|
|
|
|
|
Steve Stone (Baseball Player)Steve Stone was a major league starting pitcher for several teams from 1971-1981. His best year was undoubtedly 1980, when he went 25-7 for the Baltimore Orioles and won the Cy Young Award. Persistent arm trouble bothered him for much of his career, and he never equaled his 1980 success in any other season. He retired after a disappointing year with the Orioles in 1981. While the year was disappointing, his retirement might have had more to do with tendonitis in his right arm. From 1983-2000 and 2003-2004, Steve Stone was an analyst for WGN Sports in Chicago, covering telecasts of Chicago Cubs baseball games with the great Harry Caray, and later with Harry's grandson Chip until the younger Caray left in 2004 to join the Atlanta Braves broadcast team. He is generally considered to be the best analyst in all of baseball, as his encyclopedic knowledge of the game and its intricacies allows him to add a unique depth to each broadcast. He resigned his position with the Cubs twice, once in 2000 because of health problems associated with his bout with "Valley Fever," a fungal infection common in the Phoenix area. The second time was in November 2004 after a feud with the Cubs players and manager Dusty Baker boiled over. The feud began when relief pitcher Kent Mercker, best known for having a blood vessel explode in his brain, called the press box to complain about Chip Caray and Stone's complimentaty words about Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt (who was beating the Cubs that day). When Cubs media relations director passed the message on to Caray and Stone, Stone reportedly asked a rhetorical question, "Who the expletive is Kent Mercker and why is he calling the press box?" After that, Mercker and Stone had a pair of confrontations, and reports swirled that players like Moises Alou and Mercker asked that Stone and Caray be barred from the team charter. As the Cubs swooned during the final week of the season, Stone became more and more critical of the team. His criticism intensified during a Sept. 30 game with Cincinatti at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs lost 2-1 despite a 16-strikeout performance by Mark Prior. During a postgame interview with Dusty Baker, Stone asked a few pointed questions causing Baker to walk out of the interview. Stone continued with his critical comments to close the telecast. The next day, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and team president Andy MacPhail called Stone into a meeting with Baker, and observers speculated that Stone was fired. Stone didn't do much to quell that speculation, saying that "I regret nothing." Stone later resigned through a statement in November, stating that he did regret not being able to stay on as a Cubs announcer. Some critics actually hailed Stone's departure, claiming his second stint with the Cubs included an unhealthy obsession with the visibility at the ballpark. Stone signed a contract with an all-sports Chicago radio station (WSCR) to be its baseball analyst in 2005. Stone, Steve Stone, Steve Stone, Steve Stone, Steve Stone, Steve Stone, Steve Stone, Steve Stone, Steve
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|