Summary: You have to be a bit
embarrassed for Royals' broadcaster Denny Matthews when he was named to
baseball's hallowed Hall of Fame and Major League Baseball gave him credit for a
broadcast he wasn't involved in (the Royals had the same link on their Web site,
which is an even greater insult). It would be like announcing Willie Mays
for the HOF and showing clips of Ted Williams.
Posted on Sun, Feb.
25, 2007
JEFFREY FLANAGAN TOP OF THE MORNIN’
TOP OF THE MORNIN’
HALL’S MIX-UP LEAVES MATTHEWS
LAUGHING
Denny
Matthews could only shake his head and laugh.
On the day Matthews learned he was entering the Baseball Hall of Fame as the
winner of the Ford C. Frick Award, the Hall’s Web site (
www.baseballhalloffame.com ) dutifully posted a link promising an audio replay
of Matthews calling George Brett’s 3,000th hit.
Well, as you probably know, Matthews didn’t make the call for the Royals radio
network on Brett’s 3,000th hit back in 1992. Fred White did. Worse yet, the
audio replay on the Web site wasn’t even White making the call.
“I think it might have been the Angels’ television broadcast or maybe a national
radio guy,” White said. “It wasn’t us.”
Matthews had some trouble understanding the mix-up, which, by the way, remained
on the Web site throughout Thursday and into Friday.
“You would think that they’d do the appropriate research on what calls I’ve made
in my career,” Matthews said. “To get the wrong guy is one thing, but then to
have the wrong broadcast altogether, that’s not good.”
The ‘eyes’
Matthews was reflecting on his career and the significance of bringing Royals
games to so many people throughout his career when he stopped to recall a letter
he once received.
“I got a letter from a woman in western Kansas,” Matthews said. “She was 91 and
said she was blind. She wanted to let me know that the one thing she looked
forward to in the summers was listening to the Royals games.
“She wrote that ‘You’re my eyes’ at the game. I’ve never forgotten that letter.
That just really hits you.
“I think I need to think about that every time I sit down to do a game.”
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