Bob Wolff laments that TV clutter has gone too far
Yogi Berra, right, and broadcaster Bob Wolff talk before viewing a kinescope recording of the television broadcast of Yankees pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game of the 1956 World Series. Wolff did the original radio broadcast of the game. (Feb. 23, 2007) Credit: AP
Bob Wolff's call of Dan Larsen's perfect game is the most famous one. But that was on the radio.
Vin Scully handled the moment on TV, a call heard for the first time by many people when the MLB Network showed it Jan. 1.
To many viewers not old enough to have watched baseball in that era, it was remarkable how spare both the production and commentary were.
Click below for News 12 Long Island's own Mr. Wolff discussing how things have changed since then and why TV sports could use a happy medium between no graphics and too many.
Photo credit: AP took this photo. It's Bob with the guy who caught Larsen's perfect-o.Here's Bob after the BBWAA dinner:
"The novelty of that game for everybody is seeing how basic TV was in those days. It got pretty good reviews, because people are now so oversaturated with too many statistics, too many observations, leaving little room for the viewer to use his or her imagination. So it was refreshing. People said, 'I just want to watch the ball game, and they're giving me the facts.'
"But on the other hand if you kept watching ball games that way every day, nowadays, you might say it's tedious. One of the reasons for that with 30 teams in the league you've got a lot of teams that are No. 15 in value versus No. 16 and you have to keep enhancing the game with something more than the story.
"Basically we've arrived at the point where they went overboard. We don't care that they've left on base every Tuesday four men in the second inning. So basically [the Larsen replay] was a novelty in being so barren. No opinions, no nothing. Even at the end there was not much excitement."
