CLEVELAND — Once David Fry's walk-off home run sailed over the fence in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, the first thing going through Guardians fans' minds was, "I can't believe it! We actually won!!"
Now, one can't be too sure, but we can guess the second thing for many was, "Where is the Hammy call??"
Such is the greatness of the Tom Hamilton, now in his 35th year calling games on the radio for the club. The incomparable "Voice of the Guardians" has narrated many great moments in his illustrious career, and Thursday marked another classic playoff battle to add to his resume.
In a back-and-forth showdown that had emotions running high in both dugouts, Fry capped off the night with a two-run homer that gave Cleveland a remarkable 7-5 victory over the New York Yankees in 10 innings. Hammy was on the mic for it, and sounded just as flabbergasted as the rest of us must've been.
"The magical 2024 season is not done by any means!" Hamilton triumphantly declared. Indeed, the two-out blast truly gave the Guards new life, as it prevented them from going down 3-0 in this best-of-seven ALCS.
How did Fry feel as his second season-saving dinger of the playoffs sailed into the night?
"At that point, I blacked out. No clue," Fry told reporters after the game. "I just remember being, like, halfway down the first base line looking back at the dugout, and then I'm looking at (first base coach) Sandy (Alomar Jr. and) I'm like, 'Alright, I've got to just make sure I touch all four bases and get home and celebrate.'"
Cleveland's offense had struggled in its first two losses in the series, with Fry mentioning how the team just needed to get back to its signature "Guards Ball" mentality. That finally happened Thursday, in more ways than one.
"It was good pitching all night, amazing defense ... and then clutch hitting," he said. "Bunts, bombs, and chaos — that's what we talked about, and yeah, it felt like tonight we got back to that."
Funny thing is, Hammy's call of Fry's home run wasn't even his first big call of the game. That came with two out in the bottom of the ninth, when Jhonkensy Noel stepped up as a pinch-hitter and launched a missile into the bleachers.
The man they call "Big Christmas" hadn't homered since August and was just 1 for 15 in the playoffs before taking the biggest swing of his young life to date.
"Every time I get my name called up, it's because they believe in me and they trust me," Noel, through an interpreter, said of manager Stephen Vogt and the coaching staff asking him to come off the bench in such a big spot. Of his earlier struggles, he added, "I feel like every player goes through that, but you've got to grind through that. ... No player has a good 162 games in a row, so you've got to grind it and make sure that, sometime, it's going to get better for you."
Tom Hamilton is the unquestioned GOAT of Cleveland baseball broadcasting, but the call of the night? That may have come from Rafa Hernández-Brito, who was doing Spanish play-by-play on WARF 1350 along with Cleveland Indians legend Carlos Baerga. As soon as the ball left Noel's bat, Hernández-Brito broke into a jubilant chorus of "Feliz Navidad!"
For Vogt, the clutch moments from Noel and Fry are just part of what makes his club great.
"I couldn't be more proud of our guys," Vogt said. "This is exactly who we are. We never quit."
