‘Hello, friends!’ Jerry Howarth on Blue Jays memories, the state of baseball broadcasting and retirement joy

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This article was published 04/09/2021 (1510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jerry Howarth is into his fourth year of retirement after a legendary career in radio as the play-by-play voice of the Blue Jays, and he can still regale you with a story or two if you bump into him.

And you just might since the native of York, Pa. now lives in Etobicoke with Mary, his wife of 50 years.

Howarth, 75, saw just about everything there was to see in Jays history over 36 seasons behind the mic. He penned “Hello, Friends! Stories From My Life And Blue Jays Baseball” in March 2019 and has settled into a routine that includes an affinity for duplicate bridge and some TV favourites.

The Star caught up with Howarth this past week for his thoughts about the Jays, the state of baseball broadcasts and retirement life. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

You had 36 years behind the mic doing Jays broadcasts and you retired in 2018. Do you miss it?

No, I do not, and I say this because I enjoyed every pitch I called. When I left, I was very happy with my career and I left with no regrets. I had prostate surgery in November 2016 and by the next summer, in 2017, I began to feel it wearing on me. I thought I’d revive in 2018, but it didn’t quite happen that way. So, there were no regrets when I walked away.

Baseball players like to refer to their seasons as “the grind.” You worked every day during the season for 36 years. Did that feel like a grind?

That’s a great question, and my answer is the same … it never felt like a grind, ever. I was blessed to have my career. I was fortunate when I sat down behind the microphone every day. It was a blank sheet every day and I got to fill it in. I did it every day for 41 seasons (pro and minor leagues) and that makes me very fortunate. I wasn’t tired, and to tell you a little story, I got a good night’s sleep most of the time and I took a nap every day in the early afternoon. I’m 75 years old and when I was a student in Santa Clara (University) I’d do the same thing (have a nap). It always made me feel re-energized and ready to go.

What was the hardest part about your job?

There wasn’t a hardest part, to be honest. When that last pitch of the season was thrown and I called that last pitch, it was like: OK, there’s no baseball until spring training. But I coached basketball in Etobicoke for 25 years (at the high school level). Again, I was fortunate. Over the off-season, I had my notebook and I’d always put every player in there, their bios and all the information I could gather on them. I had over 80 players in there. I remember a time in spring training at the batting cage, and there was a rookie there. I went up to him, and it was Aaron Hill and I said hello. And he said hello, it’s nice to meet you, and it’s an honour to put on this uniform. That made all the difference to me. Aaron was proud to put on the uniform, and I was proud to work the microphone.

Your all-time favourite player?

Tom Henke. He was a bricklayer at one time before he got into baseball, and he wound up in Texas with the Rangers. He was a loving person. He loved his wife, he loved his family and one of his four children, his beautiful daughter Amanda, has Down syndrome … What I enjoyed most about him is what he did off the field. He was easygoing, very giving, and it was never about himself. I also think about Shawn Green here, Dave Stewart and Lloyd Moseby. There are a lot of names. As for a manager, Cito Gaston stood out for me. When I came to the Blue Jays in 1982, I was behind the batting cage as always, and that’s when I met the Jays’ new batting coach (Gaston). We were talking later on and he said, “Jerry, you know, you’re where you’re supposed to be.” We had the same perspective on baseball and on religion, and that meant a lot to me, what he said about being where we’re supposed to be.

What else stood out to you about Gaston?

He won two World Series and it was never about him. Pitchers would tell me that when they got into a jam, they never had to look over their shoulder to see if someone was warming up in the ’pen, Cito always had their back. Players would tell me the same thing, and that’s why the players loved him. But I had manager 1 and manager 1A, and that 1A was John Gibbons. He and I got to be great friends, and he was another person who shined as a manager … he would delegate to his coaching staff and let the players play. I remember one time when Kevin Pillar struck out and threw his bat and smashed it all over the dugout. John went up to him and said, “Kevin, I want to see you in my office after the game.” Then he told him he was going to Triple-A and said, “You won’t come back here until you get your act together.” Kevin took that seriously and he said. “It’s not on John Gibbons, it’s on me.” And when he did come back, he became one of the best outfielders in team history.

