Paul Hagen: Harry knew when to use sound of silence

Mel Proctor has done play-by-play of major league baseball for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals, so he obviously understands that end of the business inside out.

There has been an outpouring of Harry Kalas stories since the Hall of Fame voice of the Phillies passed away on Monday. Most have rightfully focused on what a nice person he was.

Proctor has a tale from his days in San Diego that illustrates a different, less discussed aspect of the craft.

Kalas, unlike so many announcers today who feel the need to hear their own voices, took a minimalist approach to his craft. If there was nothing to say, he simply didn't say anything at all. It helped create the sort of relaxed atmosphere that made his broadcasts easy to listen to, more fitting for baseball than the staccato style that works better for football or basketball.

"One night when the Phils were playing the Padres, the game was slow so I told our producer to get a shot of Harry and we could talk about him," Proctor said. "As [broadcast partner] Mark Grant and I were giving Harry a big build-up, the producer told me that he had arranged it so that we could throw it to Harry and fans could actually hear this legendary broadcaster.

"We continued to pile on the accolades and then I said, 'And here's a special treat. You fans in San Diego will get to hear the legend, Harry Kalas, live. Here's Harry.'

"Sure enough, nothing was happening in the game and Harry didn't say a word. It seemed like there was 2 minutes of dead air. Mark and I looked at each other and shrugged. I said, 'Well, we've just seen what makes Harry Kalas one of baseball's great announcers.' "

Proctor said he later shared the story with Kalas and they both got a good laugh out of it.

The hot corner

 

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-- A Kansas City Star analysis of 47 pitchers who signed free-agent contracts worth at least $5 million per year shows that 30 pitched worse after getting the big bucks, 13 improved and four showed little change.