Broadcasters or announcers are an important part of every baseball game. They can either make your baseball experience all the more enjoyable and exhilarating, or they can make the same experience an extremely painful ordeal. In this baseball scoreboards article I have taken a look at the top broadcasters or announcers in MLB, whose spoken words can make baseball fans question their strongest perceptions.

1.Vin Scully – Vin Scully is a living legend when it comes to MLB broadcasting and announcing. In the specialized profession of baseball announcing, he is the benchmark in the industry. If a young broadcaster is seeking a career out of the profession, then he has to try and be as good as Vin Scully. Scully started his broadcasting career in 1950 (and is still going strong) with the Dodgers, when they were still called the Brooklyn Dodgers. When he is doing a play-by-play for any game, he doesn’t need any color commentator to assist him in filling in between plays. He was NBC’s lead baseball announcer from 1983 – 1989, and the Hall of Fame awarded him the Ford Frick award in 1982.

2.Ernie Harwell – Ernie Harwells career spanned for 55 years, from 1948 to 2002, out of which 42 were spent announcing for the Detroit Tigers (1960-2002). In 1948, he became the only player-for-announcer trade in MLB history. The Dodgers traded catcher Cliff Dapper in exchange for Harwell’s contract from the Crackers. He replaced Red Barber in the Dodgers’ booth because of a bleeding ulcer. His astounding ability to call play-by-play earned him the nickname of the “Voice of Summer”.

3.Mel Allen – Mel Allen was the voice behind the glorious Yankee years of the 1950’s. He was a leading voice for baseball in all mediums of entertainment: television, radio and film. In 1964, the Yankees foolishly dismissed him, only to call back again in 1975. He is best known for coining his pet phrase “How about that?” In the 1970’s and 1980’s he gained a new audience for himself when he hosted a syndicated highlights show “This Week in Baseball.” In 1978, he became the first winner, alongside Red Barber, of the Ford Frick award.

4.Red Barber – In 1934, Red Barber called his first game ever, without ever actually having been to a game before. In 1938, the Dodgers hired Red Barber, and it is while he was with them that he coined many of his infamous phrases. Some of his popular phrases included: “can of corn,” “back, back, back,” however, his trademark phrase was “Oh, Doctor!” Vin Scully became his protégé and Barber taught him the reins under his tutelage. However, in 1953 he moved to the Yankees side after a disagreement with the management of the Dodgers.

For more baseball scoreboards information on Red Barber, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barber