In his 20-plus years of calling baseball games, Dan Shulman has provided the soundtrack to scores of big moments, including David Freese’s walk-off for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 World Series. Here are his tips on rising to the occasion.
“IT’S LIVE, UNSCRIPTED THEATRE. A million things could happen. I try not to over-think or over-plan. I actually try to be a minimalist on many occasions, and walk-off home runs are one of them. The crowd is going to be going so crazy that you don’t need to do that much. Quickly say what’s going on and let the emotions take over.
“I don’t have a [signature] home-run call. I don’t think you can treat them all the same because it depends on the significance of the moment.
“You want to make sure you get it right. You don’t want to jump the gun and you don’t want to be too late and hear the crowd roar before your call. Those two things should happen simultaneously.
“With the crowd going crazy you can use that to your advantage. Sometimes the bigger the moment, the less you need.”
This story originally appeared as part of the How-To package in the March issue of Sportsnet magazine.
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