Todd Kalas' home run call on Sunday paid tribute to his famous father
When your dad is a Hall of Fame baseball announcer, there's no better way to recognize his work and legacy than to be able to use one of his most famous home run calls while you're behind the mic.
Todd Kalas, the son of legendary announcer Harry Kalas, paid tribute to his late father on what would have been his 81st birthday Sunday afternoon with a familiar call on homers by Astros players
"Jake Marisnick sends one deep, and that ball is in Astro orbit!" Kalas called on Marisnick's third-inning homer.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for Todd, who teased the moment earlier in the day on Twitter:
Today only, an Astros HR will be called "That ball is in Astro Orbit" Tribute to Dad who would have been 81 today https://t.co/NBn0z05xDX
— Todd Kalas (@RealToddKalas) March 26, 2017
"I figured it was a nice little tribute since were televising on his birthday," Kalas said. "I don't really have a home run call, but I listened to some of his old calls and heard that call and figured this would be a nice touch on what would have been his 81st birthday."
Kalas said some have said it should be his own home run call, but he's adamant that it belonged to his father. "That was dad's call and specific to his time in Houston," he said. "I respect and appreciate that. I may come up with my own call. We'll see how it plays out, but I don't want to borrow that. In Philly, he used, 'That ball's outta here!' Those are dad's calls and specific to him and I wanted to pay tribute to him by bringing it back for one day."
Harry Kalas joined the Houston franchise as radio announcer in 1965 when they changed their name to the Astros and moved into the Astrodome. He was later the voice of the Phillies (1971-2009) and was recognized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as a recipient of the annual Ford C. Frick Award.
In 2008, Todd joined Harry in the radio broadcast booth to call an inning of the 2008 World Series between the Phillies and Rays. Todd Kalas spent the last 19 seasons as part of the Rays television broadcast team before joining the Astros this year.
Listen to Todd's tribute to his father in the clip at the top.
Brian McTaggart has covered the Astros since 2004, and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter and listen to his podcast.
