Jul 7, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins third baseman Jake Burger, rear, celebrates a walk-off three run home run against the Chicago White Sox in the ninth inning with right fielder Dane Myers (54) at loanDepot Park. Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
By Sam Neumann on

There are home run calls, and there’s Paul Severino calling a walk-off home run.

Jake Burger delivered for the Miami Marlins on Sunday, as did Severino, the team’s TV play-by-play voice on Bally Sports Florida.

Having already blown the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Chicago White Sox were looking to get the game into extra innings. Wins have been hard to come by for both teams, but especially for Chicago, which came into Sunday’s matinee with 36 of their 65 losses on the road.

Thanks to Burger, that figure is now 37 of 66. The former White Sox first baseman was traded to Miami during last season’s MLB trade deadline in exchange for pitching prospect Jake Eder. While they had Jesús Sánchez in a 2-1 count, White Sox closer Michael Kopech intentionally walked Sánchez to get to Burger.

And on a 1-1 pitch, the 28-year-old Burger delivered an absolute burger of his own.

Here’s Severino’s call:

“And Burger drives it deep to left center, ‘gimme that burger to go. It’s a walk-off win!!!”

Severino did take that burger to go, as the Marlins took 2 out of from the White Sox, finishing out their home slate for the first half of the 2024 MLB season.

Announcer puns with last names, especially on home runs, are a classic (shoutout to John Sterling), but this call from Severino was in a league of its own. Simple, tasteful, and electric all at once – it doesn’t get more elite than that.

And when you’re the voice of a franchise that entered Monday with a dismal 32-58 record, moments like these are like finding a diamond in the rough. So when Severino has a chance to truly let loose, he embraces it.

Sure, you could scoff at the excitement for a team 26 games under .500, but a walk-off home run against your former team to clinch a series win? That deserves a call of this magnitude, regardless of the standings.

[Bally Sports Florida]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann