MLB Playoffs: ALCS Game 3 was like Christmas Day for home run calls
For a broadcaster, there's nothing finer than a big home run in a dramatic moment to fire up your creative juices.
Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians featured four.
The Yankees were trailing 3-1 in the eighth inning when Aaron Judge's two-run home run against Emmanuel Clase tied the game at 3. The next batter, Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run of his own to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
The fireworks were just beginning. In the ninth inning, the Guardians were down to their final strike before Jhonkensy Noel's home run off Luke Weaver tied the game 5-5 and electrified the home crowd at Progressive Field — and the broadcast booths.
Besides the drama of the moment, Noel's nickname ("Big Christmas") served as a launching pad for all sorts of wordplay from three play-by-play broadcasters on the call. Tom Hamilton's call of the home run on the Guardians' radio broadcast was still getting love from fans of a good call Friday.
A Christmas Noel as told by Tom Hamilton
— Matt Fontana (@MattFontana83) October 18, 2024
pic.twitter.com/7bQC5ZTgVG
Hamilton was invited onto MLB Network's "High Heat" show on Friday to discuss the game.
"Stephen Vogt had a feeling that, 'We've gotta take a shot here'... That was majestic. It's what makes October so special."@CleGuardians radio PxP announcer Tom Hamilton joins #HighHeat to discuss last night's roller coaster, walk-off victory.#GuardsBall | @MadDogUnleashed pic.twitter.com/LZ08qBsqNw
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 18, 2024
Even more fans were privy to Brian Anderson's call on the national broadcast from TBS:
"OH MY GOODNESS! BIG CHRISTMAS HAS TIED IT! THE ULTIMATE PRESENT UNDER THE TREE! OH MY GOODNESS! JHONKENSY NOEL! THE BIGGEST SWING OF HIS LIFE!" - Brian Anderson as Jhonkensy Noel crushes a 2-out game-tying homer in the bottom of the 9th ⚾️🎙️ #MLB pic.twitter.com/lxCuQMqDhv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 18, 2024
Meanwhile, the Guardians' Spanish-language broadcast of the call included a hearty ¡Feliz Navidad! from Rafa Hernandez-Brito:
The Spanish call of Jhonkensy Noel's game-tying home run is NEXT LEVEL 🤯 pic.twitter.com/5IZkf9UpSD
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2024
Cleveland wasn't done rocking. In the 10th inning, David Fry's two-run home run ended the first extra-innings game of the postseason in dramatic fashion.
Here's Anderson:
1.David Fry is him
— Charlie Parker (@cmparker999) October 18, 2024
2.Brian Anderson is under appreciated pic.twitter.com/n0jr6dM8hV
And here's Hamilton:
Tom Hamilton’s Call of David Fry’s WALK OFF 2-RUN HOME RUN IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 10TH INNING #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/A0bj9CBSn3
— k (@KatelinKnowsCLE) October 18, 2024
The Guardians and Yankees will meet again in Game 4 on Friday in Cleveland. They will be hard-pressed to revive the drama from Game 3. As Hamilton said leaving the ballpark, according to Travis Sawchik of The Score: "You will not ever see a better game than that."
Saw Tom Hamilton leaving the radio booth tonight. ‘You will not ever see a better game than that,’ he said. He’s called a lot of baseball games. Tough to argue with that.
— Travis Sawchik (@Travis_Sawchik) October 18, 2024
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