Summary: They let him go last night, no explanation from anyone yet as to why.
So no Reynolds, no Gammons. Who's next?
This sucks. Reynolds and Gammons were the only two people on BBTN I liked, and now both are gone. ESPN is *really* trying hard to lose me as a viewer. Not that they shouldn't have fired Reynolds, because obviously I have no clue why this happened, but it's one less reason for me to go to the network.
Reynolds was a guy with credibility and knowledge and he knew how to share it with average fans. Guys like Kruk, Hersheisher and Steve Phillips just don't do it for me. They don't seem as knowledgable (not to mention passionate) in their work as Reynolds.
It's a shame, as I liked Harold, and find some of the other guys (Orel, Orestes, etc...) to be annoying. Of course, I have a soft spot for the '93 Phillies, so I tolerate Kruk, even though I swear he's doing his Chris Farley as Matt Foley impression with his incredibly tight suit and bright red head.
Does anyone have that list of sportscaster's phone numbers that was floating around a few years back? I'd love to hear Reynolds' take right now (not like he's gonna give it to some random guy he's never talked to before)
(edited by Guru Zim on 25.7.06 0840) Ignorance is bliss for you, hell for me.
Originally posted by Guru ZimDoes anyone have that list of sportscaster's phone numbers that was floating around a few years back? I'd love to hear Reynolds' take right now (not like he's gonna give it to some random guy he's never talked to before)
Originally posted by Spaceman SpiffLooks to be sexual harassment (deadspin.com)
Yeah, that'll do it.
But shouldn't this behavior warrant a suspension, rather than a firing, if he hasn't been suspended in the past? The only way I could see the company going straight to termination would be if the woman (women?) in question threatened a lawsuit.
Well if the sexual harassment accusations are true then i certainly can't feel sorry for the guy, but Baseball Tonight really is going to stink now. I also can not stand Kruk. Jeff Brantley seems extremely biased towards relievers, which probably has something to do with Papelbon being his pick for MVP at the half way point (not that there is no argument for Papelbon, but I'm sure his biasedness is the reason, not some logical argument). Hershiser and Gomez are two of the most boring people on television. And Steve Phillips seems to not even know what in the world he's talking about sometimes. Ugh, Reynolds actually knew what he was talking about, even if I didn't agree he usually had a good argument, he seemed to know a lot about fundamentals of the game, he had a lot of charisma, and did excellent work on the Little League World Series. I don't think I can watch anything baseball related on ESPN anymore, the announcers for the games are just as annoying, when I watch Sunday Night Baseball I learn more about Joe Morgan's "Big Red Machine" teams than I learn about the actual teams on the field.
This from the network that has Michael Irvin on its payroll. Kruk has regressed, Gammons is just getting released from his rehabilitation facility, Reynolds is gone and Bobby Valentine is in Japan. Baseball Tonight is fading fast.
Originally posted by Spaceman SpiffLooks to be sexual harassment (deadspin.com)
Here's an update to this story:
UPDATE: Another reader, with "contacts on the inside," refutes the sexual harassment whispers: "Anyone who is saying sexual harassment either has been given bad third-hand info or is lying. Harold has had a couple of rather heated arguments with the producers at "Baseball Tonight," and some of the suits at ESPN over the program's coverage of Alex Rodriguez. At the last production meeting, when it was made clear they were going to really play up the A-Rod angle during coverage of the Yankees-Texas series, Harold had a colossal meltdown, which led to his dismissal. The sexual harassment allegations are even more laughable when you consider that he is being replaced by Steve Phillips -- a man who has never met a skirt he wouldn't chase and who was caught in one of the more embarrassing front office sexual harassment scandals in MLB history."
Did he, didn't he??? We'll never know until either HR or ESPN says something. Either way, it's a huge loss to the show. To me, Reynolds didn't struggle to get his point across to "everyfan" like the others seem to. I will miss him and hope that FOX jumps on this chance to hire one of the better analysts in the game.
(edited by mountinman44 on 25.7.06 1614) "If you can't believe what you read in the comic books, what can you believe?" -- Bullwinkle
On the show Reynolds seemed to support the false claims of Steve Phillips that A-Rod was going to be traded and needed to be traded. From Phillips I can expect it, since he's been trashing A-Rod since the day he couldn't sign him for the Mets. Reynolds seems like a good guy and a pretty good broadcaster.
These days all you get on BBTN is surface coverage. They spent all last night talking about how the White Sox were going to trade for Soriano without giving any names of who they would have to give up or where else Soriano might end up.
Speaking of Jeff Brantley reminded me of the worst baseball talk host - Rob Dibble. A month ago a caller to his radio show asked him if the Reds could get any bullpen help from their minor league system, since it was killing them. Dibble said he doesn't follow the minor leagues. He didn't even have knowledge of the team he used to play for.
The following quote suggests harassment is the most likely reason. "It was a total misunderstanding," Reynolds told the (NY) Post. "My goal is to sit down and get back. To be honest with you, I gave a woman a hug and I felt like it was misinterpreted."
"Teach children that they have great potential because they are human." -Warrior
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3481389 Tiger Stadium, where I saw my first couple of dozen professional sporting events is being torn down.
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