On April 13, 2009 prior to the Washington Nationals' home opener against the Phillies, Kalas was hospitalized after collapsing in the commentator's booth and was pronounced dead at 1:20PM. He was quoted as complaining of breathing problems in the weeks before his death, however it didn't seem to affect his announcing abilities.
Kalas' familiar home run call was "Swing...and a long drive, watch this baby, outta here! Home run <insert player's name here>" If it was a gigantic home run, he sometimes inserted "deep center field" after "and a long drive" and described it as "that ball's way outta here!".
Now, most of you may not recognize the name. But he was our famous baseball voice here in Philly. He ia a Hall of Fame sportscaster and has been a part of the Phillies broadcast team since 1971. You may have heard his voice without knowing it, as he has done NFL games and other voiceover work for NFL films. He has even done the Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl.
He's outta here. RIP Harry. You know we are all going to miss you. Now he and Richie Asburn can call the game while sitting on a cloud.
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
Fuzzy...and if John Facenda will set the scene...it will be a great call of the game.....I listed to Harry many a time when I lived in the South Jersey for so many years!
It is hard to imagine listening to a game without hearing his voice. He lost his broadcast partner Richie Asburn in kind of the same way. The Phillies were on the road. Asburn died in his sleep after a Mets game. That was 11 years ago. I know it will take a while but we will eventually get used to hearing the other broadcasters.
He would announce six innings on tv and announce the middle three on the radio. I always enjoyed him. I am not much for one of the former players they have in the booth for a few innings. The other two guys are okay.
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
