Hello Win Column

One of my favorite things to do is listen to @TexasRangers baseball games on AM radio.  My Dad and I listened to +St. Louis Cardinals games on the radio when I was a kid.  Dad grew up in West Virginia and the only game broadcast nationwide in those days was Jack Buck doing play-by-play for the Cardinals.  When I got older, we listened to +Houston Astros baseball on the AM dial.  It has to be AM radio for me because baseball sounds real. Games on FM are like listening to a pre-recorded baseball game.  It doesn't sound real to me.  Baseball games should always be listened to on AM radio.   


When the Rangers moved to Arlington in 1972, I began to listen to the games on radio WBAP.  In the early 80's, I loved to listen to the play-by-play call of Mark Holtz and Eric Nadel.  When the Ranger's won,  Holtz's final words of the broadcast were always "hello win column."  When Mark Holtz passed away from cancer in 1997, the phrase became a part of team lore.  If you follow me on Twitter at @pmitchell, you will see that phrase when the Rangers.  It's just a habit. Last night, I drew an illustration to liven up the tweets. 

Unfortunately, the local Rangers broadcast changed to an FM station in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. So I switched to MLB.com to listen to the broadcast.  It's the closest to what a game should sound like.

One day, AM may disappear off our radio dial.  It will be a sad day.  But that's progress?  Maybe.