I know Ken “Hawk” Harrelson can be a polarizing figure, but there’s no disputing that he has had an interesting career in baseball. Check that, an interesting life, period.
It all will examined in a new MLB Network documentary, The Colorful Life of Ken Harrelson. Narrated by Bob Costas, it debuts Thursday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
Besides a very colorful baseball career as a player, broadcaster and even general manager, Harrelson played pro golf (missed the cut by a stroke in 1972 British Open), and even dabbled in boxing. On the documentary, he talks about an encounter with Rocky Marciano, who told Hawk just a few days before he died about how he wanted to promote a boxing match between Hawk and Sonny Liston.
There’s some great throwback footage included in the show, including an old Yellow Pages ad Hawk filmed on a golf course and a “Who’s On First?” bit he filmed with Cleveland Indians teammate Sam McDowell.
Given that Harrelson is the subject, you can be sure it won’t be dull.
Veteran White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson always has said he wants to make his exit from Earth while calling a game. Naturally, he doesn’t want to be describing a “duck snort.”
In an interview with Matt Lindner of Redeye, Hawk envisioned his final call:
“Verlander on the bump,” he began. “Here’s the pitch. Konerko hits it. That ball hit hard. Wayyyyyy back … he looks up, you can put it on the boooooard,” before hitting his head playfully against his desk while laughing. “That would be it for me,” he continues. “And then all of a sudden on my tombstone it says ‘He gone.’ “
Hopefully, it doesn’t work out that exact way. Since Konerko might be playing his final year with the Sox, that final call would occur much sooner than Hawk, 71, would prefer.
This news might not go over well with some conservatives, but it is a good move for TBS. Keith Olbermann knows baseball, and he’s definitely a most interesting fellow.
Here’s the part of the Turner Sports release that focuses on Olbermann:
Olbermann, a long-time, award-winning sports and news anchor and reporter, anchored ESPN’s SportsCenter from 1992 to 1997. Most recently, he served as a guest host of MLB Network’s Hot Stove. A noted baseball enthusiast, whose long media career began in the pages of the early baseball memorabilia magazines when he was just a teenager, Olbermann previously served as a studio host for both NBC’s (1997-98) and Fox’s (1999-2000) MLB Postseason coverage. During his tenure at Fox, the MLB studio show Olbermann anchored was nominated twice for an Emmy Award, winning in 1999 for the Best Sports Studio Show. Including his hosting work, Olbermann has covered 19 World Series and 28 MLB post-seasons during his career.
Olbermann’s television career started as a New York sports reporter/anchor for CNN from 1981-84. He later returned to the network as a sports and news reporter in 2001 and 2002. In addition to his on-air work, he has written regular baseball columns during his career for Sports Illustrated, Baseball America and MLB.com.
“It’s well known that Keith is a fan of the game and when you combine that with his studio experience, keen insight and passion for baseball and its history, he’ll add a new dimension to our MLB Postseason studio shows,” Turner’s David Levy added. “We’re excited to have him join Dennis in studio, and look forward to Keith sharing his in-depth knowledge of the game, MLB teams and players with our viewers for three great weeks in October.”
This would have been unthinkable back in 2007, 2008 when the Cubs and White Sox were surging, and the Blackhawks barely registered on the radar in Chicago.
However, times and the teams’ fortunes have changed considerably. So it hardly is a big surprise that in a head-to-head match-up last night, the Blackhawks doubled the rating for a Sox-Cubs game.
Game 6 of the Hawks-Detroit series did a 13.45 local rating on NBC Sports Network; 1 local rating point is the equivalent of approximately 35,000 homes. Meanwhile, the Sox-Cubs did a combined 6.53 rating on WGN-Ch.9 and Comcast Sports Net.
The Hawks rating was the highest ever in Chicago for a conference semifinal game and behind only their two Stanley Cup finals games on NBC Sports Network in 2010.
And that mark won’t last long. The Hawks figure to do a huge number for Game 7 against Detroit Wednesday. There won’t be any competition from baseball on that day. The Sox-Cubs play an afternoon game.
Good thing the White Sox eventually beat Miami 4-3 in the 11th inning. They should have won in the 10th inning if not for this blown call by Angel Hernandez, who probably shouldn’t be thinking of a long-term future in baseball.
A columnist’s job is to be provocative and ask tough questions. Dan Shaughnessy did that and more with a column last week on David Ortiz.
The Boston Globe columnist brought up the question of whether Ortiz’s hot start, which occurred without the benefit of spring training, was due to the hitter getting some extra assistance.
Shaughnessy wrote:
Hitting is not this easy. Athletes do not get better as they mature into their late 30s. Baseball has been peppered with performance-enhancing drugs for the last 20 years. The cheaters are always ahead of the testers. A number of players from the Dominican Republic have tested positive for steroids. Injuries to the Achilles’ tendon are consistent with steroid use. It is not natural for a guy to hit .426 out of the gate without the benefit of any spring training.
