Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Giants Brass not losing sleep over Barbieri's KNBR ouster

Many years ago, the story goes, a much more spirited Ralph Barbieri drove into the media parking lot at AT&T Park. In fact, right into the spot of then majority partner/owner, Peter MaGowan.

A young parking attendant quickly strode over to Barbieri and informed him that he wasn't allowed to park there. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary and the kid was simply informing The Razor that the spot wasn't his.

"Do you know who I am?", Barbieri shouted at the slightly flustered kid,--'if it weren't for me, there'd be no park!" Needless to say, the kid was shaken. A Giants employee was sent down to the area and apologized to the clearly shaken parking-lot attendant. Several of the team's higher-ups were none too pleased over the incident and the Ralpheroo got plenty of scolding from some of the Giants and Knibber's management brass.

I wasn't witness to the incident but know several people who were there and confirmed the account. It wasn't eye-popping nor anything other than a hugely, over-sized ego displaying his wares but it represents some of bad/Ralph behavior that Giants' people didn't care for and, thus, confirms the current feeling permeating 24 Willie Mays Plaza that there's no big tears over his departure from KNBR/Cumulus.

Sure, Larry Baer made a point of publicaly acknowledging Barbieri's sudden 86 on his Knibber show last week. It was pointed, generous and respectful, but noticeably short. He thanked Ralph and noted that, indeed, Barbieri's heated public pleas for a downtown park was of benefit to the franchise. And yes, one could almost argue, without Ralph, (and probably a guy named Barry Bonds too), there would be no AT&T Park. Nevertheless, Baer's comment was devoid of the usual platitudes. It was beyond brief.

That's not to suggest anything sinister, but Baer was the only visible team official to talk about the canning of The Razor. GM Brian Sabean, at least publicly, had nothing to say, and for good reason.

Over the years, Barbieri's on-air rousting of Sabean was not appreciated by Giants upper suits. And most certainly not by Sabean himself. This was evident numerous times and was a chief reason why Sabean took a detour from doing the weekly radio show weekly and precipitated the inclusion of Baer into the proceedings. At one point, according to numerous broadcast sources, Sabean threatened to quit after one tumultuous Barbieri interview. He relented, but only after Baer and KNBR and Giant's people agreed to the new show format.

To Barbieri's credit, and many Giant's fans inquiring minds, the relentless, cross-examination-style, weekly interrogations put forth by The Razor was darn good radio, not to mention, at times, a needed jolt of requested inside baseball without the usual banal PR. That is, according to people in the know, unless you were Sabean, who was more than put off by the frequent Ralph/Perry Mason to Sabean/Prosecutor Burger.

Sabean, a NY guy with several tours of duty through a lot of rodeos didn't like a lot of the Ralph grilling. Good thing the Giants won a World Series a few years ago, (in SF), but Sabean has a long memory.

He's not much into that type of process and was never really comfortable with the radio gig. And although the two insisted that all things were mostly good on and off the air, their relationship took a noted deviation from seasons past.

Again, Sabean did not say anything of note publicly, (and probably won't now because of the legal developments), but suffice to say, you can bet he's not lost a whole lot of sleep over the Ralph ouster.

That feeling is also shared by many inside the Giant's organization.

That's not to indicate that Ralph didn't, (or doesn't), have his staple of team defenders. He certainly does. It's just that a good amount of folks in the front office and a few players weren't happy over his control-oriented demeanor around the ballpark and on the microphone. Enough, in fact, to warrant spirited and intense situations like the one that took place in the parking lot.

Ralph is a serious Giant's fan. He rode on the KNBR float in the World Series parade. He took his son to every post-season game home and away in the 2010 season. He made no bones about that on the Knibber airwaves.

Some of his Giant's admirers don't necessarily feel the same about him today.

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60 comments:

  1. "Do you know who I am?"

    The bark of the "D-Lister"!

    Buh bye you little troll doll!

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  2. "Ralph is a serious Giant's fan. He rode on the KNBR float in the World Series parade. He took his son to every post-game home and away in the 2010 season."

    Just another example of what a self-important buffoon Ralph is.

    And as for his ridiculous self-aggrandizing claim that he's responsible for the new ballpark, LOL! Total balderdash! Someone please give an example of a single concrete thing lard ass did that contributed to building the new stadium.

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  3. PacBell Park was built DESPITE Barbieri's pitiful grandstanding. The reason it was passed by the voters (after losing twice) was the lack of overt public funding.

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    1. I thought that the park was built with private funds and not due to anything being "passed" by the voters.

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    2. Voters approved the ballpark in the November 1996 election. "Yes on B!"

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    3. The vote was for a building height limit waiver. A technicality , but a opening for the opponents to vote down the park. In spite of no public funding, 35% voted against the park.

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  4. Wow interesting stuff. I was not aware of the parking lot incident.

