Baltimore Orioles: Buy the Chuck Thompson CD – NOW!

Every year at some point during Spring Training I write my annual tribute to the great Chuck Thompson, the Baltimore Orioles’ former play-by-play man. Anyone of any age who ever heard Thompson call an Orioles game live knew what a special talent he was. Having said that, this column today isn’t that annual tribute come early. (Although you can look for that in March at some point.) But Chuck Thompson is the topic of conversation for today.

Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs’ radio announcer Pat Hughes has recently put together a series of CD’s called Baseball Voices, Hall of Fame Series. By now of course you know that one of the CD’s in that collection is one on Chuck Thompson. I got my copy of it yesterday, and it kept me so riveted in my car as I drove through Inner Harbor traffic that I listened to it twice. (Note to self: I hope I paid the toll when I went through the tunnel!)

This product has actually been on the market since Thanksgiving, however I’ll tell you that it’ll make a great stocking stuffer this Christmas. One aspect that Hughes highlights is something I always honed in on with Thompson’s delivery in that he always emphasized the second O in “Orioles” when he called the games. (So as to make it sound like “Ori-O-les.”) Every announcer in every sport has his trademark, and that was one of Thompson’s many.

I’ll be honest in that I’ll have to listen to it a few more times (and I will) to figure out which is my favorite part, however I would say that the radio footage of his hall of fame speech would be up there. There’s also a quick snippet of him signing off of a broadcast after a victory with his trademark “…this is Chuck Thompson for Bill O’Donnell…saying ain’t the beer cold baby!” 

There’s nothing more I can say regarding Chuck Thompson that Orioles fans don’t already know. However I can tell you that if you don’t go out and buy the CD, you’ll be sorry. You can do so by visiting Hughes’ website: http://www.baseballvoices.com. However the Orioles Team Store at Camden Yards also sells them. So with that said (and you knew I HAD to do this!), just go out and get one so that you and your family can say ain’t the beer cold this Christmas!