At face value the passing of Harry Kalas is in no way related to the upcoming MLB Draft, but there is no way I could ignore the passing of the man who is as much a reason for this site existing as anybody else in my life. I originally fell in love with baseball for two simple reasons, reasons that are typical of many fans of the sport who grew up in the Delaware Valley – family and Harry Kalas. My family’s love of the game helped me fall in love with baseball in the first place, but I stayed a fan through the lean years of the mid-90s because of Kalas; he made every game worth listening to and helped turn my love of the game into full-fledged obsession.

I was at Game 5 last season when the Phillies won the World Series, so I missed HK’s call of the last out. The days following the win were such a blur that I didn’t get a chance to sit down and listen to that final call until finally hearing it by accident on the radio in the car. At that point I had no choice but to pull over and just take a minute to reflect on how the call I waited my whole life to hear, the call that I had played in my head hundreds of thousands of times over the years, the call that only I knew only one person in the world could possibly voice, had somehow been even better than I could have ever imagined. Even though I was in South Philadelphia on October 29th, 2008 to witness Eric Hinske wiff on a picture perfect Brad Lidge slider with my own two eyes, it wasn’t real until HK told me so.

Next time you’re found, with your chin on the ground
There’s a lot to be learned, so look around

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant

But he’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time you’re gettin’ low
‘stead of lettin’ go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant

When troubles call, and your backs to the wall
There a lot to be learned, that wall could fall

Once there was a silly old ram
Thought he’d punch a hole in a dam
No one could make that ram, scram
He kept buttin’ that dam

So any time you’re feelin’ bad
‘stead of feelin sad
Just remember that ram
Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam