Hamilton's favorite call involved WS theatrics

CLEVELAND -- It was an unusually warm, sunny day in downtown Cleveland on March 26, which didn’t make missing baseball any easier for Indians fans. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, everyone instead took to social media to reminisce on their favorite Opening Day memories and express what they missed most about the game. So many of those posts included the name Tom Hamilton.

Hamilton’s voice has been connected to the Tribe since 1990. He began as a color commentator on the Indians Radio Network before transitioning into the chief play-by-play announcer in '98. When fans see him in public, they often go over to tell him some of their favorite calls of his, but which would he deem his favorite?

In over two decades as the play-by-play voice, Hamilton said that no moment -- aside from a championship -- will ever top Rajai Davis’ game-tying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Cubs in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

“To me, there's nothing more special in sports than Game 7 of the World Series,” Hamilton said. “The Cubs hadn't won since 1908 and Indians hadn't won it since 1948, so somebody's misery was going to come to an end. And, you know, lo and behold, it would take seven games and extra innings on top of that. I mean, it just seems so apropos when you look back at it now.”

The Indians fell behind in the first inning and trailed 6-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth. Cubs hurler Jon Lester got two quick outs to start the frame before giving up an infield single to José Ramírez. It was then that Chicago turned to its bullpen, pulling Lester, who also started Game 5, after 55 pitches to put in closer Aroldis Chapman for his fourth multi-inning appearance of the series.

“I mean, he's a giant of a closer, he's one of the biggest, strongest guys you've ever seen,” Hamilton said. “He throws 100 miles an hour. There's no secret what he's going to try to do. And you know Aroldis Chapman is at times unhittable, and for the Indians to come from behind like they did in the eighth inning and, really, they did it in the first two batters that Chapman faced.”

Brandon Guyer doubled in a run to cut the Tribe's deficit to two, setting the stage for Davis. On a 2-2 count, Davis laced a drive over the left-field wall to tie the game, prompting this call from Hamilton:

Swung on, lined to deep left field, it is...GONE! [pause] You should see the celebration out of the Indians’ third-base dugout. Rajai Davis! A bullet, two-run homer down the left-field line, clearing the 19-foot wall. We are tied at 6.

“I mean, I've heard that call, but I don't really remember it,” Hamilton said. “That's one of those things where the ball jumped out of the park so fast. It was a bullet down the left-field line, and what you're trying to do is also describe the play. It was basically a line drive down the left-field line. … So I didn't have enough time to screw it up, thankfully.

“Then you go silent for a while because to me the crowd, you wanted to hear that. You wanted to allow your audience to kind of soak in some of that emotion and noise as well. You know, there's nothing that beats that. So why try to talk over that?”

The euphoria that radiated throughout the ballpark lasted two more innings, but the ending was far from what Indians fans were hoping to see. The Tribe may not have walked away with a World Series trophy, but that doesn’t erase the historic moment that happened just minutes prior.

“In my time, that's the greatest moment in the history of that ballpark,” Hamilton said. “And you think of that ballpark, all the great moments that we witnessed. … Time after time, there have been great moments there, but that one -- I think the only moment that could top that would be winning the World Series in your own ballpark.”

Every historic moment opens the door for a historic call. For 30 years, Hamilton has had to best describe the emotion and events happening before him in just a split second. In the process, he has drawn a colossal fan base.

The 65-year-old deems himself “too old” to have a Twitter account, but when he was told that so many fans have tweeted about missing his voice with the 2020 season postponed, he was unusually speechless. He uncharacteristically stumbled over trying to find the right words, and when he decided to speak, the emotion in his voice was palpable.

“That's pretty neat. I didn't realize that,” Hamilton said. “I'm employed by the Cleveland Indians, but in essence, I’m employed by the fans. … What makes this job so special in this market is that most of the people that live in Cleveland are longtime Clevelanders or are from Northeast Ohio or maybe other parts of Ohio…so because of that, the fan base is much more passionate, much more knowledgeable. And wins and losses mean a lot more to the fan base here than they do in some of those other cities.

“So that means a lot and I wasn't aware of that. It’s very humbling. And, you know, I'm awful grateful for that."