Because I Do Listen to the Radio

R.I.P. Herb Carneal: Twins broadcasting legend, Hall of Famer. He had been broadcasting Twins games since 1962, and was a very familiar voice on the AM dial.

He brings back memories of being very young, camping with my family in the ol' pop-up in the summertime. We'd be sitting around the campfire, making some Jiffy-Pop, and listening to the Twins on an old AM radio. His voice was the personification of summer: slow, easy-going, and smooth. He never talked over the game, but let the sounds of the stadium do most of the work. He would mostly just fill in the details.

Even now, since I don't have the good fortune of a fortune to get cable TV (nor can I justify getting cable just for one channel), I do not get the pleasure of watching games on TV. So I still find myself turning on the radio, sitting in a chair and listening to a game. It's relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. And in a way, it feels authentic, genuine...this is the way people should experience baseball if they can't be at the game. Instead of multiple camera angles and fancy graphics, you rely so much more on your ears to listen to the game. Listening to baseball on the radio stays true to the rhythm of the game...it's not frantic and fast paced, but rather you get time to think, to let what's happening sink in.

That being said, I'm excited for the season to start tomorrow. I will be attending the first two games. But once again, the team starts the season on a sad note. First Casey, then Puckett, now Carneal.

Go Twins!