Will Bob Sheppard open the new Yankee Stadium?

[Smasher_Sloan]

Probably not, according to Newsday:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/03/bob_sheppard_probably_wont_be.html?mid=daily-intel--20090327

 

[Football_Bat]

I hope I look this good when I'm NINETY-freaking-EIGHT.

Holy cow, to mix baseball voice metaphors.

 

[BYH]

Oh man that sucks.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

No Bob Sheppard at the first regular season game = jinx of considerable karmic power.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

No Bob Sheppard at the first regular season game = jinx of considerable karmic power.

They're jinxed enough.

Just wait until CC pulls a hammy jogging to the buffet line.

 

[CitizenTino]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/25706746

How about this Darren Rovell story about the possibility that they could have Sheppard do voice recordings for about 10 hours and be able to have a "computerized Sheppard" announce names at Yankee Stadium forever. I can't decide if that's awesome or really creepy.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I would hope, if nothing else, that Sheppard can at least come to the Stadium for the opener and be driven around the field in a car so the fans can give him one huge cheer.

 

[ArnoldBabar]

I'll never forget the time a few years ago when I was in the press box working a couple hours before game time and felt a tap on my shoulder.

The unmistakable voice: "Excuse me, but can you tell me how to pronounce this name?"

So because of me, Bob Sheppard knows how to pronounce Yuniesky Betancourt. :)

It's going to be tough to try to carry the Yankee Stadium mystique across the street if that voice isn't part of it.

 

[shockey]

I'll never forget the time a few years ago when I was in the press box working a couple hours before game time and felt a tap on my shoulder.

The unmistakable voice: "Excuse me, but can you tell me how to pronounce this name?"

So because of me, Bob Sheppard knows how to pronounce Yuniesky Betancourt. :)

It's going to be tough to try to carry the Yankee Stadium mystique across the street if that voice isn't part of it.

great anecdote, ab.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/25706746

How about this Darren Rovell story about the possibility that they could have Sheppard do voice recordings for about 10 hours and be able to have a "computerized Sheppard" announce names at Yankee Stadium forever. I can't decide if that's awesome or really creepy.

It's creepy. Let it go. When he can't do it any more, it's time for someone else to get a chance and start a new tradition. If they want to play a generic recorded "Welcome to Yankee Stadium" or "Here are today's lineups," that's probably OK as a tribute. To think someone will be splicing syllables together to make virtual Bob is too weird and totally unnecessary.

 

[BYH]

I'll never forget the time a few years ago when I was in the press box working a couple hours before game time and felt a tap on my shoulder.

The unmistakable voice: "Excuse me, but can you tell me how to pronounce this name?"

So because of me, Bob Sheppard knows how to pronounce Yuniesky Betancourt. :)

It's going to be tough to try to carry the Yankee Stadium mystique across the street if that voice isn't part of it.

Oh man. I so wanted this to be about Shigetoshi Hasegawa...Sheppard's all-time favorite name.

 

[buckweaver]

Great story, AB.

And I agree with Smasher -- that would be just as creepy as when they had the animated (and bobblehead, IIRC?) Mel Allen still doing the intro on TWIB after he died.

 

[RedHotChiliPrepper]

Great story, AB.

And I agree with Smasher -- that would be just as creepy as when they had the animated (and bobblehead, IIRC?) Mel Allen still doing the intro on TWIB after he died.

Goodbye everybody. See you next week, on ... this week ... in baseball.

Can still hear it in my head and I love it.

 

[DanOregon]

My only time to Yankee Stadium - a Sunday afternoon in August - I forget the score - pretty sure the Yankees won because we got Frank instead of Liza singing New York, New York, but one thing that will always stay with me is hearing Sheppard announce the line-ups. Awesome.

 

[Football_Bat]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/25706746

How about this Darren Rovell story about the possibility that they could have Sheppard do voice recordings for about 10 hours and be able to have a "computerized Sheppard" announce names at Yankee Stadium forever. I can't decide if that's awesome or really creepy.

It's creepy. Let it go. When he can't do it any more, it's time for someone else to get a chance and start a new tradition. If they want to play a generic recorded "Welcome to Yankee Stadium" or "Here are today's lineups," that's probably OK as a tribute. To think someone will be splicing syllables together to make virtual Bob is too weird and totally unnecessary.

Sounds like the South Park episode when Chef bought the farm.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I agree to let someone else do the PA announcing, although it's still cool to hear Derek Jeter get introduced by the tape of Sheppard. It always seems to give just a little bit more energy to the game.

 

[Shaggy]

I went to Yankee Stadium in 2007, only time I've been there. His voice just swirls mystique in that stadium, as much as everything else. I loved it.

 

[Gold]

I'll never forget the time a few years ago when I was in the press box working a couple hours before game time and felt a tap on my shoulder.

The unmistakable voice: "Excuse me, but can you tell me how to pronounce this name?"

So because of me, Bob Sheppard knows how to pronounce Yuniesky Betancourt. :)

It's going to be tough to try to carry the Yankee Stadium mystique across the street if that voice isn't part of it.

Extremely cool. Did you do it in the Bob Sheppard style? :)

I went to Yankee Stadium in 1987 or 1988 with a group of people who were good friends of somebody I knew, but I had only seen a couple of people knew my friend a couple of times. It was fan appreciation day, and one of the prizes was a new truck. Someone from our group won the truck, and went to the office with the winning ticket. I thought having Bob Sheppard pronounce your name at Yankee Stadium was cooler than winning the truck.