Phillies Voice, Kalas, passes away

It seems like we are losing some of the great voices of baseball more quickly these days: Joe Nuxhall, Herb Score, Skip Carey. Another great one has passed on, Harry Kalas, voice of the Phillies since 1971.

Carson over at We Should be GMs posts a nice little tribute to one of his heroes.

Kalas and Marty Brennaman were good friends. Here is what the Reds broadcaster had to say:

"I always find it interesting when a celebrity passes away and people are so quick to say, 'He was a great actor,' or, 'He was a great broadcaster.' Harry Kalas was a great person,'' Brennaman told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. "As much as we will remember Harry as a broadcaster, many of us will remember him even more as being a hell of a guy.''

Brennaman said he spoke to Kalas by phone late last week. The friends talked for 45 minutes, and among other things, they discussed the importance of eating right, getting enough sleep and dealing with the hectic lifestyle of a major league broadcaster at an advanced age.

"I considered Harry a very good friend, and I was concerned about his health. I talked to him about getting the proper amount of rest and the things that we need to think about at our ages,'' said Brennaman, 66. "I was very concerned about him, but he sounded good. When I found out about it today, I was shocked. It's very, very sad.''

Update 8:37PM: Here is Hal McCoy's piece on Kalas.