| 23 February 2010
Joe Posnanski tells a story of how one broadcaster sums all of that up and how his career embodies what makes a well-called game beautiful.
He played the game over in his head. What a game. And then, this question hit him.
Why was Rice playing so deep on Gary Pettis in the 10th inning?
In a game with so many big moments, exciting plays, dramatic turns, that seemed a pretty meaningless question, but Michaels could not get it out of his mind. Pettis was a classic slap hitter — he had slugged .343 that year. He would slug .310 for his career. It made absolutely no sense for Rice to be playing him that deep, even with two outs, even in that situation. And the more he drove, the more he the puzzle perplexed him, and the more he thought about it …
I grew up wanting to be a sportscaster. The desire faded with years as the realities of the nomadic life on the road that professional broadcasters endure became more obvious the closer I came to the goal. In that chase, I formed an understanding of how the job is done. The little things matter so much, like allowing a game to tell its own story without getting in the way. Or having a style without slathering over the action. The importance of mental dexterity. Al Michaels has typified those qualities for going on forty years and is a credit to the once proud profession of sports broadcaster. There are far too few announcers today who could hold his mic, let alone fill his shoes.
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