Sports Extra with Dave Ross: ‘And this one belongs to the Reds’ stays in the family

0

For 46 seasons Cincinnati Reds baseball on radio was synonymous with announcer Marty Brennaman and his signature “and this one belongs to the Reds” after each win. I was hopeful there would be an appropriate way to continue that tradition following his retirement at the conclusion of the 2019 campaign.

I asked incoming primary play-by-play man Tommy Thrall about it last summer at an OHSAA broadcasters luncheon in Columbus. “I’m the new guy but that’s Marty’s call and it looks like it will retire with him,” Thrall responded. While that’s what happened on the radio side, Reds TV is a different story with Marty’s son, Thom, calling the action.

Since major league baseball resumed I’ve watched almost every inning of every Reds game and have been delighted to hear Thom turn that tradition into a family affair by continuing its use. I know Marty quite well from spring training and shared my feelings with him. He responded on Sunday morning.

“It was Thom’s idea. He brought it to me to do it for this season only,” the Cooperstown and Cincinnati Hall of Famer revealed. “I’m fine with that.”

I’m hopeful it lasts well beyond that.

Emergency pitcher

Eight days ago, position player Matt Davidson pitched for the Reds at the end of a blowout loss to Cleveland. This reminded me of Fort Loramie’s Jared Hoying tossing a frame in a similar situation in 2016 for the Texas Rangers, not long after he became Shelby County’s first major leaguer.

Hoying yielded one run on a wind blown homer. The outfielder “topped out” at 62 miles per hour and was simply trying to “throw it over the plate.” After the home game against Minnesota, Jared commented that the toughest part of the assignment was getting from the dugout to the bullpen to warm up. “I’d never been out there. I had to ask for directions.”

After ten years of pro baseball in the United States and South Korea, Hoying is back home near Fort Loramie where his career’s future is uncertain. He would like to play at least one more season in American pro baseball and will pursue that during the winter.

Sports Extra

With Dave Ross

Sports Extra appears each Friday. Dave Ross covered Reds spring training from 1991-2018 and hopes to return in 2021.

No posts to display