Baseball has lost a true gentleman

There are so many great things about baseball and maybe at the top of the list is some of the people you meet along the way. I have met many memorable characters in this game and today I was sad to hear the news that one I met has passed away. Brooklyn Cyclones radio broadcaster Warner Fusselle died Sunday from an apparent heart attack. He was 68. I got to know Warner during the three years I was the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Aberdeen IronBirds from 2004 through 2006. Warner was the Brooklyn Cyclones' announcer since the team's inception in 2001. His death comes one week before the start of another New York-Penn League season. A lot of fans know Warner's voice from his years working on the national TV show "This Week in Baseball." He had a famous voice. Warner was old school. When I was in that league, he never used a computer but kept all his stats and notes by hand in a notebook. "Hey Warner, we have this kid Reimold and he has eight homers in his last 10 games and is batting .405 in that time," or something like that I said to him many times. "How do you know all those great stats?" he would ask. "You have to get on that computer Warner," I would insist. I don't think he ever did. But he also was old school in how he treated people. He always greeted me with a warm smile and friendly handshake. Since Brooklyn was in our division, we saw each other a lot in those seasons and I always looked forward to swapping stories with him, hearing about his days on the TV show or even just hearing him talk about the bus ride to Aberdeen. He had a way with words and communication and was just a decent person. He loved baseball, Brooklyn and the Cyclones. I never saw him much in recent years and that was too bad for me. They had a bobblehead night for him one night in Brooklyn and I made sure to ask the team if I could get one. It resides in a prominent place in my house to this day. The sport lost a true gentleman today and I just wanted to say that.