PHOENIX — Of all the places to catch a game inside Chase Field, Greg Schulte feels he’s had the best seat in the house for more than 25 years.
“I still can’t believe I get paid to sit in a booth, talk about a baseball game and they pay me for it,” he said smiling.
You may not immediately recognize him, but a closer listen to his voice shows he’s among the iconic voices of the Valley.
Many know him from his signatures call, “Long drive, way back, warning track wall, you can touch em' all, Corbin Carroll.”
A voice like that started when Schulte was a young fan of the game, listening to Harry Caray and Jack Buck call St. Louis Cardinals’ games.
Before he knew it, the boy from Illinois who used to call games for Iowa Hawkeyes found himself with a job in the Valley next to another legendary voice that’s graced Valley airwaves for generations.
“I owe everything to Al,” he said.
Schulte says he and Hall of Fame Broadcaster Al McCoy hit it off when they first met back in 1979 at KTAR.
The two called Suns games together before the Diamondbacks were added to Major League Baseball in 1998.
To this day, they still talk several times a week.
Al’s advice to Schulte still resonates with him.
“Don’t be afraid to critique your own work,” said Schulte.
Over his quarter-century career behind the mic, Schulte has called moments forever etched in baseball history. Moments he painted in the mind of listeners, like when ‘The Big Unit’ Randy Johnson threw a perfect game the year the team lost 111 games.
On the call for the last strikeout during that hot night in Atlanta, Schulte capped off a memorable pitching performance by saying, "He struck him out! Perfection Randy Johnson.”
These are calls Schulte doesn’t prepare for. He says he’s only as good as what is put on the field before him.
His all-time favorite, is probably also your all-time favorite. Unless you’re a Yankee fan…
Game 7 of the World Series, Jay Bell was 90 feet from winning it all for DBacks with the bases loaded. With one swing, Luis Gonzalez would cement himself in baseball history forever as he singled a blooper off of another MLB legend, Mariano Rivera to win it all.
The call that followed that play will be played for years to come. A recorded version of it plays back on the popular bottle opener.
”Folks it doesn’t get any better than that, honk your horns, stomp your feet, celebrate in Arizona.”
Schulte explained the context leading up to the call saying, “We had reports of people just driving around listening, parking on the streets in the downtown area, fans outside the stadium that were listening, honk your horns and cars, stomp your feet,” he said.
Like his buddy Al McCoy, Schulte aims to call a game in a way to put the listener at the stadium.
We heard from a couple of 25-year season ticket holders who listen to Schulte’s play-by-play while at the game.
“You hear a lot more detail, especially if there’s some kind of controversy a hit by pitch or an injury,” said Gerard.
When this season ends, it’ll also be the last broadcast for 71-year-old Schulte.
Among his nearly 3,800 games, he’s called no-hitters, perfect games, walk-offs, a World Series win, and beaten cancer once in the 90s – now he looks to do that again.
Schulte announced in 2022 that he was going through a medical incident that would require him to begin chemotherapy treatment once again. Further details on his health battles have not been made public.
“If I get 30 years out of this chemo treatment, I’ll be 102,” he said with a smile.
That best seat in the house he’s had for 25 years will go from behind home plate to his spot on the couch at home, next to his wife and kids.
When asked if he’ll make that home run call on his couch, the legendary broadcaster quickly replied saying “No, I’m going to retire that with me.”
Well-deserved rest for some iconic vocal cords.
