The news of Phil Rizutto's passing reminds me of how much game has changed. For those of you who aren't familiar with his career, among his many talents he was one of the very best bunters the game has ever seen. Checking out his main B-R page, he had 193 sacrifice hits in his career, which lasted just 13 seasons. To see the leaders over the last 13 years (1995 to present) click here. Scooter also had many, many bunts for base hits, and played a fantastic shortstop.

Younger fans will remember him as a broadcaster for the Yankees on WPIX in New York. I watched many of those games in the 1980s and remember what enthusiasm and energy he brought to the broadcasts. I also recall how he often mistook any man in the crowd with a big white beard for Kenny Rogers (the singer, not the pitcher.)

All baseball fans have announcers who helped light their own passion for the game. For me, growing up, it was Harry Kalas (who continues to light that passion for thousands and thousands today), and it was also Phil Rizutto. I'm very glad that he made it into the Hall of Fame in his lifetime, and I thank him for his many, many years of contribution to baseball.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 at 11:14 am and is filed under Season Finders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.