So David Ortiz knows. He knows he is a suspect. He knows there are people out there who think he’s cheating. His name appeared on a list of players who tested positive for PEDs in 2003. And what he is doing now just doesn’t look possible.
To his credit, Shaugnessy talked directly to Ortiz, who denied everything:
What it is like to be suspected?
“I don’t think I have been,” he said. “Nobody comes to me and tells me, ‘They suspect you are using steroids.’ ’’
But you fit all the models. You are from the Dominican Republic. You are an older player. Older players don’t get better. You’ve had injuries consistent with steroid use. You showed up on the list from 2003. You fit all the formulas.
“[Expletive], I’m a human being just like everyone else,” said Ortiz. “You can get worse or you can get better. One or the other.’’
Not surprisingly, the fallout went into the weekend. Alex Speier of WEEI.com wrote about this lockerroom encounter on Saturday:
As David Ortiz prepared to leave the Red Sox clubhouse after the team’s 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays, he did a double-take. The sight of Dan Shaughnessy, the Boston Globe columnist who confronted the slugger directly with suspicions about the possibility of his use of steroids, standing with a group of reporters, caught Ortiz’s attention.
“Look who it is,” Ortiz said.
He paused for a moment, then noted — loudly enough that all in the clubhouse were party to his address — that on the very day on which Shaughnessy interviewed him, he took a test for PEDs. Ortiz said he would be sure to pass along results of that test to the columnist. Ortiz became slightly more animated as he noted that he’d taken 40 tests administered by Major League Baseball.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has his view. He said Shaugnessy is one of his “professional heroes.” Yet Rosenthal felt the column went too far:
Shaughnessy didn’t simply sit at his computer and write a speculative column on whether Ortiz, 37, is using performance-enhancing drugs. No, he confronted Ortiz directly, fearlessly. And he got Ortiz to tell him, on the record, “I guarantee you that later, you are not going to find out that I tested positive for some (expletive). It’s not happening. Guaranteed. Guaranteed.”
Terrific stuff, particularly when you recall that most of us were not vigilant enough reporting on baseball’s steroid problem when it first became prominent in the late 1990s. Shaughnessy gave Ortiz the chance to tell his side of the story, face to face, and Ortiz responded at length.
But here is my problem.
It is the same problem I had with Midwest Sports Fans’ Jerod Morris in 2009 when he raised suspicion about Raul Ibanez’s fast start for the Phillies, the same problem I had with the Toronto Star’s Damien Cox in 2010 when he wrote a column about the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista headlined, “Gotta at least ask the question.”
It is the presumption of guilt. It is not right.
Later Rosenthal writes:
It also is not fair to draw definitive conclusions from Ortiz’s hot start, his past injuries, his continued success in his late 30s. Shaughnessy wrote, “I told him he looks dirty.” He might as well have said, “OK, David, you’re guilty. Now prove yourself innocent.” In this society, it’s supposed to be the other way around.
Rosenthal concludes:
We blew it once before, blew it big time. But where many of us once were too cautious in our reporting, now we’re overly suspicious.
We’re supposed to ask hard questions, yes. But in the end, we’re supposed to be fair.
It is a fine line to be sure. Clearly, Shaughnessy didn’t want to get burned again by looking the other way. However, did a hot start warrant those kind of questions?
Perhaps, it is a reality of covering baseball in 2013.
Brian Kenny should send a note of thanks to Ken Harrelson.
Harrelson’s ripping sabermetrics and then their subsequent debate on MLB Network was a PR jackpot. It generated a ton of publicity, getting the word out about Kenny’s new show, MLB Now (4 p.m. ET).
Also, most people agreed with Kenny. If anything, Kenny has evolved as the new face of sabermetrics.
In a Q/A, Kenny, 49, talks about leaving ESPN for MLB Network, his morning show on NBC Sports Network and how he continues to be baffled about people who don’t share his point of view on sabermetrics, and that includes his MLB Now co-host Harold Reynolds.
You left ESPN in Sept., 2011. How has the move to MLB Network worked out for you?
Life is great. For me, if all I do baseball all day, I’m a happy man. Doing a radio show was something I also missed.
It was very difficult to leave ESPN. It wasn’t an easy choice. It had to be near perfect for me to go, and it really was. The chance to do baseball really appealed to me. It was great the way they really came after me. I felt wanted and appreciated.
I had a sense that they really got me. I was given a show (Clubhouse Confidential) that I was passionate about. Being tossed the keys to a sports car is a good thing. You don’t take these opportunities for granted.
What do you like so much about sabermetrics?
I find baseball fascinating. Sabermetrics helps put things into context. It allows you to try to figure out who is valuable and who is not. What to do in certain situations. We’re looking at baseball with an intellectual rigor.
My research staff and I find ourselves learning a lot about the game. For instance, are $100 million contracts a good idea? You think you know the answer, but you wind up finding things that are fascinating.
So are $100 million contracts a good idea?
