During the August 27 Red Sox-Dodgers WEEI radio broadcast, play by play man Sean McDonough was unabashedly critical of the Red Sox regarding the 2020 trade of superstar Mookie Betts to the Dodgers.
McDonough stated, “It’s a trade that can never be defended and a stain that will never be erased,” pretty strong words from a Boston-bred guy on the team’s regional radio broadcast. Local broadcasters criticizing the team for which they work is a rarity, but there is one former MLB broadcaster who has never been shy about voicing his views on the local ballclub – even in retirement.
Earlier this year, in an interview on the Foul Territory podcast with Scott Braun and A.J. Pierzynski, former White Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson spouted, “I didn’t retire. I got retired. I got fired is what it boils down to. I’m sure they will deny that, but what led up to that and everything else is going to be interesting.”
Harrelson, who retired from the White Sox broadcast booth in 2018 presumably by choice, doubled down on the team just a couple of weeks ago.
In an interview with Chicago Sun-Times reporter Daryl Van Schouwen, Harrelson discussed the 2023 White Sox stating, “There’s so many holes there. It’s been a tough team to watch. It’s been one of the most disappointing seasons of my major league career.”
This candor was nothing new for Harrelson, a true broadcasting icon and winner of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Ford Frick Award in 2020. In his 43 years behind the microphone, Harrelson was known for his garish and boisterous style.
From “Put it on the board!” to “Hell yeah!” Harrelson was anything but a broadcasting wallflower, but don’t blame Ken.
“That’s the Hawk, not Ken,” says Harrelson, who spent 33 seasons calling White Sox games on TV across various broadcast stations. “The fans brought that out of me, and I’ve spoken to psychiatrists about it. They say we all have an alter ego. Hawk can do things that Ken can’t do.”
Before becoming a Windy City legend, Harrelson belonged to Boston, first as a Red Sox slugger from 1967-69, and then alongside Dick Stockton and Ned Martin as the team’s television voice on WSBK-TV 38 from 1975-81. When he reflects on his time in Boston, several images appear.
“The first thing obviously is the fans, just how unbelievable they were, and then I think of Carl Yastrzemski. His 1967 season is still the best year I’ve ever seen any player have. It was a magical season. To this day, he is the best left fielder I’ve ever seen. That year, whatever we needed, he did it.”
Like McDonough this past week, Harrelson’s candor was his hallmark and eventual downfall in Boston. “I told it like it was. At one point (former Red Sox GM) Haywood Sullivan got upset with me.
“I was giving a speech at UMass-Boston and was asked about the job Haywood was doing with the team. Haywood wanted me fired. Bill Flynn the GM at TV-38 went to bat for me, but it didn’t help.”
Fired after the 1981 season, Harrelson joined the White Sox, another metropolitan team with a bedeviled past. “Two big cities, two great franchises,” says Harrelson who hit 131 home runs and knocked in 421 runs in 9 big league seasons. “When I got to Chicago, Don Drysdale was my partner. A lot of people at that time thought we might be the best TV broadcast team ever.
“I was very lucky. Dick Stockton is still the greatest and most versatile announcer in the business. Dick was kind enough to tape a video message for me for my 25th anniversary with the White Sox.”
As much as baseball has given to Harrelson, he has given just as much back, especially when it comes to kids. He says it was Boston Bruins legend Bobby Orr that convinced him to visit kids at Children’s Hospital.
“I got to know one boy and his parents really well and I told them to call me anytime they wanted to come to a game. When the boy was in remission, they called me and I got them (Red Sox owner) Mr. Yawkey’s seats.
“I was in the worst slump of my career. Before the game, the boy gave me some Dubble Bubble gum and told me it would help me get out of my slump.
“In the first inning, I hit a two-run homer and saw the boy cheering as I rounded the bases. In the sixth, I hit another home run, but there was no one in the seats. After the game, the boy’s mother called. He had a relapse and had to be rushed to the hospital where he passed away.”
Despite his controversial departures from the Red Sox and White Sox, Harrelson still holds a deep affection for both franchises. “When the Red Sox won the Series in 2004, I cried watching the game in Orlando.
“In 2005, when the White Sox won it, I cried again. We had over two million people in our parade path. I hosted the ceremony downtown and it was fantastic.
“I’m the luckiest guy ever to put two feet on the face of the earth, and I hate to lose. (Former manager) Alvin Dark said that no one wanted to win a game more than I did. He should have said more than Hawk did.”
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
