Joe Buck was in the midst of calling an intense back-and-forth World Series elimination game Sunday night, but the longtime broadcaster still took some time to acknowledge the passing of Jerry Remy.
It was a classy gesture, and one hell of a eulogy.
During the sixth inning, Remy’s graphic appeared on the screen, and Buck expertly summarized his playing career — even giving Somerset a shoutout on national TV.
“Nicknamed the ‘RemDawg,’ he embodied every aspect of being a core part of Red Sox Nation,” Buck said. “He grew up in Somerset, Mass., an hour drive south of Fenway. He was dreaming of some day playing in that storied ballpark for his hometown team.”
Buck went on to mention some of Remy’ on-field accomplishments, including his two clutch late-inning hits against the Yankees in the legendary ’78 playoff game. Ten years later, Remy joined the Red Sox broadcast team. That's when his ascent to legendary status began.
“He joined the Red Sox’ broadcast booth in 1998, and was a force in the booth every year since,” Buck said. "If Red Sox Nation had an emperor, the ‘RemDawg,’ it would be him. What a sad, sad loss for all of baseball. He’s just beloved in New England.”
Remy’s passing rocked the sports broadcasting world. CBS’ Ian Eagle also paid tribute to Remy during Patriots-Chargers.
Sean McDonough said Monday on “The Greg Hill Show” that working with Remy on NESN has been the highlight of his career. “I have worked with hundreds of analysts in all the different sports in all these places I’ve worked - I’ve kept a list and the last I looked there have been 160 different people - and nothing felt as special as the nine years I spent with Jerry,” he said.
Buck knows how much local baseball broadcasters mean to their cities. His father, Jack, was the iconic voice of the Cardinals for four decades.
Every Red Sox fan under 35 doesn’t know life without Jerry Remy. As Buck said, he’s synonymous with Red Sox baseball. It was very cool to hear his incredible life and indelible impact celebrated on the game’s biggest stage.
