Bob Sheppard Repeating Player Numbers?
July 15, 2010 2:07 PM   Subscribe

Why did Yankees announcer Bob Sheppard repeat the number of the players he announced? "Number two...Derek Jeter...number two."

Bob Sheppard died last weekend. I've always wondered why he - and his replacement does it as well - always repeated a player's number in the announcement as they came to the plate. Was it just a style thing, does it serve some sort of purpose for those keeping score, did it once serve a purpose and just became part of his routine? Do other stadium announcers do this?
posted by jtajta to Society & Culture (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Yankees don't have names on the backs of their jerseys.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:09 PM on July 15, 2010


for people keeping there own score cards. People used to do that a lot.
posted by Some1 at 2:10 PM on July 15, 2010


No, other stadium announcers don't. In our stadium, I am pretty sure the scorecard folks have the numbers, as they get a program with the card. But it is a nice convenience when the announcer saves you from having to look it up. Sheppard was a cool critter.
posted by bearwife at 2:17 PM on July 15, 2010


From this article, he is quoted as saying, "A P.A. announcer is not a cheerleader, or a circus barker, or a hometown screecher," the epitome of the old-school style once said. "He's a reporter." IT also says, "Sheppard's player introductions remained consistent throughout the decades, with Sheppard imbuing each name and number with a gravitas more in keeping with a coronation than a ballpark outing: "No. 7. Mickey Mantle. No. 7." Or even "No. 58. Dooley Womack. No. 58."

I think it was a combination of stylistic, the times in which he started and partly the Yankee culture that the players are Yankees first and individuals second. No names on backs of uniforms just numbers. So, if you are following along in the stadium, you would see the number more than recognize the name.

He taught speech and his direction was to “Be clear, correct and concise.”

This eulogy by George Vecsey talks about his style and what a terrific human being he was. This paragraph stands out: “There was a bit of a downside” to having him as a parishioner, Father Camp said Thursday. When Sheppard read from the Bible, it made his own priest daydream of seeing Mickey Mantle in 1964. Once, Father Camp became so lost in reverie that Sheppard had to get his attention, to get the Mass rolling again.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 2:55 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


I'm pretty sure Gene Honda at does the same thing for the White Sox. At least he does when there is a substitution. I'm fairly certain it is just a baseball tradition that built out of people keeping their own score and from when names weren't on the uniforms.

Also, it is fairly common for announcers to keep score as they call the game. It keeps them focused and correct with their game calling. One of the best baseball broadcasts I ever heard were some preseason games where Ed Farmer was teaching his new partner how to keep score on the air.

"Where's your pencil?"

"I just have this pen."

"Christ... you have to have pencils. Three of them."

"Line drive past the shortstop, Jones rounds first and the center fielder bobbles and drops the ball. Jones slides into second and beats the throw by three steps. Ok, you got your pencil? Now you draw a line on the little diamond, and put a little hash mark here, put a 4 here and fill in that little square. You are never going to be a good broadcaster if you aren't keeping score!"

So the point is, many announcers do it just because the number is right there, and it sounds cooler that way.
posted by gjc at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


Heh, I swear that the people running the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC just checked this post for info about this question. Pretty much all of Lehrer's preamble to the segment was listing the answers given here.
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 7:59 AM on July 16, 2010


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