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  5. I heard about that story as well and heard it was a fact, Ralph is not feeling that arrogant today. Just a self absorbed blowhole who has very bad taste in Pizza

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  6. "Do you know who I am?" shouted Ralph Barbieri.
    At which point the parking lot attendant replied. Fatso!

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  7. Again,what does it say about Cumulus and Baer that it welcomed back Larry Krueger who trashed Caribbean ball players,and has also already found in Byrnesy a replacement for Ralph? Ralph must feel Tom is a bit of Judas huh? And Burns makes it clear- he's loyal to no one.
    They all deserve each other..but why clog up 50,000 watts with that garbage?

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    1. Thats pretty accurate about Tolbert and Byrnes. They are not interesting at all and I won't be listening anymore now that Ralph is gone. They were average ballplayers and below average radio guys. Alot of the politically correct types on here(re: younger generation, watered down chick-type dudes with little conviction or backbone)just have no balls. Ralph is a baseball lover, and, yes, a passionate guy. Why do we always throw out the baby with the bathwater in this femme culture we have crafted? Agree or disagree at least Ralph was alot more interesting than the rest. Cumulus will ruin the station with it's political correctness. As for the "Caribbeans" comments by Krueger he should have included the whole team. It was terrible. Felipe Alou's comments about Kreuger being the Devil were also just slightly absurd. In 50 years we'll all be chicks. That's the way it's going.

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    2. Totally agree, KNB has become garbage. Barbieri had flaws for sure, but he also made interesting and entertaining radio for a long time. And was a shameless Giant homer...in the good way.

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    3. The King is gone, Ralph is gone and I'm sure Gary's days are numbered. So much for the good ol' days. KNBR just seems to be dwindling away with cheap young worthless talking heads. It's not the same without Ralph.

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    4. Ralph Barbieri was a pompous lazy loudmouth. Years ago I found him refreshing but he became lazy and predictable. He used the same canned phrases in every interview and loved listening to himself much more than his guest. Massive ego than was undeserved.
      Good riddance Ralph.
      Tom Tolbert rambles and repeats himself incessantly when he is solo. Thankfully Tom normally has a co-host. Byrnes and Ratto, among others, work well as co-hosts. Much better than having Ralph.

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  8. Ralph, here's hoping you gain 10 extra pounds.
    How do those pair of jeans fit after 30 minutes in the dryer?

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  9. I've heard about similar behavior by Ralph and his attitude towards perks and things like that at the ballpark, like that parking lot incident. Mostly that he didn't show up a lot to games anymore but when he did he expected the royal treatment.

    I wasn't a fan of Ralph's but as a Giants fan I did appreciate the grilling that he gave on-air to some of the Giants head office people, over moves that they did or didn't do. And it was on Ralph and Tom's show that Sabean made his infamous comments regarding the Posey/Cousins incident. Fascinating local radio that made national news.

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    Replies
    1. If you want real baseball talk then all you need is Marty Lurie.
      Ralph was a phoney pretender.

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  10. Ralph was good and very entertaining with the Sabean interviews, the rest of the time he was hideous.

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  11. Barbieri is delusional if he thinks he's responsible for the existence of the stadium. 1:54 has it right; Peter McGowan(spelling?) is probably the individual most deserving of that claim. Incidentally, Barbieri made a racist comment, to an opponent of public financing of a stadium, in Santa Clara, on the radio for which he should have been fired years ago.

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  12. He was a man of integrity. Not the sort of cotton candy type you see on the morning KNBR drive. Straight talking is considered hideous? As to the parking lot - have any of you ever gotten territorial about parking? Sure it was boorish. However we all have suppressed road rage at times. He is somebody at that Park. You all believe the suits at Willie Mays Plaza have not acted out at times. Taste in Pizza? who cares. Ralph was a stand up guy in an era when weazel is the norm.

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    1. Hi Ralph ... nice to see you defending yourself on here.

      Straight talk is *never* considered hideous ... self-aggrandizing and thinking that everything is all about you is what is considered hideous.

      And, by the way, at what point is Barbieri entitled to get territorial about parking when he's parking in the Managing General Partner / Part Owner's parking spot? This is classic Barbieri ... he thinks he should get what he decides he is entitled to.

      Guess he learned the fallacy of that last one, huh?

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    2. Ralph Barbieri a stand up guy?
      Only thing Ralph Barbieri stood up to was another helping of Fodd at Ameici's.
      Have another bite will ya Ralph?
      And while you are at it, take another shot of whiskey!

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    3. Thank-you for your Honest opinion without
      all the third grade name-calling etc.

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  13. Isn't there a saying that victory has 1,000 Fathers? So I guess Ralph thinks he is one of them, maybe so in his wildest imagination... but what about the other 999?

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  14. Rich,I hear they are going to make a movie about Oscar Grant. If Oscar and Slick Billy are made out to be hero's..why not Ralph next?

