Is this guy Mr. Excitement or what? I think it would be an improvement to have Ben Stein (Ferris Buehler’s teacher) who talks with nearly the same style take over because you would at least laugh at some jokes rather than the way the guy talks.
Or, or perhaps Carrot Top could take over for him. (That should get some feedback.)
This is a poor rant I know but we all start somewhere right?
NoSub, which announcer are you referring to? John Sterling, who I sometimes think might have an aneurism while shouting “Thuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh Yankees Win!!!”, or Michael Kay, who is also by no means boring?
They would be the only true Yankee announcers that you would hear. Sure, that stupid cornpone McCarver does regular season games on FOX, but right now he’s not a Yankee announcer.
Me? I turn the sound down and listen to Sterling and Kay. As a Yankee fan, I find them very entertaining.
I think he’s referring to the Stadium announcer. The one who reads the lineups over the Stadium PA and announces “Now batting for New York, number 2, Derek Jeter.”
I can’t recall his name, but he’s been the Yankee Stadium announcer since around the time DiMaggio was a rookie, so he’s older than dirt, and his pace is fairly slow and straightforward.
Bob Shepard? You insult Bob Shepard? The Voice of Yankee Stadium? Blasphemy!
Shepard’s cadences are like the Voice of God: deep, measured, rolling, imperturbable, like a force of nature. You can imagine Bob playing the The Burning Bush in a remake of The Ten Commandments. And he’s just about older than God as well.
Shepard is perfectly suited to the Yankees. Dignified yet inexorable. The Yankees don’t need brightly colored uniforms, or mascots, or announcers that froth at the mouth.
Bob Shepard? Oh that’s Bob Shepard? Just imagine him reading your quote above.
On…
the…
otherhand…
I…
do…
not…
have…
enough…
time…
to…
(scratching and spitting while he’s droning on and on)
wait…
for…
him…
to…
read…
this…
to…
me.
One last question. Does he have a best of Album or should I say Albums?
Do NOT mock Bob Shepard. I am not even a baseball fan, and I have better respect for sports history than that. Arguing that Bob Shepard is too old and slow and should be gotten rid of is like arguing that Yankee stadium should be knocked down and rebuilt because it doesn’t have enough luxury boxes.
Sheesh, people have no respect these days, I tell you.
I had and have no idea how old he is and do not care about that. My rant is that if you want the game to be over in, let’s say four hours, he is going to have to pick up the tempo.
The Yankee Stadium announcer (“Now batting-ing-ing… the shortstop-op-op-op… Derek… Jeter-er-er-er… number 2”) is Bob Sheppard, a former speech professor at St. John’s University. He’s been working for the Yankees since 1951, Mickey Mantle’s rookie season. He won’t give his age, but he’s assumed to be in his mid-80s.
Those who call him “the voice of God” might be interested to know that he’s a lector at his neighborhood Catholic Church every Sunday. Think he gets people’s attention?
To those of us who grew up Yankee fans, it will be a sad day when he finally gives up the job. I’ve never seen his face, but his voice is so stately, so dignified… only ONCE did I ever hear him lose that dignity! That was in the late 70s or early 80s, on Mother’s Day. Someone convinced him to sing “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” along with the organist. It was… sad, to put it mildly.
Mickey Mantle always said that Sheppard’s voice gave him chills, and that Sheppard haunted his dreams, years after his retirement. Mantle always felt he’d never lived up to his full potential, that his drinking and carousing had cost him a lengthier career. After he’d retired, he said that almost every night, he had nightmares in which he’d arrive at Yankee Stadium, only to find all the doors locked. Inside, he’d hear Bob Sheppard’s voice calling “Now batting… the center fielder… Mickey-y-y-y… Mantle-le-le… number 7,” but Mickey couldn’t get inside.