Benetti said whenever the two connect, Hamilton won\u2019t talk about himself. He\u2019ll instead steer the conversation to how he watched a regional baseball game at Kent State or caught up with former Cleveland manager Terry Francona or a Big Ten basketball coach, such as Purdue\u2019s Matt Painter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always through the lens of what the other person experienced,\u201d Benetti said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the epitome of the job we do. He\u2019s so good at telling other people\u2019s stories that even in life, he tells other people\u2019s stories. It\u2019s fascinating. Ninety-eight percent of the industry, I feel like, start stories, even accidentally, with \u2018I.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he does that. I really don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the greatest compliments anyone can pay Hamilton, then, is to place him on the pedestal he puts those Milwaukee luminaries. So, it speaks volumes that longtime Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman, the 2000 Frick Award winner, would sometimes search for a Cleveland game on the radio on his 25-minute drive home from the ballpark in Cincinnati. Or that Benetti and Hughes and Blue Jays broadcaster Dan Schulman seek out his calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis energy and enthusiasm never wane,\u201d Schulman said. \u201cHe makes you feel like every single moment of every single game is the most important moment there is. He\u2019s an absolute treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/07\/22172051\/JHONKENSY-NOEL-2-RUN-HR-in-9TH-TIES-GAME-AT-5-ALCS-GM3-2024.mp3<\/a>Hamilton\u2019s call of Jhonkensy Noel\u2019s home run in Game 3 of the 2024 ALCS<\/p>\n Even manager Stephen Vogt, before he ever joined the Guardians, would seek out Hamilton\u2019s broadcasts three time zones away during a long drive.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has the talent, the voice, the calls, the moments,\u201d said Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber. \u201cAs a player, listening to him, you appreciate his kindness, his stories, how he gets to know you. We don\u2019t take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton knows he\u2019s not the main character; he\u2019s there to elevate whomever is.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s supposed to sound like,\u201d said Guardians catcher Austin Hedges, who grew up listening to Vin Scully, the 1982 Frick Award winner.<\/p>\n \u201cHis voice sounds like baseball,\u201d said Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, who grew up listening to San Francisco Giants staples Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow.<\/p>\n https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/07\/22172200\/DAVID-FRY-2-RUN-HR-WALK-OFF-WINNER-in-10TH-7-5-Guards-take-ALCS-Game-3-2024.mp3<\/a>Hamilton\u2019s call of David Fry\u2019s walk-off homer in Game 3 of the 2024 ALCS<\/p>\n When David Fry\u2019s toddler points at the TV and says, \u201cDada, home run,\u201d he\u2019ll find video of his postseason homers, and the dramatic ones Lane Thomas and Jhonkensy Noel slugged in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know exactly what\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Fry said, \u201cand you still get chills as (Hamilton) says, \u2018Deep drive\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first came over here,\u201d Francona said, \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how good he was. I talked to him every day and loved him. And then one day I called in the winter, and they put me on hold. And it was Hammy\u2019s call. I\u2019m like, \u2018Goddamn, he\u2019s good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can tell the great ones from the not-so-great,\u201d Fry said, \u201cor in his case, the Hall of Famers from the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe best home run calls in all of baseball,\u201d said Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro, who worked in Cleveland for nearly a quarter-century. \u201cI feel that bar none.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro grew up listening to longtime Baltimore broadcasters Chuck Thompson and Jon Miller, both Frick Award winners. He even attended Miller\u2019s Hall of Fame induction.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then I listened to Hammy for 24 years,\u201d Shapiro said, \u201cand I was like, \u2018This guy is as good as anybody ever.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2025\/07\/22172309\/Jason-Giambi-Huge-Walk-Off-HR-9-24-13-vs-White-Sox.mp3<\/a>Hamilton\u2019s call of Jason Giambi\u2019s 2013 walk-off<\/p>\n Hamilton has provided the soundtrack to every memorable Cleveland moment over the last 35 years, from Rajai Davis\u2019 Game 7 home run in the 2016 World Series to the team\u2019s playoff clinch in September 1995, in which he proclaimed the city would have \u201can October to remember.\u201d An unscientific poll revealed his call of the Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez-Tim Anderson duel near second base<\/a> in August 2023 as the consensus favorite.<\/p>\n \u201cDown goes Anderson!\u201d he shouted after Ram\u00edrez landed a right jab.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like he had been doing boxing for 30 years,\u201d said Benetti, who was on location, detailing the brawl on the Chicago White Sox broadcast.<\/p>\n Of course, Hamilton downplays the call. He felt uncomfortable when reporters and radio shows called him to relive the scene in the days that followed. Hamilton insists the moment is never about the person describing it.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, ya know,\u201d Benetti said, impersonating his friend. \u201cI just say what I see. Oh, ya get lucky, ya know.\u201d<\/p>\n Hamilton attributed his call to having, fortunately, the best angle to the play from his perch.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s on every big moment,\u201d Benetti said. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard him miss.\u201d<\/p>\n
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