Len & Bob's baseball blog

I loved when Harry Caray would have some fun with the players' names--like his Jody Davis song or for some reason, trying to say certain players' names backwards. As a kid, it was great fun. So many of today's announcers are so sterile--I mean, can you imagine Joe Buck doing something like that?

I also enjoyed pretty much every moment that Steve Stone was on the air--the perfect complement to Harry.

Finally, I'll also give a shout out to you, Len--you have tried to look at different ways that statistics are used in today's game, and that's appreciated from a fan's perspective. That's something WGN announcers have not done in the past.

Keep up the great work, and Go Cubs!

Len and Bob, somebody needs to set that old man Marty brenneman straight, the other day he was ripping into cubs fans claiming they are the most obnoxious in baseball, definitly not true. Then this old man starts talking about how the cubs never win, look at the reds, whens the last time they had a decent season.
I Think you two should give him a little feed back and let him know who will finish a-top the NL Central this year, once and for all

Wow, this is a tough one....there are so many great ones, a lot of them revolving around just the way Harry called games. He was such a FAN -- when they would screw up on the field, many times he would make the same disgusted comments I was making in my living room. He loved the Cubs so much, and his pure joy and agony came through every single game.

Others revolve around the 7th inning stretch, especially once Harry passed and others started singing it. There's nothing more fun than having a true Cubs fan in the booth (can't wait for Bonnie Hunt)....but one sticks out in particular. You guys know about this one on August 7, 2001 -- the plate umpire's name? Angel Hernandez. The stretch singer? "Mongo" Steve McMichael. Angel blew a call at home plate in the 6th, calling Ron Coomer of the Cubs out when he was clearly safe. The crowd had *almost* calmed down when it was stretch time, and before singing Mongo told the crowd he was gonna "talk" to the ump after the game, getting everyone all fired up again. So Mongo sings, they go to commercial, he's chatting with Chip and Stoney about who-knows-what (probably pro wrestling), when he's interrupted mid-sentence and escorted outta the booth and outta Wrigley by security. Angel threw Mongo out on the air! Mongo will retain cult hero status among Cubs fans for all time with that one.

The other game moment that jumps out to me is May 11, 2000 -- the Cubs' Glenallen Hill crushed a home run to left that landed on a rooftop ON THE FLY....I will never forget that one. He was probably juiced, but hey -- that was un-freakin-believable!

WGN has been, and remains, the cream of the crop when it comes to sports broadcasting. You guys were the first ones (with the great Arne Harris) to bring the viewers INTO the action, and now everyone copies your style. We're so lucky you guys are our home team network -- can't wait to see the special on Sunday!

My best moment was when Mr. Cub hit number 500 and my mom was screaming and dancing around, and Jack Brickhouse was screaming HEY HEY, and the 500 flashed on the screen and the camera man was shaking the camera for effect. I was young but i still get choked up thinking about it!

My fav moment was when MR. Cub hit number 500.
I remember my mom screaming and dancing around. Then i heard Jack Brickhouse screaming in a cracked voice HEY HEY. The 500 flashed on the screen and the camera man was shaking the camera for effect.Even though i was young, i remember it like yesterday, and still get choked up thinking about it!

favorite cubs memory was milt pappas no hitter because it was the last one by a cub pitcher and his wife is my 2 sons high school principal in Momence Illinois.

Have you guys noticed that Rich Hill is about 3-6 inches away from the rubber when he is pitching? Didn't he get called out for that in a game last year?

Hey, ask Bob Vorwald if he still has his "Ryno Bucks"..........

As a 10 year old boy in 1987 I used a clunky old tape recorder and would record key points in ballgames by holding the tape recorder up to the tv to have my own highlight tape. I don't know the date, but Dawson hit a game-winning homerun and Harry went crazy. I listened to that tape over and over reliving the moment in my bed that night.

WGN & the CUBS are great!!! I love the Bud Cam, the 7th inning stretch songs sung by true Cub fans, the big W flag & of course hearing that great song at the end of a win "Go Cubs Go"!!!! Thanks WGN to 60 great years. I live in Florida now & get the superstation on cable & WGN is the BEST to watch & listen to Cubs Baseball!!!! WGN IS Cubs Baseball.

I've been a cub fan since I was old enough to understand the game when i was 10 yrs old in 1993. That shouldn't matter because ive been a follower all these years and even more so after my glory days were over in '03. But one of my favorite moments was last year, when Aramis hit that homerun to beat the Brewers in that thriller at Wrigley. I had the thought in my head when he came up to the plate "oh man, this would be sweet for a dong from him" and no sooner did i say that to myself the first pitch was a no doubter. Len called a great moment in last year's many exciting high points.

