That was because I was lucky enough to grow up in Baltimore, where Chuck Thompson was for so long the Voice (not only of the Orioles, but also the Colts). To twist the dial when you were away from town -- say, at the beach, or coming back home from a trip -- and to hear Chuck's voice was enough to put you right there in Memorial Stadium. Once, parked with a girl in Maine, looking for some make-out music, I actually picked up Chuck, clear-channel WBAL, Baltimore to Maine, and was so excited that I actually forgot (well, at least for awhile) about making out.
But then, in a way, a baseball Voice was your first love. It's amazing what I can remember. Chuck Thompson often spoke sentences backward. "Bats from the left side, does Boog Powell." "A terrific change-up, has Dave McNally." Chuck also had two mysterious, but wonderful expressions, which he cried out when things were going well: "Ain't the beer cold?" And "Go to war, Miss Agnes!" I still can say them with joy. After all these years.
That's what a Voice could do for you. Still can. Sure, a team without a Voice can win. But it's never quite so meaningful, so lovely. And, weirdest of all, you remember so much better what your announcer told you than what you saw yourself. Because he made it better.
