With the future of AM unclear, a look back at the powerful role radio plays in baseball history
Many baseball fans, especially older ones, originally fell in love with America’s pastime by listening to ballgames on AM radio
NEW YORK — Growing up in the Boston suburbs, Suzyn Waldman fell madly in love with two things: baseball and Broadway shows.
During the 1950s and '60s, the long arm of AM radio brought both into her home.
“I can still hear Ned Martin of the Red Sox reciting poetry about the mountains in Anaheim,” said Waldman, the pioneer announcer and former star of musical stage who's been calling New York Yankees games for decades. «I can still hear Curt Gowdy with that Wyoming twang.
“Not everyone can remember who their first television broadcasters were — but everyone knows who the radio team was. Everyone.”
Like many fans, especially older ones, Waldman originally got hooked by America's pastime listening to ballgames on an AM signal. In fact, next month will mark the 100th anniversary of the first World Series broadcast to a national radio audience, when Graham McNamee and Ford Frick were among those who called the 1923 Fall Classic between the Giants and Yankees on NBC.
A century later, however, some consider AM stations a dying medium in the modern age of digital technology. Several major automakers are eliminating broadcast AM radio from newer models — prompting lawmakers on Capitol Hill to propose legislation that would prevent the practice for safety and other reasons.
A bill with bipartisan support, the “AM for Every Vehicle Act” is winding its way through Congress.
“Not all change is progress,» Waldman said.
To be sure, from satellite radio and streaming services to FM stations and cell phone apps, baseball fans nowadays have all sorts of options for tuning in their favorite team — even all 30
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