Holy cow, we lose a true legend

Sad news.

When I first moved from New Jersey to California in 1992, the first thing I missed was arguing with my father - about everything from politics to baseball to which road was the best way to get somewhere. It probably was just like talking, and it was entertaining.

The second thing I missed was listening to Phil Rizzuto.

From a technical broadcasting standpoint and to a baseball purist, Rizzuto did just about everything wrong. On radio, you wouldn't find out the score or he wasn't up on everything. He would leave games early - can you imagine somebody doing that to beat the traffic? New Yorkers sneer at Californians for leaving games after 7 innings.

The Scooter did one thing right. He entertained an audience, like your favorite uncle. He made his life sound like the best thing ever. I don't think any other Hall of Famer has a gold record.

It's really sad news, but I know in my heart their having Cannolis in Heaven.

 

Let's just hope he won't be buried in this:

 

Here's another classic Phil Rizzuto pitch:

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The first few seconds are classic.

 

Veronica Vaughn: How about 'Rizzuto'?
[Billy ponders, then writes]
Veronica Vaughn: Rirruto?
Billy Madison: Those're Z's.
Veronica Vaughn: They look like R's to me.
Billy Madison: You're cheating! Rizzuto's not a word! He's a baseball player! I hate cursive, and I hate all of you. I'm never coming back to school. NEVER!

Rest in Peace.

 

RIP to a Hall of Famer in more ways than one.

 

Whenever my dad and I would complain about announcers, my stepmom would cluck her tongue and say that nobody could be as bad as Rizzuto, who they listened to when they lived in New York.

That would start my dad chuckling and remembering Scooter's stories. Whatever his technical faults, his personality carried over long after any one game was over, and that is remarkable.

RIP.

 

I remember him nearly calling a home run on a short fly to left field. My friends and I mocked the hell out of him. But we always found him quite enjoyable.

 

What a sad, sad day on so many levels. Watching WPIX broadcasts with my dad and laughing at the Scooter--out of equal parts amusement and annoyance--was a staple of my childhood. Later, of course, I came to realize that the joy of listening to Rizzuto was in how he turned the game into a backdrop for his running conversation. He was like the rollicking friend whom we'd like to have sitting next to us during a game. You might not catch every pitch and you might even miss a few runs, but you'd go home with a smile on your face.

I had the fortune of seeing Rizzuto in person twice. He spoke at my college in 1995 and just killed. He was amazing. He had the whole room doubled over in laughter. He found the shortest guy on the baseball team, an Italian kid to boot, and riffed for about five minutes on that. My future wife and I met him at a banquet afterward and the photo I took of them remains one of our favorites.

A few years ago, I was walking out of the Hall of Fame offices. As I opened the door, Phil and Cora were walking in. He was going to take a tour. We exchanged greetings, after which my wife said "Holy cow, you almost ran over Phil Rizzuto."

His absence at the HOF inductions the last few years filled us all with a sense of inevitability. There'll never be another one like Scooter. RIP to a legend.

 

One of the things I liked about him the most was how well he took, and how sincerely he played along with, the publication of "O Holy Cow!" that book that poet-ized his delivery. He was a mensch about it and seemed genuine delighted.
Take the Scooter. Leave the cannoli.
RIP

 

Heard that story before, but it's still great.

RIP Scooter.

 

To all of you, and especially to Gold, feel free to mourn the loss but keep one thing in mind. I'm told by a few people who knew Phil well that he has been suffering quite a bit for about two years. Nobody is saying for sure, but it sounds like cancer, and he had apparently been wasting away to nothing. As much as we'll all miss him, I prefer to think the suffering has ended and he's in a better place.

Sorry for the schmaltz but I can't help it.