SI

Brian Anderson's Calm Before the Storm Made the Moment Even Better

Perfect calls of perfect moments made Game 3 an instant classic.

Kyle Koster

Jhonkensy Noel (43) hits a two-run home run during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field.
Jhonkensy Noel (43) hits a two-run home run during the ninth inning against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series at Progressive Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Brian Anderson is as good as anyone doing sports play-by-play and yet his name is often omitted from such conversations. He is underrated because he is understated, which is meant to be a compliment. Few announcers are better at calibrating their volume and excitement, rationing it out to match the excitement of the moments while being cognizant that there always must be room to go up to 11 should pure insanity occur. That in and of itself is a long game that requires patience and is tough for an audience that's been conditioned to expect immediate gratification in the loudest, most over-the-top package.

But all of this context and framework is what made his work during the Cleveland Guardians' incredible come-from-behind victory over the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night land so perfectly.

Anderson went into another stratosphere as Jhonkensy Noel's game-tying blast in the ninth inning did the same. Everyone watching the game had the same stunned immediate reaction and very few could have delivered clever lines as Noel rounded the bases and Progressive Field became a madhouse.

An inning later David Fry hit a walk-off and Anderson again got to provide a soundtrack to remember, gradually building excitement as the ball carried over the left-field wall and carried the Guardians back into the series.

It's crazy to think, as it is after so many of these dramatic postseason games, how close we came to just never having any of these moments. Or the calls that will go down in history with them. The Yankees were one out away from a 3-0 series lead and now it's very much a dogfight. And that, too, comes through in Anderson's vocal explosion.

Awesome stuff.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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