White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson really hates Wrigley Field
Chicago White Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson despises Wrigley Field and has no intention of ever going back to the stadium.
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In an interview with CSN Chicago, Harrelson expressed his opinion about the park. In true Hawk Harrelson fashion, he did not hold back his disgust.
“I’ll tell you this much, I’ll never go back to Wrigley Field again. We’ve got three games over at their place, and I told Jerry (Reinsdorf) the other day before we came on this trip, I said, ‘I’m not going back to Wrigley Field.’”
“He said, ‘Well, you’ve got three games there next year.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m talking with (Bob) Grim. We’re going to get rid of those.’ “Worst press box, worst booths for television. It’s a joke. It really is. And so, Jason (Benetti) is getting ready for those three at Wrigley. I will never step foot in that ballpark again. Ever.”
Bob Grim is a broadcasting executive with the club, so he’s the person Hawk would talk to in order to get his schedule changed.
The White Sox played the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley for two games in late July. It was quite a series for Harrelson. During one of the games at Wrigley, Harrelson advocated for the White Sox to beat up Cubs pitcher John Lackey. Lackey had hit a few members of the White Sox during the start. It proved to be a pretty wild game, especially as Harrelson was ranting on air.
If Harrelson sticks to his promise, that would be his final game at Wrigley Field, which seems fitting.
Harrelson is in the process of retiring. The 75-year-old announcer cut down on his workload last season, and is only working away games for the White Sox. The team hired Jason Benetti to take over home games from Harrelson in 2016. He is expected to succeed Harrelson as the full-time announcer when Harrelson hangs it up.
That will happen soon. Harrelson is slated to work only 20 games in 2018 before calling it quits. He’ll work mostly home games, likely so the fans can give him a nice sendoff all year, and select special games.
Fans who had Harrelson’s schedule mapped out on their white boards at home can probably mark it down that Harrelson won’t appear at Wrigley next season. We didn’t ask him if you can put that on the board, but we’re guessing he would say “yes.”
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
