Remy, Orsillo Make GQ's Best Broadcasting Team Ranking

Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo ranked number 4 out of 5 in the GQ list of the best and worst broadcasters in baseball. They were on the best side, and according to Orsillo and Remy on a recent broadcast, ranked the best in the AL.

I think they are hilarious and the most interesting duo to watch because you never know when they will go off an a tangent and start laughing their collective asses off, do a dance or poke fun at NESN's fringe programming. Sometimes, the laughter will last an entire inning, especially in a blowout game. My wife, a life-long Yankee fan, loves Remy and Orsillo as well (and like me, totally loathes the Yankee announcers in broadcast and radio).

Incidentally, there was a great moment on Saturday night's game when they showed some footage of Remy and Orsillo realizing they were first in the AL on the GQ broadcasting list and they did some kooky dance. It was fantastic (I wish NESN would put up these videos for linking... I cannot find it anywhere).

I will never forget them going off during a game when NESN was filming the Red Sox dating show Sox Appeal at Fenway. They loved to rail on the guys during the dating and tried to guess how bad dates were going.

GQ wrote of the duo:

Remy has an arresting voice, with a thick Massachusetts accent—not the sound of your typical broadcaster—and he talks in a string of short bursts. He also has no volume control. In fact, when he first chimes in, one worries that some beer-brave Sawx fan has stumbled into the booth. It's a big personality to cram into a headset, but Orsillo makes it work by playing the straight—if bland—man, by calling a solid game, and by getting out of Remy's way, when necessary. Remy will misspeak (hilariously) on occasion, like: "Sometimes it's hard to get down that sacrifice fly," on a botched bunt attempt. But it's always in service of the game's action, and it never slows him down.

I think this is sort of accurate, but totally misses how great the chemistry is between he and Remy, not to mention how much Orsillo laughs and loses his straight-man demeanor with one good Remy quip.

Listen to Remy go off on Christmas letters and Orsillo make fun of NESN broadcaster Tom Caron.

You must watch Remy play air guitar too.

And be sure to watch this silly commercial on that dating show Sox Appeal:

There's a drive! Deep to left! WAY BACK! WAAAY BACK! HOME RUN!

Another familiar face departs: Jerry Trupiano will not be back in the radio broadcast booth next year, as the Red Sox have opted not to renew his contract and continue his 14-year broadcast booth partnership with Joe Castiglione.

I’m more than a little sad to hear that Trup and his exciting but not always accurate homerun call won’t be back next year; growing up I didn’t have cable TV (and thus no NESN) so the majority of my Red Sox memories are tied in with radio. While I remember a bit of the far off days of Ken Coleman, Trupiano and Castiglione were the team calling the games for most of the games I grew up listening to and Trupiano’s call of “Way back! Way back!” figured prominently in both the oh-so-important 2003 and 2004 seasons. It won’t quite be the same when it’s no longer Joe and Jerry.