by john duff » Fri Apr 14, 2006 2:47 pm
Back in the early to mid 80's, when Gammons' Sunday column was in it's heyday...man, it was something to be anticipated, savored with a fresh cup of coffee.
Baseball writing at the time SUCKED. It was all hero-worship, I'm an insider and you're an idiot, so listen to me b.s. There was no Baseball Tonight, no Internet. Cable was in a minority of households, so the only highlights you saw were on the local news (very limited) or if you happened to catch 'This Week in Baseball'.
And then there was Gammons.
Every week he took you on a tour around the league, dishing rumors and analysis from the far reaches of the baseball world. He treated his readers as if they were (GASP!) intelligent. He talked about OBP before anyone knew what OBP was. He knew who Bill James was when few others did. He actually understood that Wade Boggs was a great leadoff hitter when most complained about Boggs' lack of speed. So many things we take for granted, Gammons was the first to write about in a newspaper. He was never a great writer, but he provided info like no other newspaper writer in the country. He was a freakin' oasis.
He's not a great fit for TV. He lisps. He's a homer. But every Sunday he does a 20 minute segment on the Boston radio station, and I always tune in. It's kind of like watching a Yastrzemski or Seaver at age 40- he's not close to what he used to be, but you tune in. For nostalgia, and for the fleeting glimpses of former greatness.
Hey, no one stays at their peak forever, not even sportswriters. But every sportswriter in the country, whether they know it or not, whether they blog, write for magazines, or the paper, owes a huge debt to Peter Gammons. And 99% can't come close to filling his shoes.
THAT'S why he's in the Hall of Fame.