I actually believe the media has a tough job. They need to try and be the first one to get the big story. They want to be the first one to get a juicy quote and be the first person to toss out that perfect question. The reality is they can do all that but then they need to deal with an athlete. Not just any athlete–a professional athlete that is getting paid a ton of money and in this day and age could be very emotional. Sometimes interviews go very smoothly and other times I am sure the media feels from time to time that they need to enter at their own risk when dealing with professional athletes.
Last month I had this exact discussion with a friend of mine (thanks ES) about who makes his all time list of athletes that hate the media. It was an interesting debate. I won’t answer for him but here are a few of my choices.
- Steve Carlton – never had any use for the media. Clearly one of the best lefties of all time, wanted to pitch and not deal with answering questions
- Jim Rice – was one of the greatest ballplayers I ever saw. During the 1970′s he was the guy every night. Except the guy never wanted to do interviews and basically hated everything to do with the media. Clearly that cost him going into the Hall of Fame years ago. I am glad he finally got in.
- Barry Bonds. I heard he isn’t a big fan of the media and I heard a rumor that he even wore different color arm bands that described his mood.
Am I right on these choices?
- Who makes your list?
- Who hurt their chances to get into the hall of Fame because they didn’t play nice?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Michael Halberstam says:
Merrill,
Ryan Leaf comes to mind as does Kareem Abdul Jabbar who gave very short terse answers when he played. Today Kareem is all about being media friendly.
Lefty had some VERY specific reasons for his media disdain. His early years with the Cardinal’s were different though. He stopped talking to reporters when he was with the Phillies.
Malcolm Williamson says:
Lance Armstrong.
He plays by his own rules and couldn’t care less about the media.
In fact, he plays them like no one else!
Will Morris says:
Steve Carlton was probably the most consistent in not talking to the media and not drawing attention to himself other than by striking people out.
But, from a personal note, I would add Bob Cousy to the list of people who were rude to fans. I was 13 years old and Cousy was coaching Boston College in the Rainbow Classic. It more than two hours before BC was to play their game and he was just standing around talking. My dad was with me and we intentionally waited until his conversation ended and I walked up to him with a program and pen in hand and said, “Excuse me Mr. Cousy, would it be…..” At which time he interrupted me and said, “after the game kid.”. I was hurt and embarassed and my dad was pissed. Boston College lost the game and although tempted to test his ivitation, I completely wrote him off of athletes I would ever care about.
J.R. Venza says:
Eddie Murray – HOF – one of only four 500/3000 guy, 1917 RBI’s for a switch hitter still stands as a MLB record. Had he endeared himself to the media, he would have clearly been one of those top of mind players when you talk about the all time greats.
Ed Sugar says:
Here are few more to add to the list:
Jack Morris – No doubt he was the most dominant American League pitcher in the 1980′s and probably pitched the 2nd greatest World Series game ever in 1991 (I think Don Larsen gets the #1 spot). But ask any baseball beat writer and they will all agree that Jack was A-Hole #1. He is now in the Tigers broadcast booth and admits that his bad behavior to guys just trying to make an honest living is costing him the ultimate accolade for a MLB player. This is his last year of eligibility. The writers could be kind to him like they were to Rice. If not his chance for HoF will be in the hands of Veterans Committee, who under the guidance of Joe Morgan have selected nearly zero inductees from the post 1943 era.
Bert Byleven was a close 2nd to Morris. as he was known to be volatile and abrasive at times. His outspoken nature prompted the Twins to trade him to Rangers in 1976. After winning a title with Pirates in 1979, Blyleven became unhappy with the way he was being used and displayed his displeasure by threatening to retire unless he was traded. He was shipped to Clevland the following year. Not only did he treat the press with disstain, he also treated fans the way. I am pretty sure I posted on this blog an experience I had with him waiting in line at the Will Call ticket window, at a minor league baseball game. A real jerk in my book.
Jeff Kent – for the last 4 seasons Dodger fans had to listen to this clown moan and groan about the writers and media that cover the Dodgers. Last season he crossed the line and finally wore out his welcome. Late in the season after the Dodgers picked up Manny Ramirez, Vin Scully mentioned during a broadcast that having Manny in the third spot had helped several players, including Kent, boost their offensive #’s. When asked to comment on Scully’s comments, Kent showed his class and relpied “Vin Scully talks too much.” Smart move Jeff. You just cost yourself every HoF vote from SoCal. One can actually feel sorry for SF beat writers who had to cover the Giants between 1997 and 2002, with both Kent and Binds in the same locker room.
Mitch Hodus says:
How about Manny Ramierez? He would not talk to media in Cleveland and then stopped talking to media in Boston when the heat got turned up on him.
Granted, he seems to be willing to talk to the Los Anglese media right now, but wait until the next time he does something stupid.
Ed Sugar says:
Mitch, from an LA P.O.V. All Manny has to do is hit the freakin ball. Unless he gets busted for “dating” under aged girls or selling heroin, he will get a big, fat free pass from the SoCal media.
Willie Martin says:
Merrill,
as the Red Sox fan that you are, I can’t believe that you didn’t chronicle the B.S. that Ted Williams endured from that drunken ex-lawyer/writer Dave Egan. In a day when there more than 15 local newspapers, Egan was relentless on poor Ted.
I’ll also add Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Carlton Fisk, Mark Bavaro, and a very mercurial misunderstood player, Dick Allen.
I’ll stop there.
Thanks Merrill!
Talk soon!
Joe Baldi says:
Merrill, How about the Thumper? Ted wasnotorious for his disdain for the media.I agree that Barry Bonds was probably one of the worst and he seems to have gotten that from his dad, Bobby.Tiger Woods. Sonny Liston, Kareem, John McEnroe
Willie Mays in later years was not a very media friendly guy.
Turning the tables media friendly guys that top the list in my mind:
Gary Carter,Bobby Hull, Wayne Gretsky, The Manning bros. Joe Namath , Phil Mickelson,Jimmy Connors,Brooks Robinson.
It should be noted thast the media is not without fault in causing players to be media unfriendly. The focus always seems to be on the negative and in recent times I believe they have crossed the lines in terms of reporting on players personal lives.
Joe
Ed Sugar says:
Joe -
You (and Willie) make two great observations:
Teddy Baseball and the local Beantown media (with the exception of Curt Gowdy) definitely had a “hate/hate” relationship.
Gary Carter on the other hand is a perfect example of how to work with the media during your career. His career stats were good, but hardly HoF numbers. What pushed him over was that every NY baseball writer voted for Gary because he made their job easier and was a great interview.
Another player who was very media friendly was Dennis Eckersley. Minutes after giving up one of the most famous homeruns hit in World Series history, he sat by his locker and answered each and every question about the pitch he threw to Kurt Gibson. Through out his career he was always available to the press and would give honest and open interviews on any subject ranging from baseball to his own battles with alcohol.
Joe, I would also add Kirby Puckett to the media friendly list.
Bob T says:
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Dave (King Kong) Kingman yet! He was known to be nasty to reporters and he once famously (or infamously) sent a live rat in a pink shoebox to a female reporter that he didn’t like. And this was years after he had been reprimanded by MLB for verbally abusing a female reporter in another city.
He played for seven different teams, partially because he did not get along well with his teammates either. One Mets teammate stated publicly that Kingman had “the personality of a tree stump”.
He never got close to the HOF and his lack of charm certainly didn’t help the cause of this one-dimensional player.