The broadcaster with the most recognizable pipes in Philadelphia, Harry Kalas, didn’t make his usual trip with the team to Florida this weekend. The 72-year old Hall of Fame play-by-play man is resting at home after he underwent minor surgery this morning to repair a detached retina in his left eye. Harry’s temporary fill-in, Tom McCarthy, informed tonight’s viewing audience that, “[Harry] is hopefully going to rejoin the Phillies sometime when they are in New York (July 22-24), if not, then when the team returns home this weekend.”
The hypochondriac approved WebMD had this to say about the detaching of your retina:
The retina is a thin membrane of nerve tissue that lines the back of the eye. Retinal detachment occurs when the inner layer of the retina separates from the wall of the eye.
The nerve cells in the retina normally detect light entering the eye and send signals to the brain about what the eye sees. But when the retina detaches, it no longer works correctly. It can cause blurred and lost vision.
Retinal detachment requires care right away. Without treatment, vision loss can progress from minor to severe or even to blindness within a few hours or days.
It sounds as if they caught the problem in time and Harry is recovering just fine. However, in my perusal of various retinal deatchment horror stories on the internet, it seems as though it could take months to fully heal. Even then, some people still complain of problems with depth-perception and/or massive headaches. Prior to surgery, Harry wasn’t exactly what you would call “at the top of his game” when it comes to judging if a deep fly was a home run or not, and I don’t really see how this can help things.
Hopefully it’s not serious, and Harry returns to the booth ASAP with a brand new, fully connected retina and that beautifully-cadenced baritone voice that I’m so used to.
Get well soon, Harry.
20 Comments on “Harry Kalas shelved with a detached retina”
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General
July 19th, 2008 at 3:47 am
Get well soon, Harry.
July 19th, 2008 at 9:42 am
The guy is so old his eye fell out of his head? Remember about 4 years ago when his ability to call a game fell out of his head.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Sir, don’t you ever disrespect Harry Kalas like that again. Thank you.
For the record, his ability to call a game is still there, it’s just sometimes he has a little trouble deciphering what is actually happening on the field. Afterall, the man is seventy two years old.
Blasphemer.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Who would you rather listen too gay a*s Chris Wheeler!!!
Get better soon Harry Your da man, and the best announcer in baseball!!
Brian Hall get a life!!!
July 19th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
hope harry gets well soon….not ready to see him step away from the mike yet.
phils should be grooming larry anderson for TV…..hes got a great tone and good banter, just needs work on play calling.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Brian Hall should walk the plank.
I’d rather have a 98 year old Harry Kalas on a respirator calling games using Steven Hawking’s voicebox than Tom McCarthy, Garry Matthews, Wheels, Larry Andersen, and a reincarnated Scott Graham (I’m just hoping that guy’s dead).
Say it with me…..”Mickey Mooooraaannnndeeeneee”
July 19th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
dlhunter, please don’t lower Sarge Matthews to the level of McCarthy, Wheels, or Graham.
That is blasphemy (or treason?).
July 19th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Treason.
July 20th, 2008 at 1:27 am
If I had my way, Kalas’s head would be in a glass snowglobe-like-thing, a’la Futurama. Every now and then, Wheels could shake in some fish food.
July 20th, 2008 at 3:49 am
I’ve written/spoken with/about him in the past, and while I won’t make this a personal push (google beale and kalas) I will say that this man is a Philadelphian hero and we should all put his health in our hearts.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Harry’s voice is the most comforting thing in the world. Mr. Hall you sound like a Met fan, which is synonymous with another term that starts with an “A” and ends with an “E”. I hope someone helps your teeth fall out of your head.If Harry does make an error {every announcer does} he corrects himself more often than not. If not, Wheels does it for him. You don’t get into the Hall of Fame for being a poor announcer. My only hope is my children get to hear him do play-by-play like I did when I was growing up. GET WELL HARRY!
July 20th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Hey assholes, I never said he WASN”T a great announcer. It would have been nice to see him go out on top of his game. Every night I listen to him make mistake after mistake. Somebody hits a fly ball and Harry mistakes it for a home run. Wheeler constantly has to correct him, which is just embarrassing and not the way he should be remembered. Guys like Harry and Vin Skully were the best at what they did, but you can not deny there skills have diminished. Now Foster, if I ever meet you I promise you’ll be picking your fucking teeth up and hopefully your children are there to help you.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
We miss you, Harry. Get well soon! And stop reading the Internet until you do!
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Get well Harry!!! We love you!!!! You ARE the Sinatra of Baseball.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Can’t watch the Phillies without you.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:15 pm
The day you stop calling games is the day I won’t watch the Phillies. It would not be the same.
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Get well, Harry!
This may sound morbid, but I hope Harry retires the same way Whitey Ashburn retired – but not for many years!
It will be a sad day in Philly when Harry leaves us…
Bill in Bucks County
AshburnStadium
July 28th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Big words from a small man Hall. The only thing you would be picking up if we met in person would be yourself, after I left you in a crumpled mess. Go to war and come back, pussy. Then talk to me.
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I’ve called games for college ball. We were TAUGHT to overcall plays for the home team. If it’s a long fly ball, call it as if it might go out, if the home pitcher misses outside by three feet say it was JUST outside, etc. It keeps the listeners interested. I never liked doing it, but I chuckle when I see other people do it, and yes I occaisionally wonder if it’s a gaff.
Whether Harry is doing that or not doesn’t matter to me, I too would rather have Harry calling games on a ventilator than some of the other dweebs that have passed through. Even if you do think he’s lost his edge, there are nicer ways to bring it up.
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 pm
I don’t live in the Philly area anymore… but listened to HK growing up. Now… anytime I DO get to hear his voice [like on MLB.com], it almost brings tears to my eyes. [And yes, I'm a woman... though I wouldn't be surprised if he made grown men cry, too!!]
Harry Kalas is the voice of Philadelphia baseball!