Harry Kalas, RIP

Harry Kalas, the Phillies Hall of Fame radio announcer, is dead.

I am new to Philly, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have an appreciation of Kalas. He had that voice. And the voice, of course, is what people are going to remember.

But what struck me on Opening Night this year — while the Phils were going down in flames against Atlanta — was how sensible Kalas was in using that voice. Sometimes, he didn’t use it at all.

Instead, he let you live with the sounds of the game. While the batter entered the box and started to get dug in, Kalas stayed quiet. You could hear the rumble of the crowd. You could hear the occasional shout above the din. You could hear baseball. That was part of Kalas’ genius. He will be missed.