Donn Johnson and the Missouri Historic Society should be applauded for the Baseball in America exhibit that continues its run at the History Museum through April 19. Along with the respective historic artifacts from the National Baseball and St. Louis Cardinals Halls of Fame, there have been symposiums, movies, book signings and hot stove league discussions with fans.
Jay Randolph Sr. moderated a panel last week that included KFNS’ John Maracek, Johnson and me. It was a grand evening full of baseball n and steroid n talk.
During the session, a fan asked about the tenuous relationship between St. Louis Cardinals broadcasters Mike Shannon and Wayne Hagin.
Randolph said that Jack Buck and Shannon once had a tiff in which they didn’t speak to each other for a few weeks, but they worked their way through it.
“I can tell you that there was a time last year that (Hagin and Shannon) did not speak and did not have any contact with each other outside the broadcast booth,” Randolph Sr. told the audience of about 50 people.
Randolph Sr. went on to say that the powers-that-be at KMOX sat them down and told them to get it together.
I personally witnessed the fact that, at one point last season, Shannon would leave the booth when he was not doing the play-by-play. I’m sure fans noticed the weird quality of the broadcast when just one man would do an entire inning or two without the broadcast partner saying a word.
Randolph Sr. didn’t say who was at fault or what caused the problem, but if it had something to do with Hagin running his yap too much, I would believe it.
Hagin’s interview on March 19 with ESPN 1380’s Scott Warman has proven to me that Hagin is quite capable of saying something that would hack somebody off.
Why on earth would he use the term “juiced” in connection with Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies? Then, he blamed it on a conversation he had with former Rockies skipper Don Baylor.
Hagin, who is now facing a possible lawsuit, is treading some pretty hot water and sinking fast.
Hagin said he was just repeating something Baylor told him when Hagin was the Rockies’ broadcaster. He said that he never took the word “juiced” to mean steroid use, just supplement use.
Get real, Wayne. If I’m buying that line of crud, then I believe Mark McGwire never used a steroid in his life.
How’s this for embarrassing? St. Louis Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty felt the need to apologize to the Colorado Rockies and did so on Monday.
Baylor has said he was referring to creatine, a legal, over-the-counter supplement, and Jocketty said that Helton is a fine, upstanding young man and player.
The Cardinals are standing with Hagin, saying that they understand the comments were taken out of context and have been clarified. The team also announced that Hagin wouldn’t be disciplined.
To be so reckless on the air is not without precedent, but why would Hagin preface his remarks with “I know (Helton) is going to be mad if this gets out” if he was just speaking of a legal supplement?
Hagin was given about five minutes to clean up his story on KMOX on The Paul Harris Show on Monday afternoon, but he sounded as unconvincing as McGwire did while being grilled by the U.S. House members.
Shannon’s silence has certainly been deafening.
For those of us who believe that Shannon simply doesn’t like Hagin, the fact he has not come to Hagin’s defense is proof that the two men do not get along.
Should Hagin be fired? No, not for this incident.
But the fact remains that he was way out of line for bring up the “juiced” comment, and it is obvious that, when the controversy arose, and Helton began talking lawsuit on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Patrick Show, Hagin immediately backtracked on his statements.
The first-year booth battle with Shannon and now this episode have not endeared Hagin to many Cardinals fans. Many fans are willing to give Hagin another chance but do so knowing that, if he gets a third strike, he won’t be around for Opening Day in the new Busch Stadium in 2006.