Dan Dickerson back Tuesday after having surgery

Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tigers broadcaster Dan Dickerson injured during fall
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Kansas City, Mo. -- Tigers radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson has gone on the disabled list, so to speak, following a fall he took while jogging Tuesday near the team hotel. Dickerson injured his left knee and possibly his right knee, as well.

The Tigers were to play the Royals Tuesday night. The plan as of Tuesday afternoon was for Fox broadcaster John Keating to replace Dickerson in the radio booth with Jim Price.

Ernie Harwell and Dan Dickerson enjoy a light moment during Spring Training in 2002. (AP)

Dickerson injured while jogging
Tigers play-by-play radio voice advised to rest

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

05/26/09 8:45 PM ET

KANSAS CITY -- Tigers radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson is off the airwaves and on the list of injuries after he injured his left knee and possibly his right as well while jogging Tuesday near the team hotel.

Dickerson was taken to a local hospital, where he underwent an MRI exam on both legs, according to head athletic trainer Kevin Rand. Results weren't yet available as of Tuesday evening, but he has been advised to rest.

Dickerson is in his 10th season with the Tigers radio network, and his seventh as the lead radio play-by-play voice. He succeeded Ford Frick Award winner Ernie Harwell following his retirement in 2002.

The injury left the team in a pinch for Tuesday's broadcast and possibly beyond. FSN Detroit pregame host and anchor John Keating went from behind the camera to behind the microphone Tuesday once the game began to help out Dickerson's partner, Jim Price, who has extensive play-by-play experience.

At this point, Dickerson appears unlikely to accompany the team to Baltimore for this weekend's series against the Orioles. He could instead go home to recover.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Dickerson to undergo surgery
BECK'S BLOG

Tigers broadcaster Dan Dickerson returned home Wednesday morning and will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured quad tendon in his left leg.

Dickerson was jogging Tuesday morning in Kansas City when the tendon apparently ruptured. He underwent an MRI exam on both legs, but it appears only the left one has structural damage that requires surgery.

Dickerson will miss the rest of the Tigers' road trip, including the upcoming four-game series at Baltimore, but there's optimism that he could be back for the start of next week's homestand Tuesday at Comerica Park.

Manager Jim Leyland talked to Dickerson Wednesday morning.

"I feel terrible," Leyland said. "What a great guy. I feel bad for him. He's got some issues, and we really send him our best."

John Keating filled in on the Tigers radio broadcast Wednesday for the second straight game, while Jim Price handled play-by-play. No plans have been announced yet for the Tigers radio team for the next series.

Dickerson is in his 10th season with the Tigers radio network, and his seventh as the lead radio play-by-play voice. He succeeded Ford Frick award winner Ernie Harwell following his retirement in 2002.

* Posted on May 27, 2009 at 1:18 PM

I listened to Jim Price and John Keating for a little bit today. Man, are they terrible!

Dan is the person who made listening acceptable. Keating sucks!

Kaline filling in for Dickerson on radio
Hall of Famer to work Baltimore series in its entirety

By Pete Kerzel / Special to MLB.com

05/28/09 7:43 PM ET

BALTIMORE -- Now pinch-hitting for the Detroit Tigers, Hall of Famer Al Kaline.

With primary radio play-by-play voice Dan Dickerson recovering from surgery on a ruptured right quadriceps tendon, Kaline returned to the broadcast booth Thursday night in his hometown of Baltimore for the first of four games between the Tigers and Orioles.

"I've been away from it so long, I don't know the Orioles' players very well," said Kaline, who graduated from Baltimore's Southern High School right to the Major Leagues in 1953. "I guess I'll have to get up to speed quick. But whatever happens on the field, well, I know a little about baseball."

Kaline, who spent 26 seasons as a color commentator once his playing career was done in 1974, will again assume that role on WXYT-FM/AM. Regular color commentator Jim Price will shift over to play-by-play duties for the four-game series, with FOX Sports Detroit pregame show host John Keating taking over the color chores Saturday and Sunday.

The 74-year-old Kaline, who last called games on a regular basis in 2001, said he never gave any consideration to a broadcasting career when he was prowling Baltimore's sandlots during his formative baseball years.

"God, no," laughed Kaline. "I was lucky to get through high school. All I ever wanted to do was play baseball."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he talked Wednesday to a groggy Dickerson, shortly after he came out of surgery. Dickerson injured himself jogging outside the team hotel in Kansas City on Tuesday morning, and is hoping to make it back to the broadcast booth when the Tigers begin a three-game home series against Boston on June 2.

