Maybe I'm old fashioned but baseball is best on the radio. Of course, I like to watch the games on TV but a good radio announcer is still my favorite.
Mark Holtz was born in October 1942 and passed away in 1997. He was added to the Rangers' Hall of Fame a few years ago. Holtz was the radio voice of the Rangers from 1982 until 1997, or when he died of cancer.
Holtz made a very bad team interesting. Mark had terrible Rangers' teams for much of his broadcasting career. Yet, it was fun to turn on the radio at 7 PM and hear Mark introduce the starting lineup.
Sadly, Holtz passed away and was not around for the '98 and '99 division titles or the back to back trips to The World Series in 2010 and 2011.
Holtz did broadcast the '96 season, including the Friday night pennant clincher, the first one in team history. The Rangers clinched in the 10th inning of the 160th game when the news came in that Oakland had beaten Seattle. It was pure joy to hear Mark Holtz say that the Rangers were the AL West champs for '96. It was just great!
I remember 3 of Mark's greatest radio calls:
First, it was Nolan Ryan's 6th no hitter in Oakland. ("The Ryan Express has done it again"....screamed Holtz as the team mobbed Ryan)
Second, Ryan's 7th no hitter. ("He struck him out swinging" was the last line of the game)
Third, Kenny Rogers' perfect game from the summer of '94.
Holtz was not smooth like Vince Scouly but he was great.
Mark Holtz was born in October 1942 and passed away in 1997. He was added to the Rangers' Hall of Fame a few years ago. Holtz was the radio voice of the Rangers from 1982 until 1997, or when he died of cancer.
Holtz made a very bad team interesting. Mark had terrible Rangers' teams for much of his broadcasting career. Yet, it was fun to turn on the radio at 7 PM and hear Mark introduce the starting lineup.
Sadly, Holtz passed away and was not around for the '98 and '99 division titles or the back to back trips to The World Series in 2010 and 2011.
Holtz did broadcast the '96 season, including the Friday night pennant clincher, the first one in team history. The Rangers clinched in the 10th inning of the 160th game when the news came in that Oakland had beaten Seattle. It was pure joy to hear Mark Holtz say that the Rangers were the AL West champs for '96. It was just great!
I remember 3 of Mark's greatest radio calls:
First, it was Nolan Ryan's 6th no hitter in Oakland. ("The Ryan Express has done it again"....screamed Holtz as the team mobbed Ryan)
Second, Ryan's 7th no hitter. ("He struck him out swinging" was the last line of the game)
Third, Kenny Rogers' perfect game from the summer of '94.
Holtz was not smooth like Vince Scouly but he was great.
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