Herbert Jude Score, RIP

The great Herb Score left us on Tuesday.

Those of my and adjacent generations remember Herb as the voice of the Indians, which title he held from 1964 to 1997; four years on TV, and three decades on the radio. A native of Rosedale, Queens, Herb retained his New Yawk accent, and I'll always remember how he said, for example, "Jose Can-SECK-o," instead of the more common "Cuhn-SAY-co." But he has been a Clevelander for a very, very long time, and no doubt would have identified himself as such.

I heard an interview with Tom Hamilton yesterday on the Wills & Snyder show on WTAM, and he said the only time he ever saw Herb stand up in reaction to something that happened on the field was when Tony Fernandez hit what proved to be the game-winning home run that sent the Indians to the World Series in '97. It was Game 6 against Baltimore, and Fernandez's run was the only one scored in a pitcher's duel between Charles Nagy and Mike Mussina (neither of whom figured in the decision). I'll never forget the call Herb made on that home run, which occurred in the top of the ninth: "And the Indians are going to the World Series! ... Maybe. They still have to get through the bottom of the ninth."

Herb retired after that season, so the thrilling, extra-inning seventh game of the World Series against the Marlins was the very last game he ever called. His pending retirement was no secret, and I remember thinking how fantastic it would be if the Indians should finally win a World Series in Herb's last game behind the mike. Alas, it was not to be.

And I haven't even mentioned Herb's playing career. I'm not old enough to remember him as a player, but he was one of the American League's best pitchers for a couple of years. In his rookie year, 1955, he went 16-10 with a fine 2.85 ERA and 245 strikeouts -- which would stand as a rookie record until 1984, when Dwight Gooden would break it. (Gooden, ironically, would have a similar career to Score's, but for vastly different reasons.) He followed it up with an even better season in '56, going 20-9, 2.53, 263. He turned 23 on June 7 of that year, and it must have looked like a Hall of Fame career in the making. But a Gil McDougald line drive bounced off Score's eye on May 7, 1957, and he was never the same again. He pitched until 1962, but ended his career with just 55 wins.

Through it all, Herb was, by all accounts, a genuinely nice man, never thinking of himself as a celebrity. I'm sure I would have loved to sit and talk baseball with him over a beer, or a cup of coffee, or whatever beverage he favored. For those of us who have listened to a lot of Indians games on the radio, Herb was an old friend, and there will never be another like him.

Rest in peace, Herb. We miss you.