Great video Ponce. We were all caught up in Bo fever at the time for good reason. I don't remember Wade hitting that homer. Tough act to follow for sure. I was watching at home then and remember the Bo hr. Wade Boggs could flat out hit!
The other day colin cowherd asked Joe Buck if he remembered the first home run he ever saw. The question made me remember the first 2 home runs I saw...or was it Kirk Gibson 1988 and hobbled....damnit. wrong memory
Even speaking as someone from the other side of the political fence, I wouldn't say at all that Reagan was "struggling." He was a little halting in reading the stupid written info on the players :-) but besides that, he was impressively right on it -- ESPECIALLY in how he immediately noted that Boggs' ball was headed out of the park: "Hey, that looks like it's going there too" -- which I found so striking that I remembered it from when I saw the broadcast in '89.
I feel kind of horrible in saying this but I seriously wonder if in hindsight, President Regan was already showing the early signs of Alzheimer's disease (which he publicly announced having in 1994)? boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4959612&postcount=1 One aspect of Reagan's presidency that I didn't see mentioned already (I did run a search on this, my apologies if I missed something) is his participation in baseball's All-Star game about 7 months after he left office. If I recall correctly he joined the booth to do some color commentary about midway through the game. His remarks were so out of sync that it shocked the sportscasters - he'd repeat statements they'd just made, as if stating them for the first time. He rambled. He couldn't string together a sentence. The man was incoherent. And nobody talked about it. The fact that this loopy man had had his finger on the nuclear button less than a year beforehand.
Nbc Survives Reagan`s 1st-inning Errors articles.sun-sentinel.com/1989-07-12/sports/8902200563_1_reagan-wasn-t-star-nbc July 12, 1989 | By JEFF RUSNAK, Broadcast Columnist It was the longest inning of Ronald Reagan`s life. So, too, for the millions of viewers who endured a painful and mostly embarrassing cameo by the former president, who joined Vin Scully as a guest commentator for the first inning of NBC`s all-star telecast Tuesday night. It has been more than 50 years since Reagan worked as a broadcaster for WHO radio in Des Moines, Iowa, where he recreated Chicago Cubs games from Western Union teletype transmissions. That experience and Reagan`s movie portrayals of sports heroes George Gipp and Grover Cleveland Alexander gave NBC the bright idea to use the ex-prez as an announcer on one of baseball`s marquee events. Bad idea. Reagan should have thrown out the first pitch and called it a night. Reagan froze and choked the life out of the highest-scoring first inning in the last 10 All-Star Games. ``The Great Communicator`` was anything but during the one torturous inning. -- When told of Tony Gwynn`s succession of batting titles by Scully, Reagan emitted a ``Hmmm.`` After Ozzie Smith was thrown out stealing, Reagan asked Scully if Gwynn was at the plate. Scully said yes. -- After Scully introduced Julio Franco, Reagan said, ``I`m glad you said that first. I didn`t know whether to call him Joo-lee-oh or Hoo-lee-oh.`` Scully later referred to Franco as Joo-le-oh. -- Pedro Guerrero lined out to Kirby Puckett to end the first inning. Reagan`s interpretation was, ``Hey... he got it.`` It made one pine for Tom Seaver. Or worse yet, want to turn on the radio and listen to Brent Musburger. To his credit, Reagan admitted he was unnerved. Speaking for himself only, Reagan signed off by saying, ``I`m so sorry that it`s over for me now. ``I have to confess I was a little uptight because, as I say, when I was sitting up in a place like this I had to tell the people what was happening because they couldn`t see it. But now I get a little self-conscious because people can see what`s going on.`` Reagan`s political critics might suggest that his presidency was marked by a similar fault. Scully referred to Reagan as ``Sir`` and simplified his approach as if talking to someone who hadn`t seen a game in years. Granted, being president is a busy job, but the big disappointment is that Reagan wasn`t even glib or conversant, preferring instead to read from press notes. It was a stifling, plodding effort, and try as he might, Scully couldn`t create chemistry or draw Reagan out. Surely, NBC must admit that the Reagan appearance didn`t fly. But there are others who warrant consideration as guest commentators in future all-star games. -- The Joker, as played by Jack Nicholson. Those lips, those eyes, that laugh, that wardrobe. ``Playing in an all-star game puts steam in a man`s stride,`` the Joker could cackle. -- Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. Their stint during WOR`s Mets-Reds telecast Sunday belongs in the broadcast hall of fame. ``In Russia, all the teams are called Reds,`` Williams quipped. Crystal`s Phil Rizzuto imitation was more convincing than Rizzuto himself. -- Mars Blackmon a/k/a Spike Lee, director of the film Do The Right Thing. ``Here`s my maaaiin man, Bo Jackson, showing some serious hang time on this home run over the center-field fence. This you cannot do.`` Besides Reagan`s uncomfortable inning, there were other lowlights: -- Gary Gaetti of the Twins using the player introductions to promote his religious beliefs by writing ``Jesus is Lord`` on his batting glove and waving to the camera. -- Tony Kubek, NBC`s best baseball analyst, was sadly excluded from the telecast. The highlights: -- Bo`s homer, Bo`s stolen base, Bo`s Nike commercial, Bo`s interview. -- A camera angle looking down the third base line showed Kevin Mitchell`s line drive twisting slightly foul. -- Nolan Ryan striking out Will Clark and Mitchell, and the jugs gun graphic showing that Ryan was throwing 87-mph curveballs. -- After several low-scoring All-Star Games, it was fun to see the hitters finally strike a sense of balance and create some excitement.
+Terrence Clay Remember that he was close to 80 years old already when he did this broadcast. Most people that old are not going to be able to keep up or do real-time sports broadcasting, especially with no recent experience, even if not showing signs of severe mental decline. Also remember that Reagan lived for TEN years after he revealed his diagnose of Alzheimers Disease which is a long time to live with the disease at his age. So the bottom line is that while no one may ever know the truth, it is certainly a stretch to just presume he had Alzheimers. A lot of people who get the disease are not masters of spontaneous oratory to begin with.
Funny how they boo all the Met players and yet they made the playoffs over the Reds easily. They also booed Hershiser, a man who won it all that year. Jealousy goes over.
