'Craziest scenario I've ever seen:' Greg Schulte's retirement delayed by Diamondbacks sweep

Greg Schulte figured he’s be sitting with his feet up somewhere watching the Major League Baseball playoffs on TV by now.

It didn’t work out that way.

The longtime voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks radio broadcasts — he’s called their games since they started, in 1998 — is stepping down after the end of the season.

Which has taken a lot longer to arrive than anyone figured.

Against all odds, Arizona has swept through two series and finds themselves playing in the National League Championship Series, one step away from the World Series.

“I can't say we saw this coming,” Schulte said. “I think most of us, probably, the broadcasters were looking at a .500 record, which would have been an improvement over last year. And as it went, we won 84 games instead of the 81, so finished a little bit above .500. But, again, momentum plays such a key when you get things rolling in the postseason.”

How to listen to the Diamondbacks game

Are they ever rolling. The Diamondbacks haven’t lost a game in the postseason. They’ll begin play in the NLCS Monday, against the Philadelphia Phillies or the Atlanta Braves. You can watch the game, scheduled for 5:07 p.m. Monday, on TBS.

Or you can do what a lot of Arizona fans do — turn on the TV, turn down the volume and listen to Schulte’s call on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Anecdotally, in the Diamondbacks’ series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, you’d think viewers were trying to get away from Bob Costas on TBS. That’s misguided — Costas is loquacious and officious at times, but he’s good.

Schulte understands where the hate is coming from.

“It’s, I think, a very thankless job being a national play-by-play guy, because you can't win,” Schulte said. “You're gonna lose fans on one side or the other. And most times will you lose them on both sides, just by the way the games go.”

That’s partly because of how invested the fans are in the teams.

“There's so much at stake, and fans come out, even more so in the postseason,” Schulte said. “But maybe fans who didn't follow the team that much, but because of the postseason vibe … they become a city fan and a state fan, and they want that team to win. It's gonna mean a lot to the city to have a champion.”

That’s true no matter the sport.

"So you ride with every pitch, you ride with every shot, you ride with every pass, every shot on goal,” Schulte said. “And when you hear the announcers say something that you take as a negative, it just blows up. And social media has made it that way.”

Greg Schulte is signing off: He's been the voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks since 1998

Schulte remembers everything about Diamondbacks games

A nice aspect of Schulte’s calls is that when he broadcasts games it’s clear he works for the Diamondbacks, but he’s not a homer to the point of being an apologist. When the Diamondbacks hit a record four home runs in the third inning in Game 3 against the Dodgers, he wasn’t jumping up and down and waiving a Diamondbacks towel in the booth.

“I did last night,” Schulte said, the day after the game, laughing.

In spirit, at least.

“I didn't have a flag,” he said. “I didn't have a towel with me, but I was excited when those four home runs happened.”

Schulte is has a long, deep history with the Dbacks

When you talk with Schulte, you become aware of his encyclopedic knowledge of all things Diamondbacks. It’s true no team in history had hit four home runs in one inning in the postseason. But the Diamondbacks have done it in the regular season.

In 2010.

Schulte talked about it like it was yesterday.

“It was Adam LaRoche, Miguel Montero, Mark Reynolds and Stephen Drew,” he said, rattling off the names without hesitation before going into detail about each at bat like he was calling a game playing out in front of him.

But even for someone who has seen almost everything before, the third inning of Game 3 was something special — particularly when Gabriel Moreno hit what looked like a home run, had it called foul and was called back to the plate and on the next pitch blasted a home run, making it four for the inning.

“The craziest scenario I've ever seen in my life as a baseball broadcaster,” Schulte said.

I have never seen that happen in my life, where a player lost a home run on a foul ball that was called a home run. And then on the very next pitch when he's back up at the plate hits that home run. The crowd was into it. It was just an unbelievable moment.”

No, Schulte hasn't changed his mind

In case you were wondering, while Schulte is elated at the Diamondbacks’ postseason run, it’s not enough to change his mind. But just to get him on the record: win or lose from here on out, he’s done?

“Win or lose, I am done,” Schulte said. “Yes. If they asked me to come back and fill in a time or two or maybe do something at the ballpark, I’ll be glad to do that. But it's time for somebody else to enjoy what I've done for so many years.”

How to watch, and listen, to the National League Championship Series Game 1

Watch at 5:07 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 on TBS.

Listen on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks radio announcer Greg Schulte can't leave now. But soon