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Phillies fan Lewis Kalb “won an auction to perform an inning of play-by-play” on the radio, and he “absolutely knocked it out of the park” during Wednesday’s loss to the Nationals, according to Chris Cwik of YAHOO SPORTS. Kalb, a 73-year-old substitute teacher, had the “perfect baseball broadcaster voice … and he also had the chops to actually call the action.” While Kalb made several errors, his “delivery was so flawless and he was so well-composed that fans might have missed that live and in the moment” (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/6). In Philadelphia, Alex Coffey noted Kalb paid $22,000 during the Phillies’ Phantastic Auction to win the in-booth cameo. The team has held their auction “for 14 years, which has brought all sorts of voices into the booth.” However, radio listeners had “never heard an auction winner like this.” He had a “natural rhythm and feel for what was unfolding in front of him.” Kalb had “had only minimal live play-by-play experience; about 10 high school baseball games.” He also had “done some work on YouTube … narrating various local sporting events” (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 8/6). MAKING THE MOST OF HIS MOMENT: THE ATHLETIC’s Zach Powell noted Kalb prior to the game spent time “studying pronunciations of players’ names and creating a grid for their positions.” Kalb said of the Phillies’ radio team of Scott Franzke and Larry Andersen, “I think they were surprised. I got a sense that they looked at me like, ‘Who is this guy?’ I wasn’t just the average Joe off the street.” Powell noted Kalb’s voice “felt natural, and his delivery was smooth, qualities absent from the typical auction winner in the booth.” Franzke said, “I wasn’t really sure what to expect; I never really do. But it was obvious right away that he had some broadcast experience” (THE ATHLETIC, 8/6).