Editor’s note: The following is a feature on Angels announcers Rory Markas and Terry Smith, published March 30, 2003. The Angels confirmed Tuesday that Markas has died.
TEMPE, Ariz. — Their calls are now the soundtrack of dreams.
Rory Markas and Terry Smith, both newcomers to the Angels organization when the season began last year, saw their season go from “Who are these guys?” to chants of “Ro-ry, Ro-ry” and “Ter-ry, Ter-ry” in the Angels’ World Series victory parade.
They are the voices of the Angels, a duo that can be heard on ESPN radio 710 (KSPN AM).
Last fall, KIIS- FM compiled the radio highlights and played them interspersed in American Idol Kelly Clarkson’s hit “A Moment Like This.”
And now, people who call the Angels ticket offices have asked to be put on hold just so they can hear Markas’ and Smith’s calls of those incredible moments.
Cue the audiotape …
“… It’s OUTTA here … he has homered THREE times. He couldn’t get the bunt down so he hit it out of the park … One strike away from the promised land … The Angels are going to the WORLD SERIES … Oh, what a dramatic homer by Salmon … The crowd rejoices … JUST another Halo victory … Big pitch to Spiezio … BELTED to right field. Back goes Sanders. At the waaaaaallllll. He CAN’T GET IT. HOME RUN. And they’re back in the ball game … Two balls, one strike … It’s BELTED in the gap … Here comes Figgins. Here comes Anderson. And the Angels TAKE THE LEAD, 6-5 … What a rally for the Angels … In a season of tremendous highlights, this one tops them all.”
And then, the last out of the seventh game.
“ERSTAD SAYS HE’S GOT IT. ERSTAD MAKES THE CATCH. THE ANAHEIM ANGELS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF BASEBALL.”
Five months later, Markas sits in the Angels broadcast booth before the start of a spring game with a lump in his throat.
The Angels are wrapping up their spring training schedule in preparation for their opening game today against the Texas Rangers at Edison Field.
He’s talking about the overwhelming honor and responsibility he felt last October.
It is his higher-pitched voice — and the more measured tones of his radio partner Terry Smith — that are seared into the minds of Angels fans.
“I get choked up,” he said. “It meant a lot to me to be entrusted to bring those moments to the fans.”
Smith said the radio team, like the Angels, got off to a slow start last year because they hadn’t had time to work together.
“All of a sudden, we’re in the booth together,” Smith said. “You need more time to develop chemistry.”
Markas feels as if he was destined to be in the Angels’ broadcast booth.
“My whole life was pointed to those series of moments,” said Markas, who lives in Antelope Valley.
Markas landed the job as the Angels’ No. 1 play-by-play man after holding similar positions with the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Clippers, USC Trojans and serving as a sports anchor on Fox Channel 11 in Los Angeles.
Markas does the play-by- play for the first three and last three innings of Angels broadcasts because, as Angels Director of Publicity and Broadcasting Jay Lucas says, they want their No. 1 announcer calling the most interesting parts of the game — the beginning and end.
“Angels fans have been waiting for this,” Lucas said. “And I thought our guys (Markas and Smith) did an outstanding job.”
The play-by-play man is traditionally the heart of any baseball broadcast — from Red Barber to Mel Allen to Vin Scully. They provide the narrative for the game.
The color man, on the other hand, provides the soul. He illuminates the narrative with insight, additional description and, often, humor.
The best local example would be Angels TV broadcaster Rex Hudler, a wild man in the booth.
Markas said he and his dad use to sit on folding chairs on their driveway at night listening to the Angels on the radio and keeping score.
He remembers sending away for Angels tickets to give to his dad as a Father’s Day present.
His father died when Markas was 16. His love for the Angels and his memories of his father made last year more emotional.
In the tradition of Dick Enberg, who punctuated moments with “Oh, my,” Markas has found his place in Angels catch-phrase history. After improbable comebacks early last season, Markas kept saying “Just another Halo victory” to Spanish-language broadcaster Ivan Lara as they left the press box.
So when the stunning victories continued, he worked “Just another Halo victory” into the games around midseason.
The phrase sounds so matter-of-fact, while the Angels never seemed to win without high drama.
“I felt very self-conscious about it,” Markas said. “I didn’t want it to sound corny. But now it’s part of the broadcast.”
Terry Smith doesn’t have a catch-phrase.
He has a work ethic. This spring, he has been a daily presence in the Angels clubhouse at 8:30 a.m., searching for notes about players and strategy that he can use in his broadcast.
Ask him to describe his style and he won’t talk about his voice, his cadence or his wordsmithing.
“Factual,” he said. “I’ve always done my homework.”
Smith has three jobs for the Angels. He does the play-by- play during the middle three innings. In the late innings, he goes down to the dugout to set up for post-game interviews. Smith hosts a fan call-in show after the games. And he serves as color commentator while Markas is calling the game.
Being an analyst is a role he is learning on the job.
For 19 years, he was the play-by-play man for the Columbus Clippers, the triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.
Smith also served as the voice for Ohio State University football and basketball and was host of a call-in talk show in Columbus.
In 1983, he met an energetic rookie ballplayer named Rex Hudler, a former Angels player and the TV color commentator.
When the job opened last year, it was Hudler who called “Smitty.”
“He’s the only person who calls me Smitty,” Smith said.
Smitty got the job. But not without some drama.
When the Angels made their decision, they couldn’t reach him. Smith was coaching youth basketball, and he was in the gymnasium.
When he went home, there was a message. So he called the Angels.
“When they said, `Are you interested?’ I started to cry,” Smith said.
