Hawk Harrelson says he’ll never go back to Wrigley Field

As Chicago White Sox voice Hawk Harrelson prepares to wind down his broadcasting career, he has already crossed off one place where he won’t broadcast from in 2018. Harrelson has cut his schedule to only calling road games this season and last. Next season, he’ll work Sunday home games and selected other games. But one place he won’t go is Wrigley Field to call Crosstown Series games saying, “I’ll never go back to Wrigley Field again”

On Sunday before he was to call his last game at Fenway Park in Boston where he began his broadcast career, Harrelson made his declaration:

‘‘We’ve got three games over at their place [next season], and I told [chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] before we came on this trip, ‘I’m not going back to Wrigley Field,’’’ Harrelson said. ‘‘He said, ‘Well, you’ve got three games there next year.’ I said, ‘Well, we’re going to get rid of those.’

‘‘Worst press box, worst booths for television. It’s a joke; it really is. And so Jason is getting ready for those three at Wrigley. I will never step foot in that ballpark again. Ever.’’

Well now. That means that Jason Benetti who has been calling White Sox home games on Comcast SportsNet and WGN will be doing the Cubs games at Wrigley Field.

Harrelson has made it clear where he stands as the longtime Voice of the White Sox. And as he was to call his final game at Fenway, he stated he’d love for the White Sox to beat the Red Sox, but the overall Harrelson hates one team more than the others:

‘‘I would rather beat the Cubs more than anybody, so that definitely stamps me as a White Sox guy.’’

The Cubs fans certainly won’t miss him next season, but he’ll certainly have something to say if he calls the games at home.

[Chicago Sun-Times]