TELEVISION NOTEBOOK Hamilton eagerly eyes his milestone season By DAVID BARRON http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3034607 2005 is a double jubilee year for Milo Hamilton — his 60th year as a broadcaster and his 50th season broadcasting Major League Baseball games — and he will celebrate it with two good eyes. ADVERTISEMENT Hamilton, who has broadcast Astros games since 1985, had surgery last week to remove a cataract he said had reduced vision in his right eye to 20/50 and made for some dicey moments in the booth last year. "(Broadcast partner) Alan Ashby, bless his heart, saved me last season," Hamilton said Thursday. "I didn't have any problem at home because of the familiar surroundings, but on road games, I had trouble seeing if the ball was over the fence. "Alan picked me up by the coattails and saved me, so he'll be the happiest guy around that I've had the surgery." Hamilton will visit next week with Dr. James Key, who performed the operation, for a checkup and a prescription for his new eyeglasses before he leaves for spring training. He is understandably proud of this year's milestones — he began broadcasting in the fall of 1945 and made his major-league debut with the Browns in 1953 (he was out of the majors for two years in the late 1950s, which accounts for 2005 being his 50th MLB season). But, at 77, he's also thinking about the future. "Maybe after this season I might try to explore doing home games only," Hamilton said. "The other guys — Jack Buck, Ernie Harwell, Jack Murphy, Herb Carneal — did that. (Vin) Scully doesn't do anything east of Colorado anymore, which cuts out a lot of the country. "I'm the last full-timer (of his generation) out there, and I'll be 78 this year. So it's not unusual to be thinking about something like that." Even as he suggests the possibility of cutting back, Hamilton admits he isn't convinced it will happen. "That (decision) is far in the future," he said. As has been the case for the last several years, he said, he will play things by ear as the season progresses. . . . ***************************************************** Now we all know why Milo would leave out crucial play-by-play details. LOL
Just give me the score, Milo. Please. When I tune in...don't wait 30 minutes to give me the score. Update it regularly. Thanks.
It definitely explains a lot. Now, if they'd just insert Deshaies as the full time color guy on tv and tell Bill Worell to stick to basketball...
I like Worell, but the Brownie/Deshaies duo is my favorite. Milo has been broadcasting since he was 17? That is amazing.
You guys say what you want about Worrell... but when he's come into the booth (which is typically during the second half of the season), the Astros just start winning. This is, of course, simply a great coincidence, given that the Astros are the most notorious second-half team in baseball (esp. after last year), but when I think back on Worrell broadcasting games, I'm always a little happy... because more often than not, the team is winning.
Oh...... most definitely.... me too. I was just saying that the fact that the Astros normally win when Worrel is in the booth (because its the second half of the season) makes it much easier to handle listening to him.
thank you. sometimes i want to flip around to OTHER stations just to see if they'll give out an astros update. i don't mind anything else but i honestly have heard him say run scored or homerun and then move onto the next batter without updating us.
Milo is it for me. I could never understand how much love Harry Caray got in Chi because I only saw the tail end - the broken down old guy who should've retired. Unfortunately, Milo is getting there. He's about 75% of the broadcaster he was 10 years ago and fading. I hope he doesn't stay around more than 1 or 2 more years. Baseball is the sport of announcers, with guys like Jack Buck (who you could pick up in Houston on that blowtorch from St. Louis KMOX), Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, Harry Kalas, Mel Allen, Curt Gowdy, and I'm sure about a million others I'm too young to remember. Milo's distinction IMHO was always the particular "50's lounge singer" style sense of humor, which I didn't get much of from anybody else at all as far as announcers. Anyway, don't crack on Milo too much. Unless I'm missing someone, he's the only current member of the Astros organization in Cooperstown.
Milo: There's a drive. It's way back. It's going, going gone...a home run! Holy Cow! Alan: Umm...no...it was a ground out to first.
That is just being generous. Methinks he is closer to 50% of what he was 10 years ago. The guy has gotten so bad it is sad. How hard is it to give us score or key updates once every 1 hour? The worst part is that nobody in the Astros organization notice this "scoreless-Milo" or is there any sign that they have attempted to force him to give more score update. Ridiculous.... Like others have stated, Deshaies is my favorite in the boot. I even enjoy Astros game we lose when he is the in the booth - somehow he makes me laugh and enjoy the game at the same while giving key inputs, insights and analysis. The chemistry between him and Browny is just great.
On a tangent: Someone should count the number of times Jim Deshaies' career batting average is brought into conversation next season. Brownie can crack that one on him everynight it seems and it never gets old. What was it, like .087?
