Dan Shulman
Dan Shulman, who is calling the NLCS and World Series on ESPN Radio, talks Dodgers dominance, an angry Wrigley moment and the Yankees pitching with The Post’s Justin Terranova.
Q: What has most impressed you about the Dodgers this postseason?
A: It’s how good they have been at taking close pitches, fouling off tough pitches, making a pitcher throw a seventh, eighth, ninth pitch in an at-bat. Even if the pitcher is throwing well, it’s getting them out of the game early. Even a guy like Yasiel Puig is being so patient and a more mature hitter than he’s been at the other points of his career.
Q: Who is the toughest out in the lineup?
A: (Corey) Seager’s great, obviously he’s out right now, (Cody) Bellinger hit 39 homers, (Chris) Taylor took a huge step forward, Puig is dangerous, but Justin Turner is the guy. He’s turned into one of the toughest outs in baseball. It’s really remarkable how his career has progressed the last few years.
Q: What was it like at Wrigley Field during Curtis Granderson’s Game 4 at-bat?
A: It was a very, very angry 42,000 at Wrigley Field. As the umpires were conferring on the field, the replay was being shown eight or 10 times to the point where they shortened the video clip and it was running on a loop. It was kind of a surreal moment, thousands of people there and millions at home seeing that he didn’t touch the ball then the six guys whose opinions matter overturning the call that had been originally made. I don’t root for anybody, I try to be neutral at all times, but given the wrong call was made I was glad to see that it didn’t hurt the Cubs.
Q: Was there a point during the regular season when you thought the Yankees would be capable of this run? A: They were always viewed as the team that if they could get in, they could be really tough because of that bullpen. To come back against Cleveland and win three in a row against Houston — I just thought those teams were a notch above the Yankees in terms of overall talent and depth. What their starters — CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka — have been able to do against an offense as potent as the Astros is remarkable. Q: What’s your favorite moment calling the World Series? A: The first World Series I did was 2011 and it’s Game 6 and Rangers were a strike away from winning the World Series in the ninth and the 10th and then David Freese hits the homer in the 11th. There’s only been three moments in baseball history where a team has been a strike away from winning the World Series and has lost and two of those three moments happened in that game. The Cubs coming back last season is 1A, though.