for the few second delay between audio/visual.

I'm sure Bob Davis is a nice man, and the story fr...

2008-03-19T13:31:51.083-05:00

I'm sure Bob Davis is a nice man, and the story from the poster about the high school basketball game seems to confirm that.

That being said, Bob Davis is a complete abomination as a baseball broadcaster. Poor delivery, lack of information, voice like fingernails on a chalkboard...I could go on, but why?

This is particularly bad news for me because baseball to me is best

Bob Davis has not even described the type of pitch...

2008-03-19T12:24:05.332-05:00

Bob Davis has not even described the type of pitch being thrown on radio when he has filled in. Maybe that is because he was used to TV; he needs to get better at describing what happens.

Am I correct in remembering the early 80's, when the Royals road games would be on channel 4, that Denny and/or Fred would alternate with Denny Trease?

Good comment boboyoung. I regret not being able to...

2008-03-19T11:14:26.132-05:00

Good comment boboyoung. I regret not being able to listen to Denny as a kid. Whenever I have been in KC, the Royals are either not in season or I'm at the games. Therefore, I've never gotten a dose of Denny. I am going to be there for the first six games this year including opening day and I may have to find a way to listen to Denny while I'm at the game.

On a totally different note, I

Great post, Rany. I agree wholeheartedly about Den...

2008-03-19T11:02:51.712-05:00

Great post, Rany. I agree wholeheartedly about Denny Matthews. I this about him when he was inducted into the HOF.

I really enjoy Denny and Ryan together, and I must say I was pretty disappointed when I heard that Ryan was moving to TV.

But, then I heard that they hired Steve Stewart. I was

Well, I'm a first time commenter long time reader....

2008-03-19T09:56:31.019-05:00

Well, I'm a first time commenter long time reader. This is a bit of a sore subject with me.

Like Rany, I grew up in Wichita. However, thanks to my father I was hooked on Royals broadcasts by 1978, at the ripe old age of 7. I can remember listening to calls of the 1980 playoffs. I can remember very specifically listening live to the call of the Pine Tar Game.

And here's the

I don't Ryan was ever that bad, it's just that Fre...

2008-03-19T09:47:59.571-05:00

I don't Ryan was ever that bad, it's just that Fred was gone, and the "new
guy" just wasn't the same.