Let’s Re-Elect Dizzy!

Here we go, folks–sing along with me. . . . As anyone knows who pays close attention To America’s favorite game, The announcers and writers do not have a “wing” In the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. Despite all the protests of well-meaning fans And colleagues of mikemen and scribes, The announcers and writers do not […]

Unfortunately, I Was Right

In 2004, long-time Bay Area sports announcer Lon Simmons won the Ford Frick Award presented annually at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown. From that moment, Jon Miller, who idolized Simmons since childhood from listening to him broadcast Giants games, began referring to Simmons as a “Hall of Fame announcer.” Miller, I was […]

Hawk, The White Rat & God

Sunday’s inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame are a varied group, with nicknames running the spectrum in terms of flattery. With Andre Dawson (aka “Hawk”) being the only player elected on the writers’ ballot, the Veterans Committee saved the day by voting in “The White Rat,” Whitey Herzog, and the umpire otherwise known […]

There Will Never Be Another Owner Like ‘The Boss’

When I received news that George Steinbrenner had passed away at the age of 80, a wave of thoughts and emotions came over me. A lifelong fan of the Yankees, I was 10 years old when Steinbrenner and his partners bought the team for $8.8 million in 1973 in a deal that now rivals the […]