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Staats had classy call for perfect
For a vacationer to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida, the July 23 perfect game pitching of Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle could not have come at a better time because it allowed this sun-conscious scribe to appreciate more than a televised 27 up and 27 down effort.
Equally impressive was the work of Tampa Bay broadcaster Dewayne Staats, who had me pulling for St. Charles, Mo., native Buehrle (Francis Howell North High School graduate) despite the fact that the Rays were headed to a 5-0 defeat in Chicago.
Three innings before a sensational home run preventing catch by center fielder DeWayne Wise at the start of the ninth inning, I found myself examining Staats' work especially since I had referred to him in this corner last September.
A graduate of East Alton Wood River High School, Staats is a credit to the communications department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he began his broadcasting career as a sports reporter for WSIE (88.7 FM) prior to graduating in 1975.
Now in his 33rd season as a Major League Baseball announcer, including 1985-89 with the Chicago Cubs, Staats has his name attached to an annual broadcast journalism award given each spring to a SIUE student.
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As Buehrle drew cheers from Chicago fans and threatened to enter baseball record books with his second career no-hitter, I wondered what Staats would say after the final out.
As a kid, I had watched Don Larsen hurl a perfect game in the 1956 World Series thanks to a black and white television set, but I remember more of catcher Yogi Berra's leap into his pitcher's arms rather than the words of a broadcaster.
As an adult, I became spoiled by St. Louis Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck. There were things like: "A no-hitter for Gibson" immediately after the Cardinals Hall of Famer concluded an 11-0 victory at Pittsburgh on Aug. 14, 1971.
More memorable were Jack's calls of home runs. After Kirk Gibson of Los Angeles hit a game-winner against Oakland (managed by Tony La Russa) in the 1988 World Series, Buck told a national audience: "I don't believe what I just saw" as the gimpy Gibson circled the bases.
In 1985, listeners were treated to "Go crazy, folks, go crazy!" after Ozzie Smith advanced the Redbirds into the World Series with a decisive, ninth-inning home run against the Dodgers to break a 2-2 tie in the score and games in the National League Championship Series.
Would Staats provide similar energy and memories? Would his words seem contrived? Would he be too rah-rah?
What the 57-year-old broadcaster did was add a professional touch for a TV audience that reflected why he has endured and is so respected by his colleagues and his alma mater.
While letting the TV reflect the jubilation of players and fans after the final out that came on a ground ball to shortstop, Staats simply said: "Mark Buehrle. He's one of the good guys in baseball. Today he's the best."
For a play-by-play announcer, that's class - something Staats introduced in a professional manner and on the spur of the moment.
But before returning to the game's other highlights, including the fact that Wise was a ninth-inning defensive replacement, Staats was sharp as he noted the game time of two hours and three minutes and then added that Buehrle was on the mound for just 32 minutes.
OVERTIME: If Staats deserved a pat on the back, another former Southwestern Illinois sports figure residing in the Tampa area earned long distant credit.
He's Mike Simmonds, a former Belleville West High School, Indiana State U., and National Football League offensive lineman entering his third season as an assistant (offensive line) coach at the University of South Florida.
Simmonds and his university can be proud of the recent USF decision to refuse admission to Kamran Joyer, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound prep All-America from Wesley Chapel, Fla., after disclosure of nine grade changes in the offensive lineman's transcript during his senior year.
Joyer has since signed with the University of Louisville, which apparently ignored the fact that the grade changes amounted to more than 40 percent of Joyer's college prep course work. Of no surprise was a recent announcement of the reassignment of Wesley Chapel Principal Andrew Frelick to another school in Pasco County.
Frelick defended the grade changes, according to the Tampa Tribune, by noting that the district had a lot of transfer and at-risk students. "We try to assist as best we can when it comes to blending semester grades into year-long grades," Frelick was quoted as saying.
After South Florida released Joyer from his letter of intent, he was recruited by Louisville, which is scheduled to play at USF on Nov. 21.
Last season, South Florida led the Big East Conference with 405 offensive yards per game - a credit to Simmonds and his linemen. Drafted out of Indiana State by Tampa Bay in 1987, Simmonds played parts of four seasons in the NFL before becoming an outstanding prep coach. Among his achievements was a 75-29 record at Jefferson High in Tampa from 1998-2005 with two state final appearances.
Named the Bucs' high school Coach of the Year in 2002, Simmonds once was considered a candidate for the Belleville West varsity football position, but the Millstadt native remained in Florida with USF where he was a graduate assistant coach in 2006 while earning a master's degree.
E-mail:
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