Chicago White Sox Hawk Harrelson Continues To Be Clueless
Chicago White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson, affectionately referred to as Hawk, is quite well know for his blatant homerism during broadcasts. This time, his love of all things White Sox went far beyond the threshold of insanity.
Hawk Harrelson is one of those broadcasters that people either love or hate. If you are a Chicago White Sox fan, chances are you love his blatant homerism and over the top enthusiasm whenever anything remotely positive happens for the Pale Hose. On the other side, listening to Harrelson can be the baseball equivalent of sticking your head in a blender.
And yet, Harrelson persists, continuing to broadcast games with his bizarre hyperbole and utter disregard for the facts. At times, he says things that make as much sense as attempting to staple Jell-O to the ceiling. That continued the other day, when Harrelson inexplicably stated that Todd Frazier was a better baseball player than Kris Bryant. Seriously. His rationale? That Bryant only has two more homers, and seven more RBI, than Frazier. Oh, and Frazier is better defensively as well.
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Someone needs to get the booze away from Harrelson in the broadcast booth. Yes, he is correct that Frazier, at the time, was two homers and seven RBI behind Bryant, but that is the only real kernel of truth to his statements. Consider that the blind squirrel finding an acorn. Entering today’s slate of action, Bryant has a .305/.405/.586 batting line and leads the NL with a 168 OPS+. Frazier, meanwhile, is hitting at a .215/.297/.461 clip, and has a 104 OPS+. Even with all that power, he is barely above league average, while Bryant is in a class of his own.
Defensively, Bryant has been flexible enough to play at third, left, right, and has even filled in at first. He has saved five runs at third, and a whopping ten runs in 51 games, 32 starts, in left. Frazier, meanwhile, has cost the White Sox two runs, and can only play at first if need be. But, you know, Frazier is a better defensive player than Bryant.
We all understand that there is going to be some bias when it comes to a team’s broadcast. Obviously, the announcers, however slightly, are going to favor their team and players. However, there is such a thing as recognizing greatness and accepting that other players are better than what is before them on the field. And by virtually any measure, Bryant is better than Frazier. Except in Hawk Hareelson’s universe.
Next: Time for the Cubs to rest their players?
They say that ignorance is painful for everyone but the ignorant. This is a prime example of that phrase.