Chicago White Sox broadcaster Hawk Harrelson, one of the most polarizing and recognizable voices in the game today, may be scaling back his road broadcast schedule in 2015, following in the footsteps of Vin Scully and Bob Uecker (among others), who have famously cut back in recent years.
According to a report by the Chicago Tribute, Harrelson said that he is “considering” cutting back, due in large part to the four-hour commute that he makes to Chicago every day for home games and his grandkids growing up and playing youth baseball.
“I have a 10-year-old and 7-year-old playing ball in South Bend, and I am missing a lot of it,” Harrelson said. “If I told you I was not thinking about (cutting back) I would be lying. I am thinking about it. I have not made a decision, but it will be one that my family will help me with.
“I really don’t want to miss my grandkids growing up. They are old enough now to know I am known by a lot of people and they really kind of like that.”
I don’t blame him at all. When you combine travel with his age, family life, and a team that is well on its way to finishing under .500 for the third time in four seasons, it’s completely justified for Harrelson to want to scale his commitments back.
They really don’t make announcers like Hawk anymore – he’s biased, explosive, and blunt, especially when it comes to criticizing umpires. I’ll kind of miss him if he does decide to cut his schedule back a bit – his style of broadcasting is unique, and while it can really wear thin on you at times, it’s almost refreshing to hear his perspective once in awhile.
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