TV Commentary : Looking for the Star of Game? Here’s a Vote for Al Michaels

Every six years or so, sportscaster Al Michaels pitches a perfect game. If he were playing, rather than broadcasting, they might call him Nolan Ryan.

A crowd of 64,223 watched Sunday’s 7-6 thriller won by the Boston Red Sox over the Angels at Anaheim Stadium. The extra-inning drama was by anyone’s standards magnificent. It had joy and frustration, heroes and goats. It had the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. For both teams. Often.

And yet, as lucky as those 64,223 fans were to be there in person, they missed out on a great show. That was the one put on from the ABC television booth by Michaels, who rose to the occasion as Boston’s Dave Henderson did at the plate. Michaels was as good as the game, which is saying something.

Michaels is the man who, in the 1980 Winter Olympics, indelibly etched in our minds the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s gold medal moment by exclaiming: “Do you believe in miracles?” That moment made him a superstar in his business, even though, in the field of sports broadcasting, he had long been a thoroughbred among plow horses.

Sunday, in a game that deserved the best from the telecast booth for those millions watching, Michaels--and sidekick Jim Palmer--pitched in with flawless deliveries and untouchable verbal curves. Just a few samples of Michaels:

Late in the game--”If you just tuned in to this one, too bad.”

Even later--”This game is 3 hours and 50 minutes old and you want it to go on forever.”

After Brian Downing’s great catch at the wall--”Are we really seeing this game? . . . That’s why I’ve always loved Downing as an outfielder, because he plays that wall like a linebacker.”

After Rob Wilfong’s tough play on a hard grounder--”This is like a great heavyweight fight.”

Looking ahead to the Angels’ 10th inning, with Reggie Jackson scheduled as the leadoff batter--”Who wrote this script, anyway?”

Watching Jackson, baseball’s Mr. October, step to the plate--”Reggie is made for moments like this. And vice versa.”

As the game moved from one drama to another, and the stadium, strangely, seemed to quiet down--”The fans here can’t take much more. They are all wrung out.”

And then, finally, when the pendulum had taken its last swing and the Angel victory champagne had been uncorked and corked about six times, Downing came to the plate as California’s last gasp and sent a high foul toward first baseman Dave Stapleton.

Michaels said: “Popped up. Here comes Stapleton. Next plane to Boston.”

That was followed by long and fitting moments of pictures and no words, allowing Michaels to prove, in a profession that, collectively, cannot keep its mouth shut, much can be said by silence.

Television does so much sports, and it does it so badly so often with so much verbiage and predictability, that something like Michael’s masterpiece Sunday is a shocker.

In fact, it almost makes you believe in miracles.