Carl Beane: Remembering Beloved PA Announcer as Red Sox Return to Fenway

While the 2012 Boston Red Sox season has been mired in controversy over new manager Bobby Valentine's candid comments about Kevin Youkilis and the questions about what is going on with Josh Beckett, the loss of beloved announcer Carl Beane will be the only one that matters this year.

Beane, 59, was killed on Wednesday afternoon in a single-car accident in Sturbridge, Massachusetts when his car smashed into a tree and stone wall on the wrong side of the road.

The job of a public address announcer is quite often a thankless one. Most of them will never get noticed, unless you are Bob Sheppard or someone at that level. 

Beane may not have been as well-known around the country as the long-time New York Yankees PA announcer but he was just as influential in the city of Boston as Sheppard was in New York. He was a beloved figure in that city and with the fans of the franchise.

His death creates a huge void that no one can hope to fill as the Red Sox return to Fenway Park to start a four-game series with Cleveland on Thursday. 

Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston wrote a moving story about Beane's life, love and legacy as "The Voice of the Boston Red Sox. 

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Carl Beane loved the job, and even more reveled in the perks that came with it, such as showing off his two World Series rings. He was not only the public address "voice" of the Boston Red Sox, but "The Voice of Fenway Park," an encomium he happily advertised on his website, where he offered his extraordinary pipes to introduce your wedding party, host your birthday or bar mitzvah, or record a message for your answering machine.

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Red Sox Nation has lost a critical member of its family. Beane gave the franchise its voice 81 times every year when the Red Sox stepped on the field, he was going to be there to tell everyone what was happening, who was coming in, and any changes that were being made. 

We know that public address announcers are supposed to be impartial when doing their job. Setting the fans up to take control of the game by cheering or booing is exactly what Beane did. He was not after the spotlight, rather so thrilled to be a part of the game and around this franchise that he loved so much. 

Following Beane's tragic and untimely death, the Red Sox and Fenway Park are left without their voice. Even as 37,400 fans file into Fenway Park tonight to see their beloved Red Sox take on the Cleveland Indians, there will be a silent void that sweeps not just the park, but the entire city of Boston. 

In fact, there will literally be a silence that hovers over Fenway Park tonight, as the Red Sox have announced that the public address microphone will not be used. 

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Yesterday we lost our friend and voice, Carl Beane. Tonight the PA mic will be silent in his memory. #VoiceofFenway

— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) May 10, 2012"

Beane brought that stadium and those people to life with his energy and passion for the game of baseball and the Boston Red Sox. There will be more games played at Fenway Park, but the voice emanating from the stadium will never be the same again. 

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