( CNN ) -- Baseball . The radio . Summer . There is something about the connection between the three of them that nothing can tear apart . If baseball on the radio sounds a little different lately , there is a reason . Richard Sandomir of The New York Times reported recently on the proliferation of `` drop-in '' advertisements on radio broadcasts of ballgames around the nation . Drop-in ads are paid commercials that air not as traditional advertisements , but as part of the play-by-play . The first walk during a New York Yankees game is accompanied by `` Just walk into CityMD 's six convenient locations '' ; the first run scored in a Texas Rangers game is described by the play-by-play man as `` the First Financial First Run . '' It should n't be surprising that this is happening . Baseball has always been a relentlessly and unapologetically revenue-seeking enterprise . Have you ever seen photos of the outfield walls in big-league ballparks in the early to mid-20th century ? Even NASCAR 's marketing strategists would have been envious of the don't-waste-an-inch commercial clutter . Broadcast entities have to find a way to make back the money they spend for radio rights . According to USA Today the average salary of a Major League Baseball player this year -- the average salary -- is around $ 3.6 million , and everything from ticket fees to concession-stand prices is reflective of the sport 's runaway inflation . So no one should be startled by the presence of the drop-in radio ads . Yes , they frequently can be an irritant to the flow of the play-by-play . But ours is a sponsor-and-advertising-driven culture overall ; that 's not going to go away . And baseball on the radio -- distinct even from baseball itself -- is durable and steady in ways that ca n't be easily spoiled . Baseball on the radio is one part of the sport that somehow , despite everything , still manages to feel good . On the radio , baseball is less literal than baseball on television . With the measured voices of the most skilled announcers accompanied by the resonant humming undertone of the crowd , the echo from down on the diamond of the crack of a bat against a fastball , and the occasional thump of a foul ball bouncing off the top of the play-by-play booth , there is a kind of romance in a radio broadcast . The sports-page and sports-website coverage of the business of baseball may , of necessity , be dismaying and ugly lately . A visit to the ballpark in person brings on the sticker-shock of those prices on everything from hot dogs to souvenirs to parking spots . Baseball on the radio , though , remains free . Unlike viewers of cable TV or subscribers to satellite radio , fans of home-team games on their hometown radio stations do n't have to pay a cent to listen . The sound of it all is very much what the sound has been forever . Because the pace of the game is leisurely , local play-by-play announcers , over a 162-game season , develop a relationship with their listeners unique in sports . They have to talk a lot , even when there 's not much going on down on the field , and the audience grows accustomed to , and comfortable with , their relaxed voices and their heard-but-not-seen personalities . And that 's just during routine games . At certain moments , radio broadcasts of ballgames can become part of the very fabric of a town -- the authentication of how sports can help define the meaning of community . How good can it get ? For a gold-standard example from the history of the sport and of the medium , listen to the KMOX radio broadcast of Stan Musial 's final at-bat for the St. Louis Cardinals before his retirement . The date was September 29 , 1963 , at the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis . On the play-by-play was Harry Caray , in the years before he moved to Chicago to broadcast the White Sox and then the Cubs . Some older residents of St. Louis recall a television simulcast of Caray 's call , but it is the KMOX radio version that is indelible in their memories : . `` Here 's Musial . Listen to the crowd again . '' ( The roar is heard behind Caray 's voice . ) `` A base hit would give the Cardinals the lead . '' ( The noise sustains . ) `` First pitch . Oh , what a cut he had , and he fouled it back . Hey , he really had a swing at that one . '' ( The crowd begins to clap rhythmically in unison . ) ... '' The stretch by Maloney . Low curve . '' And then , unforgettably , from Caray : `` Take a good look , fans . ... Take a good look . This might be the last time at bat in the major leagues . Remember the stance ... and the swing . '' ( The rhythmic clapping in the stands grows more insistent . ) `` You 're not likely to see his likes again . '' The procession of the game : `` Fast ball , low and away . '' And soon : `` The pitch to Musial . '' ( Caray 's voice rises to be heard above the mounting crowd noise . ) `` A hot shot on the ground into right field , a base hit ! ... The Cardinals lead , one to nothing , listen to the crowd ! Listen to the crowd ! Let 's see , now ! Manager Johnny Keane is talking to Gary Kolb . `` Stan is at first base . He might be waiting for this applause on the hit to die down . ... They 'll tear the joint apart when he trots off the field . ... Now listen . Gary Kolb is going to replace Musial . ... There he goes ! The end of a great career . A standing ovation for Musial . ... '' Could being in the stands have been any more memorable than listening to that ? I remember talking once with a woman in her 80s . She was residing in an assisted-living facility ; her husband had died the year before , and the end of their lifetime of long conversations in the evenings had left a void . She told me that , even though she had never been much of a baseball fan , she found herself tuning in , each evening , to the strong-signal WLW Radio out of Cincinnati . For three hours , she said , she would listen to Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall broadcast the Reds ' games . Their voices -- reliable , unhurried -- became her companions . A part of life she could count on . `` Take a good look , fans . ... Take a good look . '' It 's possible , on summer nights , to see most clearly with your eyes closed . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Bob Greene .
Bob Greene : Baseball radio play-by-play is working commercials into the announcers ' descriptions . He says baseball on the radio is still special -- it 's free and comforting commentary in summer . At times , play-by-play can reach heights , as in description of Stan Musial 's last at bat , Greene says .