Don't Ever Change, Hawk Harrelson. (Not That He Could, Anyway.)

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 31, 2012 3:45PM

White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's epic meltdown during yesterday's White Sox-Rays game reminded us there's no middle ground with the man widely regarded as one of the worst announcers in Major League Baseball. Harrelson's attack of umpire Mark Wegner went too far, even for Harrelson. Granted, Wegner called an atrocious game at home plate, would have done well to issue a warning to both benches after Alex Cobb plunked AJ Pierzynski in the back, and it's easy to bitch about the umpiring in a game. Still, Harrelson's tirade crossed into unprofessional territory.

If you're a fan of play-by-play men like Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, Mel Allen, Red Barber and Harry Caray at the peak of his powers (i.e. his year's calling Cardinals games with Jack Buck), Harrelson's rampant homerism, impulsive emotion, long periods of dead air when things aren't going the Sox' way, constant attempts at coining new (bad) catchphrases and an unchecked ego that has resulted in working with three color analysts in 13 years, are everything that's wrong with calling a baseball game. If you're that fan who also wants his announcers to be a (blindly rooting) fan in the broadcast booth, those detriments become attributes.

I was cleaning out my email inbox when I came across a couple of emails from Harrelson supporters. One, from reader Andrew, was titled "Cocksucker Cub Fans." Just assume these are [sic'd].

At least hawk knows what it's like to win a ring. Vin Scully is the worst announcer/team in the league by far, as a fan who owns MLB.tv, he's a joke

(I also subscribe to MLB.tv and being able to watch Scully call Dodgers games was the main reason.)

Then there's this one from reader Chad M.:

"I would just like to point out that, not only is Hawk the only announcer in baseball who has 'one-liners', but he's the most exciting person to listen to in the entire MLB. Look at every other announcer in the league, they are a joke to baseball. They are the reason why people think that baseball is a boring sport. 75% deals with the commentators and how they actually announce the game. Hawk goes above and beyond that and makes the game exciting to watch. He may be biased (which I love) but he's been announcing since '85 for the Sox. At least he's not a drunk asshole like Ron Santo and company for the Cubs. I've never listened to a more boring sport until I watched a Cubs game on TV. They're a joke to the game and have nothing good to say. At least Hawk and Stoney say something real during a game.
"And your wonderful comment saying, 'Until then, we'll keep muting the TV and turning on Jackson and Ed Farmer's call on the radio.' I have yet to meet a person in the state of Illinois to say that. That includes Cubs and Sox fans. You're a joke to the fans of baseball. I would love to see another announcer who is as exciting and creative as Hawk. Maybe you don't like Hawk's 'one-liners', but I'll bet you love Stacey King. A great announcer makes the game exciting and makes people want to listen to them. That is something that Hawk Harrelson does. There is not another announcer in baseball that makes me excited about the game of baseball. In fact, I think that all announcers should have the energy and excitement like Hawk does.

"Your article was a joke. Although it may have been a true study shown, I could care less. You want to talk about being biased, please talk about something good when it comes to Hawk. You'll never become a big time journalist because of the article like this one. As a journalist, you need to be neutral. So quit being an asshole and put both sides of the story."

After calling me a "joke" and an "asshole" Chad wrote that he wanted to hear back from me. If you're reading, Chad, consider this the reply. When it comes to baseball announcers, I can be as biased as Ken Harrelson. And I do like Stacey King, who shares many of the same traits as Harrelson, despite working in different sports.

What ultimately separates King from Harrelson is, when you remove the catchphrases, Stacey King can still analyze a game without bias. (Neil Funk is another matter.) The best baseball announcers make the games they call interesting, whether the team that employs them is winning or losing, and can make a three-hour game pass by like a feather in the wind.

Everything Ken Harrelson does in the broadcast booth distracts from a White Sox broadcast, which is why I and others take the devil we know and listen to Ed Farmer and Darrin Jackson.

Here are some of Harrelson's greatest hits/worst transgressions, depending on where you fall on the "love him/hate him" line.

Umpire Joe West almost has as big an ego as Hawk. Almost.