"We miss him. ... We miss Dan," Leyland said. "Send him our best from all the guys [and tell him] we're thinking about him."

Pete Kerzel is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Saturday, May 30, 2009
Notebook
Less-than-mobile Dan Dickerson returns to booth Tuesday
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Baltimore -- Tigers radio play-by-play broadcaster Dan Dickerson expects to be back in the booth for Tuesday night's game against the Red Sox at Comerica Park.

But it won't be easy.

Both of Dickerson's legs are in hip-to-ankle braces following the fall he took at the beginning of a jog Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.

The difference is his left leg is locked straight by the brace -- which means he'll broadcast games for the next six weeks with his left leg pointed straight in front of him. His right leg is in a flexible brace.

This is how the mishap occurred: "I supposed you could call it a jogging injury," Dickerson said by phone Friday, "but I wasn't far into my jog. I turned my head to the left to check for traffic near the hotel and I hit a curb. Nothing more than that, I hit a curb and went down. But when I went down, I went down hard."

How hard?

"Hard enough to hear crunching sounds in my left knee," Dickerson said. "The pain after that was excruciating."

Dickerson ruptured the quadriceps tendon in his left leg. He also hurt his right quad severely enough to have warranted surgery if his left leg hadn't been hurt. But he said doctors opted to give him some mobility by not operating on both legs.

"Right now they're just letting my right leg heal on its own."

Dickerson flew home from Kansas City on Wednesday and underwent surgery at the Detroit Medical Center on Thursday.

"I was told it was going to be a two-hour procedure," said Lori Dickerson, Dan's wife. "When it got to 3 ½ hours, I got worried."

Everything went well, though, and Dickerson was back in home by Thursday night.

Now the next phase begins.

Full recovery will take three months. He'll be in his braces for six weeks, but he insists that won't stop him.

"I can't drive, of course, but we'll make it work," he said. "Lori can drive me to the ballpark and there aren't many steps involved with getting around at Comerica.

"I'll be in a wheel chair some of the time."

What about the road? The Tigers will be home for a week, then leave for a three-city trip to Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

"I think I'll be able to find a seat on the plane where I can sit with my leg out in front of me," Dickerson said. "Obviously not an ideal situation, but we'll take it one step at a time."

Literally.

Dickerson has maintained his sense of humor, though.

When told manager Jim Leyland -- who has called him three times, by the way, during the ordeal -- said, "that's what you get for jogging, I've never seen a jogger with a smile on his face, " Dickerson had a ready reply for the resident Marlboro man: "Tell him I'm taking up smoking instead."

tom.gage@detnews.com

Dickerson back in booth after accident
Tigers' radio play-by-play voice calling home series vs. Boston

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/02/09 8:37 PM ET

DETROIT -- Dan Dickerson isn't exactly mobile yet, but he's back on the air.

A week after the Tigers' radio play-by-play voice ruptured his left quadriceps tendon while jogging on the road trip in Kansas City, Dickerson was back for his first broadcast since the accident. He has to work with both legs in braces that allow for little bend in the knees, leaving him to get around on crutches.

But after spending much of last week in hospitals, including surgery on his quad Thursday in suburban Detroit, Dickerson was clearly happy to be at a ballpark again.

The 50-year-old Dickerson keeps himself in good shape, so the injury is a surprise. It was also very sudden when he stepped out of the team hotel, started his morning run and stepped on a curb as he crossed the street.

"All I can think of is that because I was [stepping on it] at an angle, instead of rolling my ankle, I went in and [the leg] buckled," Dickerson said. "And it was like, 'Oh, my life has changed.' I didn't know how bad, but I just knew it was bad."

How bad? Dickerson said he could hear the tendon rupture.

He'll have to stay in braces for several weeks. Moreover, he said, they're just as concerned about his right leg, because his injuries there were severe enough that they could eventually require surgery.

Right now, Dickerson is dealing with the new challenge of getting around. He worked his way down to the clubhouse level for his pregame interview with manager Jim Leyland, who called him three times over the past four or five days to see how he's doing, then back up to the booth for the broadcast.

Dickerson will do that for the rest of the homestand. He isn't yet sure whether he'll be able to go on the upcoming road trip to Chicago, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Jogging can be hazardous to your health