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  15. It was ralph that would bring in byrnes for interviews and now byrnes has his job,byrnes is horrrible I wont listen and its not that ralph is great,he made his bed by days off and being late ,yes I know he has med issues,its hard to be late at 3pm,but as for byrnes he is the worst!

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    1. I'm so happy Ralph is gone! I was looking forward to finally going back to knbr on my commute home but..........ERIC BYRNES? Are you kidding me? How did knbr find the one human being on this planet who likes to listen to himself talk more than Ralph. OMFG! Right the ship knbr. Now!

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  16. Did ralph drive up in his miata? Lol

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  17. Barbieri would fill in for Dave Newhouse before KNBR made Ralph full-time. And really how much credit can you give a guy for building the stadium when he works as a tonsil at a sports talk station in cahoots with the team that wants the stadium? What kind of clever rhetoric would it take to get a guy already listening to the station to vote for a new stadium. Now if he was doing a Tech Talk shows, maybe.

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  18. Sabean doesn't give 2 shits what anyone thinks. What makes you think he would give a shit one way or the other if Ralph got canned.

    I highly doubt it's a long memory problem. He's got bigger fish to fry than the career of Ralph Barbieri.

    As the fat bloated Radnich would say...Nobody cares!!!

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  19. Barbieri is rude, overrated and a self-absorbed/self-minded jerk. But cumulus is just as bad and I hope they get what they deserve...

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  20. A class guy who knew when to stop, not to push people's buttons, and what not to ask a guest (after all, a good host treats his guests with hospitality) . . . NOT RALPH!!! An insult waiting to happen . . .

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  21. Ralph bled orange and black and loved his Giants. Yes he took shots at them, but that's what fans do and that's why fan is short for
    'fanatic.' I think that's what Ralph was for so many years.



    Ralph always said he felt uncomfortable going into the Giants clubhouse because he felt it was the players' private place and that he was intruding there. Yet he did go in from time to time to do an interview or talk to some of the guys. For the most part, he had good relationships with the players and managers. I know that Roger Craig, Dusty Baker, Felipe Alou and Bruce Bochy all seemed to get along with him for the most part.

    My favorite Ralph story that illustrates what I said about him being a hardcore fan was back in 2003 at the playoffs in Miami. We traveled with the team down there, and the Marlins of course upset a great Giants' team in the first round. That Giants club won over 100 games, and went
    "wire to wire,' something no SF Giants l team ever did before or since.

    Anyway, after a gut-retching loss in game three where Jose Cruz Jr dropped an easy fly ball to set up a game winning hit by Pudge Rodriguez with two out in the ninth, the Giants ace Jason Schmidt
    was supposed to pitch in game four. Schmidt had been
    spectacular in game one, with a two hit shutout while striking out 11, but about an hour before e game four Schmidt came up with some mysterious arm problem, which infuriated Manager Felipe Alou.

    IN about the third inning of that final game, I came down from the press box and joined Ralph in the stands for a few innings (he hated sitting in the press box because he couldn't root loudly). The Giants needed to win this one to force a winner take all fifth game back in SF, but the Marlins jumped out to a four run lead (I think Jerome Williams might have started that game).

    Early on in about the third or fourth inning, I recall Alameda's own Dontrelle Willis cracking an RBI triple over Marquis Grissom' s head to put the Marlins up by a run or two, and Ralph was so consumed by frustration and rage that he slammed his fist down on my thigh. It didn't hurt so much but it was a shock, and I yelled: "Ralph, geez man...what the he...did you do that for!?" . I got up and walked around to cool off, and Ralph later sheepishly apologized. He was so into the game, he just forgot what he was doing. But that's what I liked about Ralph...he really cared. He was a true Giants' fan. I know a lot of people held that against him, but it made his broadcasts that much more interesting to listen to.

    You might remember that later in the game, Edgardo Alfonzo doubled home a couple of runs, and the Giants got the tying run to second with two out when Jeffrey Hammonds singled to left. Unfortunately Felipe Alou had no pinch runner to step in for the slow footed JT Snow was off at the crack of the bat. Veteran Marlins' leftfielder Jeff Conine picked up the ball, and threw a perfect strike to the plate, where Pudge Rodriguez was waiting. Snow had only one chance, and that was to level Pudge with a football style shoulder to the chest, and he bowled over the catcher but unfortunately, after tagging Snow in front of the plate and then getting knocked on his keister, Pudge held onto the ball for the final out of the series and the season. The stadium erupted into bedlam, and Ralph just stood and sadly shook his head.

    On the flight home, the players were talking and kidding around as players often do after games, win or lose. Surprisingly, it wasn't that somber a mood on the flight home, even though their season was over. Ralph was sitting next to me and he turned and remarked: "Geez Bruce, these guys don't even seem upset that they lost...what's going on here?!"

