Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Eric Hartline-US PRESSWIRE
PHILADELPHIA — No matter what happens in NLDS Game 2 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Phillies on Monday, it won't be the biggest game that Brian Anderson has called at Citizens Bank Park on Oct. 6.
15 years ago, Anderson was on the call for TBS when Roy Halladay — in his first career postseason start — tossed a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS.
Anderson recalled announcing the defining performance of the Hall of Fame righty's career fondly over the weekend in a conversation with On Pattison.
"Well, it's like the game of my life," Anderson said. "I mean, I remember everything."
When Anderson says everything, he means everything.
"I remember walking out of this door in this press box hallway and Boog Sciambi walked out of the [national] radio booth, and Scott Franzke walked out of the radio booth at the same time, and we were all just looking at each like 'What did we just witness?'"
Of course, not everyone who announced the second playoff no-hitter in MLB history was happy with how things went down.
"And then two minutes after that, Marty Brennaman came out of the Reds [booth] and is like Yosemite Sam swearing," Anderson recalled. "And we all got a good laugh out of that."
Anderson — who at that time was in just his third season calling games nationally for TBS — acknowledged that there are nerves that creep in when you realize you're calling a potentially historic performance.
"But it's one of the coolest things that I've ever been a part of ... one of the greatest games I've ever seen. I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life calling a game," Anderson said.
"I was forgetting very normal things in between innings. It's like when you don't remember how to tie your shoe. It's that kind of stuff because you knew the weight of it, and we were just trying to make sure we didn't ruin the masterpiece that was unfolding in front of us."
Obviously, the most replayed moment of Anderson's call is the final out, when he narrated a complicated final play involving Carlos Ruiz, Brandon Phillips, Ryan Howard and a bat that was placed at the perfect spot to screw up history.
"A bouncer ... Ruiz ... IN TIME! ROY HALLADAY HAS THROWN A NO-HITTER!"
It was a simple call, but it perfectly captured the moment.
But the call that really stands out the most from Anderson's broadcast came at the end of the eighth inning. As you can see in the clip below, Halladay strikes out Drew Stubbs to end the top of the eighth, putting him within three outs of becoming the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the postseason since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
Rather than trying to come up with some great call to put what Halladay was on the cusp of into perspective, Anderson didn't say anything. He let the crowd noise and Halladay's stoic walk back to the dugout speak for itself. And it was perfect.
In the game he's most likely to be remembered for at the end of his career, Anderson explained how he decided to not say anything after the eighth and final strikeout of Halladay's no-hitter.
"I mean, it's kind of my normal thing. But at that point, everything you do or say, you're evaluating 'Can I say something that actually adds to this? Or if I say something, does it detract from this?'
"And that was certainly one of those moments, as we were clicking along. I didn't want to detract from what was happening in front of us. And it didn't need my verbiage."
