Joe Garagiola

I should have liked Joe Garagiola more than I did.  He was Midwestern sincere; Catholic, like me; and funny, if not quite as sharp as Bob Uecker.  Garagiola also devoted considerable effort to helping out ex-ballplayers who’d fallen on hard times.  Moreover, Garagiola had to deal with the considerable ego of Harry Caray when they both did Cardinals’ games on the radio.  My sympathies there.

But just once I wanted to hear Garagiola—or Vin Scully or Ernie Harwell, for that matter—challenge the baseball establishment, something along the lines of “The Dodgers were wrong to leave Brooklyn” or “Why in God’s name would the Tigers want a new ballpark?”.  What I remember instead is Garagiola doing the 1985 All-Star Game from the Metrodome in Minneapolis.  That was the ballpark with foldaway stands and the “baggie” in right field.  Garagiola deemed it a major-league facility.  No, it wasn’t.

I guess this says as much about me as it does Garagiola.  Lord knows Fox, ESPN and the MLB Network don’t have anyone with anything close to Garagiola’s talent in the broadcast booth.  On second thought, I do like him more.