Pat Hughes was reciting the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue" on a chilly December morning when I realized we'd gone way off topic.
The reason for the call was the official announcement that Hughes and Ron Coomer had signed a multiyear extension to continue broadcasting Chicago Cubs games for WSCR-AM 670. The two-year deal takes them through the 2026 season, and Hughes, the Hall of Famer who turns 70 in May and will be in his 30th year of doing Cubs games on the radio, is not close to contemplating retirement.
It was not a surprise to anyone, of course. Hughes and Coomer are the best sports broadcasting team in town and their return was never really in doubt. But it was good to hear it was official because opening day in Tokyo is only three months away for the Cubs, and as we've learned the hard way in Chicago, it's never too soon to start thinking about next year.
But back to Dylan.
Hughes recalled he was in college at San Jose State in 1975 when "Tangled Up in Blue" was released.
"I took a class in fiction and one of the assignments was to get up in front of the class with no script and act out and enunciate every single syllable of a song," he said. "That was the song I chose and it probably was not the greatest choice because it's like a seven-minute song with a ton of lyrics.
"The lyrics are phenomenal. It combines future, present and past: ‘Now I'm going back again, I've got to get to her somehow. All the people we used to know, they're an illusion to me now. Some are mathematicians, some are carpenters' wives. Don't know how it all got started. Don't know what they do with their lives.' "
I was picturing Hughes onstage in a smoky lounge in the '70s, wearing a beret and reciting Dylan's lyrics on beat poetry night.
But then we got back to talking baseball, already in progress.
Hughes has called more games than any broadcaster in Cubs history, sources said. The exact number is unknown, but it's somewhere around 4,500 regular-season games, plus spring training and the postseason. The Cubs used to make it to the postseason, in case anyone has forgotten.
Overall, including stints with the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers, Hughes said he's called around 6,700 games.
"It's a lot of balls and strikes," he said.
And a lot of those games are forgotten in time, but memorable in the moment because Hughes and Coomer always make things interesting, whether they're discussing the game, Jethro Tull singer Ian Anderson or any subject that pops into their heads.
"You don't always have to stay on every pitch in every situation, especially when it's 8-2 and it's the seventh inning and you're doing whatever you can basically to keep your audience listening," Hughes said. "We joke around. We tease each other. We do baseball history. We do music. Whatever. You don't plan anything out. It's a matter of feel. You get on a certain topic and think ‘This feels right.' Other times, it's ‘This doesn't really feel good, so I'm gonna stop.' "
Hughes called Coomer one of the "smartest" baseball analysts he's worked with, which helps make their chemistry so good. Coomer's sense of humor also provides an outlet for Hughes to play the straight man.
The 2025 season will be Coomer's 12th season as Cubs analyst alongside Hughes.
"Their voices are synonymous with Cubs baseball and the voices of our summer," Cubs Chief Commercial Officer Colin Faulkner said in a statement.
Why do they mesh so well together?
"Good question," Coomer said. "Because we are very different people, personality-wise. First, it's on Pat. When you're the lead guy and so good at what you do, it makes it easy to work with him. Pat is so open to everything that goes on, whether it's plain old air-time when we're doing the game, to wanting input, to just being a good friend, on and off the air.
"We have very different interests, but he's a very good person, very good at what he does and is open to everybody contributing. It's blossomed into a great friendship, not just a broadcasting partner."
Knowing Hughes and Coomer will be back again helps fans look forward next season, even if they're still waiting on Cubs President Jed Hoyer to make the kind of moves to make the team a legitimate postseason contender. Four consecutive years without playing in October is unacceptable for a franchise with as many revenue streams as the Cubs.
Either way, Hughes and Coomer will be there, discussing the game or the weather or Dylan or whatever is on their minds.
The times they are a-changin', but it's good to know some things will stay the same.
