Phillies game by saam

Thompson was very large and intimidating in stature. In his first ever at-bat with the Wolverines, Thompson split his pants while legging out a double. From that point on, he became an immediate fan favorite in Detroit. Thompson only spent four seasons in Detroit before the team fizzled out of existence. Immediately, the Philadelphia Quakers Phillies would pounce at the opportunity to grab the dominant hitter and reliable fielder.

Their star power would help bring national attention to the Phillies organization, and be the best trio of outfielders the Phillies ever had. At that point, the Phillies wasted no time, using a pair of doubles by Unser and Garry Maddox to tip the lead back in their favor; Dick Ruthven, making his first relief appearance since , pitched his second perfect inning to end yet another overtime masterpiece and send the Phillies packing to their first World Series in 30 years.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the World Series. With six games to play, the Phillies led second-place Brooklyn by five games. After failing to win in his previous three outings, Roberts was still looking for his 20th win of the year.

Opposing him was Dodger star hurler Don Newcombe, seeking his 20th win. They both threw well and long enough to earn the victory. Per the ground rules, it was declared a home run. In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers nearly won the game to force a playoff; the first two batters reached base off Roberts, and Duke Snider next lashed a single to center field.

Richie Ashburn, equipped with a weak-throwing arm but fortuitously playing in as part of a potential pick-off play at second, quickly got to the ball and fired home—where a disbelieving Cal Abrams, running from second, was out by a mile.

From there, Roberts worked himself out of the jam. In the 10th, the Phillies struck the fatal blow. Roberts, not even being pinch-hit for, nailed a leadoff single. Eddie Waitkus followed up with another hit.

Two batters later, Sisler—the son of Hall-of-Fame legend George Sisler, smashed his fourth hit of the day: A three-run homer that took the wind out of the Dodger sails and wound up the game-winner. George Sisler, the father, was happy for his son; George Sisler, the Dodger executive, was unhappy that his son just knocked his team out of the postseason picture. The Phillies won their second world title in their year history, but it took a clinching, bizarre Game Five victory that seemed to take just as long.

Against the surprising Tampa Bay Rays, the Phillies had taken three of the first four games and were hoping to ice the title before the series moved back to Florida. The weather was atrocious, with cold rain and gusty winds making play difficult, but Major League Baseball wanted to keep the prime-time slotting for the Fall Classic on schedule and ordered the teams to play ball. The Phillies quickly broke the wet ice when Tampa starter Scott Kazmir loaded the bases in the first inning on two walks and a hit batsman and then paid for it as Shane Victorino knocked home two runs with a single.

The Rays got one back in the fourth, and then tied it in the sixth with a two-out rally. During his four decades in Philly broadcasting, he announced 13 no-hitters, including Jim Bunting's perfect game against the New York Mets in , and the final two games of , when Ted Williams continued to bat over.

He also broadcast Philadelphia Eagles and University of Pennsylvania football games. Saam did college and professional basketball, and Ramblers forerunner to the Flyers hockey games. Saam was also doing color that night during the Warriors game when Wilt Chamberlain racked up points.

Saam will be remembered as an even-tempered professional who never displayed any signs of an ego. Between innings, he would crack Whitey Ashburn and me up with his sense of humor and one-liners.

By's sense of humor never really came across to the public. He was trained in the old school where everything on the air was serious business. That was the phrase everybody associated with him. And it really described his temperament. I was always very emotional, but he never got too high or too low. Allen introduced Saam with the phrase telling the audience that he was one of the great voices in the business and a great human being.

Without thinking, By said, "Right you are, Mel. That was one of two times, he broadcast a World Series. He was the public address announcer at high school football games and began calling them on the radio even before he graduated. The station asked him to do a baseball audition. While Saam had played baseball in high school, he'd never broadcast it before.

However, he did well enough to get the job and soon became the station's lead sportscaster. He was soon noticed by the owners of both major league ballclubs in Philadelphia, the Athletics and the Phillies. In , Saam became the first full-time voice of the Athletics; he added the Phillies the next year and continued this double duty for 12 seasons. This was possible since both teams shared Shibe Park and almost never played at home on the same day. For most of Saam's tenure, the A's and Phillies were also-rans; indeed, he didn't call a winning team until , with the A's.

He was behind the microphone for over 4, losses—by one estimate, the most of any baseball announcer ever. After both Philadelphia teams began airing road games live in , Saam was forced to drop one team since no radio station could handle the full load.