Ah, Tom died. Baseball broadcasts on radio are one of the few preserves of English oral poetry (The right-hander winds, works, deals... inside!) and Tom will go on those poets’ honour roll. Astoundingly, he called 4,306 consecutive games over 27 seasons without missing one. During the Blue Jays’ double-World-Series run in the early Nineties I was a serious enough fan that when I was watching the games on TV, I’d turn off the sound and listen to Tom and Jerry on the radio. Tom’s finest hour, they say, was Joe Carter’s game-six walk-off homer in ’93, but for the real fans, I think the day in ’92 when Alomar blew up Eckersley was a sweeter triumph; I remember the announcers’ visceral cry of joy like it was yesterday. We’ll miss ya.
