Bob Sheppard's post-game routine

If you've never had the opportunity to visit The Yankee Stadium, then you've missed the chance to hear the finest stadium announcer in baseball, Bob Sheppard (if you listen hard to Yankee broadcasts you may be able to hear that sonorous presence). There's no one like him. Rather than shout out the name of the players as if you were watching a boxing match ("Are you ready to rummmmmble?! Now commmming to the plate, Barryyyyyyyyyy Bonnnnnnnnnds!"), Sheppard quietly and deliberately pronounces the player's name and position flawlessly, "Now batting...the shortstop, Derek Jeter...No. 2...Jeter, No. 2."

The voice of God.

Anyway, that's a long prologue to this story.

Bob Sheppard, the 96-year-old stadium announcer, stands at the door of his booth when there are two outs in the ninth inning. Once the ball is on the air or on the ground, he heads for the elevator as fast as he can go.

Which, given is age, is impressively fast.

Mr. Sheppard gets dropped off in the lobby, gets in a waiting car and is on his way home within a minute or two. I suspect it’s a routine he has timed to the second given his 57 years on the job.

I happened to get on the elevator with him tonight and the kid running the elevator accidentally went up a floor before going down. Nobody said anything. Then that unmistakable voice was heard.

“Maybe in 50 years you’ll know what button to push,” Mr. Sheppard said.

Everybody laughed, including the kid. Then the elevator stopped and off went the legendary announcer into the night.