I Give Up

Hawk received the call from the Hall today

Mercy.

I gone.

You can take me off the boooooooaaaaaarrrrrrrddd...eeeeeYEAH!

In a world in which Harold Baines became, quite honestly, the most controversial National Baseball Hall of Fame choice last year, earlier today Ken "Hawk" Harrelson won the coveted Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting.

Excellence.

So, what we've learned is that pigs really can fly.

Or, that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf's influence (and money) has turned the Hall of Fame into a joke.

What else can it possibly be?

Do you -- unless you're a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan -- honestly think Hawk is good?

Let's consider the list of previous Frick winners. Heck, let's just list the first five years...

1978 -- Mel Allen and Red Barber
1979 -- Bob Elson
1980 -- Russ Hodges
1981 -- Ernie Harwell
1982 -- Vin Scully

You're literally looking at six of the best ever and, in my opinion, the top four are right there (Scully, Allen, Barber, Harwell).

You -- despite what our friend "Joey" wants to believe -- have just hit the golden age of the GOATs.

The rest of the winners can be found here. I openly advocated for a few, such as Graham McNamee, who few have ever heard of because he died in 1942 and evidence of his play-by-play work is difficult to find. But he basically helped invent play-by-play.

There are many deserving voices in both the modern game and in the past. Personally, my vote was with Ned Martin, the longtime broadcaster for the (GULP) Red Sox.

But greatness must be recognized.

And that's where we stop, because greatness no longer matters. Neither does quality. It's "Joey" time (and will he the award in 2020?).

So where does this end? Why not John Sterling (yes, I'm being serious)? John is every bit as good -- and better -- than Hawk.

Or...and I'll strap in for this one...Suzyn Waldman? She's a trailblazer. The first woman to do a lot of stuff. Very worthy.

Now, under literally any other circumstances, would I advocate for either one? Not really, though I have a ton of admiration for Suzyn.

Sterling has been ripped for being a homer. But listen to any Yankees loss in a walk-off and they're always professional and exciting. Now, listen to Hawk, who sounds like he wants to be buried alive.



Let me be clear: I'm not advocating for John or Suzyn. I'm saying the standards have changed.

More, you say? How about this one against the Mets? Let's start with him referring to the White Sox as "we" and was also known for calling them "The Good Guys." Then listen to him grumble after an error.



I'll add this to wrap it up. This is a Ford Frick Award-winning broadcaster?

There are a ton of other examples, but I've made my point.

There are a lot of more-deserving broadcasters.

I'm sure Hawk is a lovely guy. I'm not here to debate that.

But I'm baffled tonight.

I gone.