It was always great when Ray Rayner would join Jack Brickhouse in the tv booth for the whole game. They would always have a great laugh.

After RR left for Albuquerque, NM he would come back at least once a year and sit in with Harry. Since Ray wasnt on Chicago TV anymore it was ok for him to be hammered.

Was RR Harry's favorite target? Did Harry have some sort of spell over Ray?

For all you younger people on this board Ray Rayner was the same person from "Bozo, Gar & Ray.

Ray Rayner passed away on January 21, 2004 at the age of 84.

Two Harry moments stand out to me: The Cubs were playing the Pirates and the top of the 7th ended on a controversial call. Jim Leyland comes out to argue with the umpire, and Harry sings Take Me Out To The Ballgame while this big argument is going on. The other, is when a routine popup was hit to shortstop Rey Sanchez. Harry says something like "He's never dropped one of these in his life." Of course, Sanchez proceeds to drop the ball.

It was about a year after Harry died, and his memory was still engrained in all Cubs' fans minds and there was a Harry impersonator who came up to the press box to sing the 7th inning streach. Not only did he sing it well the interview afterward was one of the funniest I had ever heard. Not only was is a great moment to sit back and laugh, but it also reminded me what a treasure it was to have Harry for so many years, and how much he would truly be missed.

August 1998. Lifelong Texas resident, I'm on vacation in Chicago to catch Cub games. I was always a fan of Glenallen Hill. He hits a pinch-hit grand slam, in I believe his first Cub plate appearance. Great moment. Not exactly a moment, but my favorite all-time player was Andre Dawson. I was a huge Dawson fan before he came to Chicago. That whole summer of '87 (my senior year of high school) and Harry calling games. I still miss Harry. No disrespect to Len or Brenly, but I'll always miss tuning in to WGN and hearing Harry.

One of many memorable moments for me was when someone tried to burn an American flag on the playing field and Rick Monday ran in and snatched the flag up before the idiot could light it on fire.

My moment was when Rick Monday saved the American flag from a couple of knuckleheads who attempted to set it on fire.

I don't have a particular moment in mind, but I will always remember fondly the summer of 1990 back in high school when I spent the whole summer just watching the Cubs on TV (no camp or summer school that year, so what else is there to do except watch the Cubs on WGN). I think that was the year I truly became a superfan, keeping score of each game at home so I could give my Dad a recap when he got home from work. And I always had some hilarious story to tell about something Harry said on the air, and what Steve Stone's response was. Harry & Steve were the Cubs broadcasters I grew up with and I will never it. As my boss said to me recently, I'm definitely a "GN junkie". Dang right! It's the home of the Cubs, and it's broadcast EVERYWHERE! I never leave home without it.

There are so many, but this one stands out. Jim Frey running out of the dugout (taking his hat off so nobody would steal it) to celebrate the Cubs clinching the division in 1984.That whole summer was special. Sarge, the daily double and when Harry would sing ( to the tune of Davy Crocket) Jody Jody Davis catcher of the year or catcher with the blue gear or catcher with the red hair or what ever else came to mind.The Cubs and WGN a made 1984 a lasting memory.

As a life long Cubs fan, growing up in the Chicago area as a child and now residing in Florida and having the opportunity to watch the games broadcast on WGN brings back and creates many memorable moments. I hope Len and Bob stick around and become as iconic as ole Harry.

"Way back...it might be...it could be...IT IS! Holy Cow! CUBS WIN CUBS WIN." That's the moment, and there were many of them. Harry's enthusiasm for the game, and his signature call, will be something I will always remember from my childhood. Whether I was in Chicago or Arizona, WGN and the Cubs were always on the air. That's why Cubs fans are everywhere. Because of the broadcasters and and the network.

my favorite cubs moments were the two clinchers in 1984 and 1989.
1989 was so unexpected and I will never forget Dwight Smith being interviewed after the game.
I love cubs baseball and it is all responsible to WGN.
Keep it up Len and Bob.

I absolutely loved Ramirez' walk-off against Milwaukee last year, coming a few days after Soriano won the game in the bottom of the 9th.
The enthusiasm in the booth really conveyed our feeling that something unusual was taking place, and this wasn't the same Cub team we had seen the previous three years.
My other favorite WGN Cubs moment was the Bill Murray game in 1987. Absolutely hilarious. I finally wore out my VHS tape from that game.