Although the Arizona Diamondbacks were unable to win the World Series, there is a perception that the season was largely a success. One storyline surrounding this World Series off the field, however, pertained to radio personality Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
Prior to Game 6 of the NLCS, Russo said he would “retire on the spot” if the Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies. After walking back his bet, Russo claimed that it was a radio bit and eventually agreed to a punishment with Howard Stern on his show, even though it remains to be determined if he will carry it out.
Russo was on site covering the World Series for MLB Network and SiriusXM and donned a Diamondbacks jersey before the game on Wednesday. Over the three games in Arizona, Russo was being heckled by Diamondbacks fans and embraced the instance. While hosting High Heat on MLB Network from the field and interviewing Diamondbacks president and chief executive officer Derrick Hall, his guest decided to perform an impression of Russo doubting the team.
“The Mad Dog imitation was very good, Derrick,” Dan Bickley said in an interview with Hall on Thursday morning on Arizona Sports 98.7. “Thank you for not letting that guy off the hook. I wish you would have revoked the credential and not let him in the building, but that’s okay. You handle things a little different than I do.”
“You know what?,” Hall said. “He deserved it, and boy, our fans got him the entire three days. He was getting destroyed by our fans up there in center field, and he knew it.”
Hall divulged that he had been asked by Russo over the years to do an impression of him but frequently declined the opportunity. This time around though, he decided that it was the moment to reveal it to the world, which left many viewers surprised and impressed at how accurate and similar it sounded.
“Yeah, it’s better when you just sprinkle them out like that,” Marotta said of the impression. “It’s fantastic.”
Russo has been paying dividends for his comments across programming, including First Take on ESPN. Moreover, he did not host the first segment of his radio program last Wednesday before making a return and stating that he is not going anywhere.