Where did “Hello, friends!” come from?

When (longtime play-by play partner Tom Cheek, who died in 2005) contracted the malignant brain tumour, he was 65 and had to have surgery. I went from the No. 2 spot to the main spot and I told myself, “Don’t just say hi to everyone” … I’d made friends across Canada, and this country is a huge part of my life. So, I said that these are my friends (and) when I got on air, I said, “Hello, friends!” I didn’t want to do something routine or be like someone else. I felt like Canada was my country. I’ve lived here for 40 years. So, “Hello, friends!” became part of what I did, and I did it every (game) for 13 seasons.

Tom Cheek’s passing was a huge loss for the Jays and for all of baseball. How was it working with him?

I loved working with Tom. I did (innings) three and four, seven and eight. When they said Tom can’t work anymore, it broke my heart. The first game without him, I was very nervous. But fortunately I had Alan Ashby and I had Jack Morris, and then I had Joe Siddall with me in the booth. I did the play-by-play, but it was like I’d do the call, then back off and let the former player tell about it from a personal experience. Again, I was blessed to work with Tom and then such good former players to be with me on the call.

You often speak of bringing fans into the ballparks with you. What do you mean by that?

The thing about radio or TV is that it’s an ego-lending profession. But for me, it was about the fans. It was about how to bring the experience of the ballpark to them, and about keeping them in the park throughout the game. I used to say, “The left-hander (is) into his windup to face the right-handed hitter. Here comes the pitch.” You could see that even if you were listening on radio. If there was a ball up the middle, I’d say the second baseman moves over, stops, picks up the ball and throws it to first base … you can see that. I’d let the crowd’s cheer make up the call too. For José Bautista’s bat flip or Edwin (Encarnación’s) walk-off against Baltimore (in the 2016 American League wild-card game), I asked my engineer (Tom Young to) let the crowd noise play. I’d also tell him to bring in the public address announcer’s call when the batters walked up to the plate. It was about bringing the experience to the listener.

Sportsnet has since restored its dedicated radio broadcast, but the network took it away in spring training and for part of the season in favour of a simulcast of the TV feed. What was your reaction to that, since you had a big hand in paving the way for baseball radio in this city?

I was shocked when they took away (radio play-by-play voice) Ben Wagner … It was disappointing. No matter how you do a simulcast, it’s not radio and it’s not the same. When I heard the simulcasts, it was not the same. And you can’t blame the announcers. Ben does it all by himself and he does a great job, and I endorsed him to take over the mic when I left. I hope he can have a former player at his side soon.

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The Jays’ TV broadcasts have come under criticism for having analysts Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler do their job remotely. What’s your take on that?

Again, I’m hopeful that changes next season or sooner. I’m hopeful the end of the pandemic is near and that they get partners together again in the booth on both radio and TV. I’m hopeful that they travel with the team. When Ben does road games, he has to make the call from a monitor and that’s not easy. On TV, when you call the game and you’re not at the park, it’s not easy either. They all do a terrific job, but I hope it’s back to the way it was next year.

What takes up your time now?

My wife Mary and I have been married 50 years, and we watch newscasts and “Jeopardy!” and we like shows on Netflix and Crave. There are all kinds of docs and shows that we like. “The Voice” and “America’s Got Talent” are our fave TV shows, too. My son Ben, we FaceTime with his family. They’re in Chicago. And my son Joe, they have a son and they come over a lot, and our backyard is big enough that everyone can run around out there. They bring baseballs and everyone can join in; I like that. I’ve learned to play duplicate bridge, and it’s a great game for retirement. You do your homework, same as I did when I was doing radio, and you can play two-hour games online. I’ve met new players in Etobicoke and I enjoy doing all the advance work that it takes to play the game. I’ve been blessed, and that’s the bottom line.

Mark Zwolinski is a Toronto-based sports reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @markzwol