When we relaunched Awful Announcing, we decided that Hawk Harrelson was such an abomination to announcing that he had to go on our Mount Rushmore of bad announcers. For a week or so we had him up but opted to remove him given a lot feedback that he was too unknown to be “honored” that way. If you haven’t been subjected to Harrelson calling White Sox games on WGN, it’s quite an infuriating experience. We’re not the only ones who are quick to find the mute button as GQ rated Harrelson and his partner the worst MLB broadcast booth.
“Hawk is an unbearable homer, and at very, very least he doesn’t hide it. When the Sox score a run, it’s “1-0 good guys!” In the midst of a play, rooting for a positive White Sox outcome, he’ll yell, “Stretch! Stretch! Get over his head!” And when a player doesn’t let him down, he’ll give him an “atta boy.” Listening to Hawk is just an immensely grating experience (we’ll leave Steve Stone out of this), and it is only compounded by his attempts at folksiness. In an interleague series, the Nationals are the “Nasty Nats.” A pitch on the handle of the bat is “jam city.” And when a player strikes out, “he gone!” Let’s just say Hawk’s mouth might be put to better use as the tail end of a human centipede”
To his credit, Harrelson has never felt the need to change his style or hide his passion as a fan. This couldn’t be more evident in this walk-off win for the Blue Jays at the hands of Harrelson’s Sox. You really don’t ever find calls this jaded and enthusiastic, even if it’s for the opposing team. But for Harrelson it’s just business as usual. H/T to Bubbaprog and Mock Session
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