Tonight marks the final game for longtime Yankee broadcaster Jim Kaat and w/ him goes much of the credibility in the Yankee booth. I do like O'Neill and Flaherty along w/ Singleton but w/o Kaat the booth loses alot. This is a sad day for Yankee fans, not quite like Rizzuto's last game or the day when Bob Sheppard is no longer the PA announcer but it's still a sad day like Eddie Layton retiring. Good luck to Jim in retirement.
I like Leiter, I think he can become a good announcer. He's not there yet but he has the tools. He neeeds to stop lecturing and stop sounding as if he's reading everything but he's getting better and I think he'll be a good one.
Kaat's delivery is very simple. He describes what is going on in the game and relates it to situations he experienced in his career. He doesn't make himself bigger than the game. No wacky homerun calls, no signature lines... just straight talk about baseball. He will be missed. Unfortunately, many younger viewers/listeners will never experience or appreciate someone as good as Kaat. They will have to live their lives thinking that "Boo yah!" and "See ya!" are cool signature lines. I hope everyone can tune in tonight and listen to Kaat one last time. I'm sure his announcing partner will mention this is his last game, but he will deflect the attention back to the game. And that is why he is will be missed.
Why is Kaat leaving? Retirement or is he getting pushed out? I hope that his departure doesn't mean more Leiter (though I'm sure it will.) Leiter's only contributions tend to be "I used to play for the Yankees, remember?"
I'll miss Kaat, he was my favorite for years. On the other hand, this will mean more Leiter, O'Neill, and Flaherty, which is definitely a good thing. Especially Leiter and O'Neill, who love to point out Kay's stupidity.
