As Bad As It'll Be

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Growing up I watched the Yankee games on WPIX out of New York. Of course, along with my father and my brothers, we watched every night and were always entertained by the announcers Bill White and Phil Rizzuto.

I remember one game when White turned to Rizzuto and said:

"You have a WW on your scorecard. What does that mean?"

"Wasn't Watching," Scotter replied.

And Scooter was absolutely the best at telling stories as the game was going on. He talked about everything but the action on the field and his stories were alternately funny and sad. He talked about life at every turn and then hustled home to beat the traffic, no matter what the score.

Last night I was watching the game and listening to Michael Kay, Al Leiter, and Ken Singleton do the game. They are all good announcers. My favorite these days is when Michael Kay is teamed with Paul O'Neill. Together they remind me of Scooter and White.

In the middle innings the camera focused on two young Rays fans - boys sitting with their Mom and Dad, dressed in Rays shirts - most likely around six and seven. A ball went into the stands and the older of the two boys grabbed it. As the camera showed he also had another ball.

Well, the other kid was left out. His brother had two and he had none. The camera went away for a second but when it came back the younger boy was sobbing, and the father was trying to talk the older boy into sharing.

It was honestly tough to watch because that kid was just so sad.

Cut back to the action for the next pitch and then back to the boys.

Yes, happy ending, the older boy handed over one of the balls. Perfect, right?

What was absolutely perfect was what Michael Kay deadpanned.

"Ahhhh, there you go! You see, life isn't as bad as it'll be."

Perfect line. Delivered as though he were Scooter himself.

Ken Singleton, who is also a good announcer, laughed and helped finish the thought. "It gets a lot worse from here."

I don't know why but the line stuck in my head all night. In the backdrop of watching Scooter and White for years - with my Dad and brothers and sisters - and thinking that Kay and O'Neill's voices will resonate in my own children's lives, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Ahhhh, there you go! You see, life isn't as bad as it'll be."

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