Happy Fourth of July from Seattlest
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul04
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul05
Seattle Int'l Beer Festival Ends at 7 p.m.
Ex-Houston Astros broadcaster Gene Elston is winner of the Ford Frick Broadcasting Award, and, as such, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer.
Elston beat out nine other finalists for the award, including the only one who deserves it, Mariner broadcaster Dave Niehaus.
Niehaus was also a finalist last year, when he inexplicably lost out to noted malapropist Jerry Coleman.
Coleman chose to use language, considered the greatest triumph of the human species, to deliver compelling information like this:
"And Kansas is at Chicago tonight or is it Chicago at Kansas City? Well, no matter as Kansas leads in the eighth four-to-four."
We digress. It was easy to be angry last year, since Jerry Coleman was so clearly inferior to Dave Niehaus in every way that we can imagine without x-ray vision. Gene Elston, on the other hand, we've never heard of. He's apparently popular enough to have a website supporting his election to the Hall, but this website hasn't been updated in four years.
The site contains clips of Elston's announcing. He's not bad. But compare this audio of Elston calling a no-hitter (almost non-chalantly) to any of these tour de forces of pure drama delivered Niehaus-style.
Oh, but wait! That doesn't matter! Voters on the award used this criteria:
Voters were asked to base their selections on the following criteria: longevity; continuity with a club; honors, including national assignments such as the World Series and All-Star Games; and popularity with fans.
Nothing...NOTHING about whether the broadcaster was any good or not!!! Only that they were popular and stuck around for a long time. Thank God the player voting isn't based on those criteria, or Rance Mulliniks would have a plaque.
Someone else spouts off about how awesome Niehaus is here.
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I think it unfair to try to denigrate a broadcaster as Gene Elston using a single audio clip from a 47 year career in major league broadcasting and not only that, using an audio clip from a tv broadcast which as many of you know that it's the broadcasters job on television to let the action on the field create the drama since the viewers can see what's happening on the field as opposed to a game being broadcast via radio where the broadcasters job is to be the eyes and ears of the listener over the radio and to emulate the drama taking place since the listener cannot see it happening.
With Niehaus being overlooked this year does not in any way make Niehaus unworthy. Dave Niehaus is a great broadcaster. Those who were promoting Gene Elston for the award have been doing so for the past 5 years and have felt the same disappointment as you several times.
And, as for the website created to promote Gene Elston, it has not been left derelict for 4 years as one in here alluded. If one will carefully peruse the site one will notice that there have been updates added as late as Nov. of 2005.
I think it counterproductive to try to attack the credibility of another broadcaster to make a case for the superiority of the native-son broadcaster. That type of negative politics never works if one is to promote their choice for the Ford Frick Award honor. It will only produce a negative connotation within the minds of those broadcasters who are currently on the Frick Award voting committee and since Mr. Elston is now a recipient of the award, he will be on the voting committee next year.
If one wishes to get a better insight into Gene Elston's play-by-play style I suggest visiting the following linked site and scroll down to the "Vintage Audio Clips" topics where one can listen to approximately 60 to 70 audio clips of Gene Elston dating from the 1960's to the 1980's.
Here's the link:
http://www.astrosdaily.com/media/
Here's hoping that Mr. Niehaus is next years selection for the Frick Award because he has certainly already earned the right to be honored thusly.
Look take it easy ripping other announcers..Just 'cause a guy doesn't scream"..swung on and belted " every time there's an infield popup like Niehaus yells does not make them bad announcers..I listened to Niehaus for 20 years and his exaggerations get old...I kind of like an easy going, slow, summer night kind of broadcaster..I still have the ringing in my ears from 2001 when Sasaki(God did that man sweat some serious Sapporo or what)would whiff a hitter..Niehaus would let out some crazy, undecipherable Japanese phrasing that I vaguely remember as sanshin(excuse my spelling but I'm not sure what the hell he was babbling)...
Hey, I hope he gets in...Anyone who has watched the quality of baseball he has had to endure(I was there in the early 80's, late 80's and early 90"s) and had to work with Rick "Toss Across" Rizzs, surely there is a place for him in Otsego County(Cooperstown).. But calm down a little Homer--he's not all that...
Nick