Peter Gammons leaving ESPN. Say it ain't so!
According to news reports, Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN -- sad news for any baseball fan (like me) who has followed his analysis in print and on TV. Gammons, 64, is expected to write a farewell espn.com column Friday, USA Today reported, adding that his future plans have not been announced.
If there's any consolation, the extra time may give Gammons time to write more books. His "Beyond the Sixth Game," is a favorite of mine, and sits on a bookshelf at home. The title refers to the sixth game of the 1975 World Series, when Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox hit a game-winning home run (a moment celebrated with loud cheers in the Wellesley College dorm lounge where I was watching). Gammons uses the game as a launching point for an examination of free agency, which has transformed baseball by helping high-spending teams such as the N.Y. Yankees. (Don't get me started on Bucky Dent and the 1978 playoffs. Whenever I think of that dark day, I have to look up at the framed Boston Herald page on my office wall -- it marks the 2004 playoff win against the Yankees that led to the Sox' world championship.)
So good luck, Peter.
Gammons photo from 1995
Comments
Oh no! Whatever are we going to do now to get our Red Sox news?
Gammons knows his stuff but his bias towards the Red Sox is so transparent, he has become a joke.
Personally, I won't miss him at all.
Posted by: Jeff | December 8, 2009 8:43 PM
Sure Gammons is partial to Boston, but the man can flat out write. He'll be missed.
Posted by: matt hudock | December 8, 2009 9:42 PM
Peter Gammons is a solid journalist whose analysis was always interesting. He had so many sources inside baseball that he himself became a source. His baseball page in The Sunday Boston Globe was always a great read. Those in j-school can learn a lot from his writings. Hopefully, he's leaving espn to write and not because of illness.
Posted by: George K. | December 9, 2009 12:28 AM
Jeff, let's not forget that the Sox are America's Team.
George, Matt: I'm with you. I got my journalism training in Boston during the mid-70s, when the Sox (Rice, Lynn, Scott et al) were perennial contenders. In the pre-ESPN Jurassic era, Gammons was always a pleasure to read.
Posted by: Dave | December 9, 2009 7:45 AM
Dave--they are America's Team because Gammons and others at ESPN cram them down our throats constantly.
I think Gammons got too friendly with the players over the year. It's a tough line to walk. He needs them for his info and if he is too critical of them, he has lost his sources. The proof that he lost his edge in this regard is that joke of an interview that he did with Alex Rodriguez over his steroids use. I wouldn't even call those questions "softballs". More like marshmallows.
Posted by: Jeff | December 9, 2009 9:12 AM
Bucky Dent. There's a name I haven't heard in eons. Wasn't he a shortstop?
Posted by: Eve | December 9, 2009 10:09 AM
Eve, you're killing me by bringing back the bad memories. Yes, he was a shortstop. And though he was no Cal Ripken, he hit a three-run homer to help kill the Sox in a 1978 playoff game. Ugh.
Posted by: Dave | December 9, 2009 10:17 AM
It's already come out that he's moving to MLB Network primarily, as well as doing work for the Red Sox own network, so he won't be gone for good. In fact, since MLBN actually makes an effort to cover all 30 major-league teams chances are he'll be even better than he has been the past few years on ESPN.
I don't mind his Red Sox bias, since he is a New England boy (I believe) who has covered the Red Sox forever. It would be like Peter Schmuck getting a national gig and someone whining that he talks too much about the Orioles and the Dodgers/Angels.
He's a legend in his own time, and I will continue to watch for his reporting. While also hoping Tim Kurkjian is next to jump and I don't have to ever bother with ESPN's non-game baseball coverage again.
Posted by: DJ | December 9, 2009 4:39 PM
A bit of baseball media trivia: Both Tim Kurkjian and Ken Rosenthal are former reporters for The Baltimore Sun. It's always nice to see them on the air.
Posted by: Dave | December 9, 2009 5:34 PM
He signed a new contract with MLB network. He's here to stay. There's no way he's going anywhere else. Thanks for sharing this. By the way, these cool giveaways will make you feel good. You deserve it because you're one cool sports fan!
Posted by: Mitch | December 10, 2009 12:27 AM