Sometimes announcers try to turn themselves into something bigger than the game they’re covering. It’s a bad strategy because the game is almost always more important than the people describing it. Joe Buck recognized that on Thursday night, and nailed the call to end Game 6 of the World Series. Not only did he employ a play-by-play technique called “laying out,” which is where you shut up and let the action speak for itself, but he also duplicated his father’s awesome call to end Game 6 of the 1991 World Series.
Here is a video of Jack Buck’s call of Kirby Puckett’s walk-off home run to win Game 6 in 1991:
And here is a video of Joe Buck’s call of David Freese’s walk-off home run to win Game 6 in 2011:
I typically don’t care for Joe Buck’s lethargic calls, but I thought he was sensational there. He couldn’t have handled it better — he laid out because the moment was so special — and duplicating his father’s call in the exact same situation was sublime. Well done Joe Buck, well done.
Thanks to Jimmy Traina for sharing the videos.