We found out the red flags. Wrong side of 30. Wrong side of the defensive spectrum. Misreading the metrics of pitcher who was a 20-game winner. Branding over baseball. Are you doing it for PR reasons?
We found that half of the $100 million contracts you wouldn’t do again. It’s interesting when you figure it out and actually do the math.
What is a stat that stands out since you started to do the show?
Oh, there are so many.
Our first year we looked at the blockbuster contracts. Albert Pujols had been terrific; best first-baseman since Lou Gehrig. But his offensive metrics were telling us he was in a decline. You always can choose to ignore that and say this guy is different. Most of the worst contracts occur when you say this guy is different. You ignore the evidence at your own peril.
People are saying it now about Pujols, but we were saying it before he signed. This thing had a lot of red flags.
You bang heads every day with Harold Reynolds. What’s your relationship like with him?
Harold and I like to carve each other up. He was one of the reasons why I came to MLB Network. He was telling me how great it was here. We always boggle each other’s mind. We just see the game differently.
How did you view Harrelson’s feelings on sabermetrics?
I like Hawk. I enjoy watching him call a game. You know he is a homer and that he is pulling for the White Sox. It’s high comedy at times.
I just don’t agree with what he said. I’m puzzled why he would say those things and why so many others in his baseball say those things. Hawk said sabermetrics is “overrated.” There’s nothing to overrate. It’s just wanting to know more and try to put things in their proper context.
You do seem puzzled and irritated when people like Reynolds or Harrelson question the value of sabermetrics. Why?
I am puzzled. I grew up thinking batting average was the batting champ and the best pitcher was the wins leader. I’ve since learned better. I understand that’s not the case. They have a correlation to runs or preventing runs, but they don’t have the best correlation. You have to look for more context.
I’m always puzzled when people say they love baseball and statistics and yet they haven’t evolved to this position. It’s a culture divide that soon will not exist.
You recently launched a new morning radio show on NBC Sports Network. How is it working out?
It’s a little baseball-centric, but we attempt to bring the same intellectual rigor to all sports. I have a research staff. I want smart people around me.
I’ve been around now for more than 25 years. I have some perspective now. I couldn’t have done a decent show in my 20s. I didn’t have the perspective back then.
Finally some good news for the media as it relates to press facilities.
According to the Cubs, the press box will remain in the same spot for the renovated version of Wrigley Field; detailed plans for the entire project were announced today. It currently is in the upper deck behind home plate. With Wrigley’s cozy confines, the press box is a great perch for watching baseball.
This decision hardly was a given considering what has occurred elsewhere. Across town, the White Sox shifted their press box from behind the plate to a position behind first base stretching down the right field line. They transformed the old press box, which had an outstanding view, into a premium seating area with all the amenities.
The Sox are hardly alone. The Los Angeles Angels have done the same thing, and you can expect other teams to follow suit. Meanwhile, several NFL football stadiums now feature press boxes in the corner as opposed to the 50-yard line, where teams get big bucks for luxury suites. In many arenas, elevated broadcast and writers positions in the rafters can induce altitude sickness.
Of course, as I wrote earlier today, Churchill Downs eliminated the press box for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby.
So it hardly would have been a shock if the new Wrigley featured a press box down one of the lines. Instead, not only is it staying put, it also will be redesigned.
Only the best for Paul Sullivan, the Cubs’ long-time beat writer for the Chicago Tribune.
MLB Network will profile longtime Cincinnati Reds beat writer Hal McCoy Tuesday on MLB Tonight (6 p.m.). It centers on McCoy, who is legally blind, and Ray Snedegar, who was hired by McCoy before the 2013 season began to drive him to and from every Reds home game. Snedegar is a 31-year U.S. Air Force veteran and recent widower who volunteered to make the 180-mile roundtrip drive.
This feature continues their story by following McCoy and Snedegar on their drives to and from Great American Ballpark for two days earlier this month. MLB Network equipped Snedegar’s car with two wallet-sized GoPro cameras over the roundtrip drives to give insight into their daily routine, how McCoy now watches a baseball game (at one point in the feature, McCoy says that he has not seen a home run land since 2003), and how revered McCoy is by Reds players, manager Dusty Baker and fans as he and Snedegar walk through the ballpark before and after games.
Here is the sabermetrics debate between Ken Harrelson and Brian Kenny yesterday on MLB Now on MLB Network.
I took some flak in my analysis for saying that Harrelson got the best of Kenny. To clarify, I was basing my opinion more on how Harrelson, with some help from old-schooler Harold Reynolds, controlled the debate. To his credit, Kenny let Harrelson make his points.
Mike Oz, aka “Big League Stew” at Yahoo!, said it best:
They squared off — monitor-o y monitor-o — for a segment, that felt like a vegetarian trying to convince a meat-eater to give up the carnivorous life.
I know Ken “Hawk” Harrelson can be a polarizing figure, but there’s no disputing that he has had an interesting career in baseball. Check that, an interesting life, period.