    That was Ralph...a 'true-blue' fan!

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    1. I wish you were back doing pre/post game for Giants games during the week!

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    2. Thanks for a great story Bruce. You are right. Ralph is a great fan of baseball, the greatest game in the world by far, and the Giants. Pass it on to the suits of Cumulus. They are going nowhere with Tolbert and Byrnes and KNBR is going downhill.

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  22. Right. None of Sabean's moves (or lack thereof) should ever be questioned. I mean, don't you know who he is?

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  23. enough on ralph. move on.

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  24. The fact that Giant's brass did not like Ralph is probably more of a feather in Ralph's hat. The media and teams/people they cover should NOT be in bed. I appreciated that about Ralph - that he was willing to ask Brian the questions we all had as fans. No sympathy for Brian or the Giants.

    As far as his parking lot incident, I guarantee you he is not the only one on the radio with a big ego. Doesn't make it right, but c'mon....

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  25. I remember Ralph brow beating Sabean about Vlad Guerrero on the radio a few years ago for several minutes. It was to the point Sabean got sick of repeating the same answer on the situation and was clearly agitated.

    At the end of the call Sabean slammed his phone down before they cut him from the air.

    To this day I am not sure if they left the Sabean call on air longer on purpose hoping for a phone slam?

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  26. Ralph Barbieri got the stadium built? Are you kidding me? Is he also in on the cure for cancer and peace in the Middle East?

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  27. say what you will, but the razor and mr t was definitely more interesting and fun to listen to than mr t and whoever else they stick in there. I think Kate Scott might work nicely with Tolbert...also the way KNBR treated an employee of 28 years is reprehensible... would any of us want our fathers, spouses, or children treated that way? At least show some class and let the guy sign off with some dignity!

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  28. He kept the issue in front of the public that listened to KNBR but I don't see him listed as a minority owner, so that's who he is. Also for every grilling he gave Sabean it was "softball city" for Don Nelson. As a previous poster said: time to move on.

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  29. My biggest beef with Ralph, other than the endless asking of a question and then not waiting for an answer was his unabashed love fest with Don Nelson. He lost all credibility when the Warriors were so awful and inconsistent during Nelson's second round at coaching, but he did have to worry with a prime defender in Ralph. Ralph would just continue to suck-up to Nelson and even bragged about his staying at Nelson's place in Hawaii. He came off as "bought-off" and that would also include his Barry Bonds sucking up as well. As long as he got something for himself personally you didn't seem to have to worry too much about his criticism. My guess is that the Giants didn't like sucking up to him and they certainly didn't have to.

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    1. Agree with the Nelson beef, also the sucking up to Brent Jones and watching the Sharks from "behind the glass" with him bugged the shit out of me too. His attempt to sound like he understood hockey was forced, but to his credit much better than Radnich's obligatory exchanges with his pro hockey guests.

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  30. I didn't care too much for Ralph; his questions never ended, and he could be arrogant. I once called him after the OJ Simpson case broke; and mentioned that I had seen OJ on Fillmore Street in 1980 screaming at a blond woman, which didn't convict him of murder but was scary in retrosect. Ralph's reply was, "Oh, you THINKyou saw OJ Simpson, who knows who you saw?" Then soon after, he was the biggest proponent of frying OJ. Guess only he could ID a professional athlete in public. That being said, I actually DID enjoy his encounters with Sabean because there were some questions that SHOULD have been asked. And as someone said above, "How can a company treat a valued employee of 28 years like that at the end (I've been at MY job for 28 years, and would definitely NOT appreciate such treatment). So I don't miss Ralph (although Byrnes is impossible to listen to) but I don't appreciate the classless exit that was forced on him.

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  31. I listened to Ralph for the last 15 yrs or so I guess. Never liked him really, seemed arrogant and self important. Tommy was the balance, the class, the adult (thats a strech) so to speak. Ralph was extremely insecure, one of those nerdy guys in school that probably got pushed, and run over. As an adult he suffers from "small mans" syndrom. Im sure there was MANY a time where Ralphie thought to himself, "how'd I get/earn this gift of 50K watts and a LARGE audience in a major (weird, but major) market? I cant answer that, right place right time I suppose. He had that bay Area 60's
    "hate the man, dont trust the Man" type of attitude that probably kept him on air in SF area, but he wouldnt of made it anywhere else. Too abrassive, disrespectfull. Loved that "gotcha" journalism where he liked to ambush those who had achieved higher than he, typical bitter Liberal mentality. He often brought into the conversation his Faith, that he went I think to USF, a decaying Catholic Univ, thats SO far away from Catholic teaching, they are nothing they used to be. Ralph was a reflection of that, he misrepresented My Church alot, not out of malice, but ignorance of a non-practicing Christian I think. Jesuit schools are dying, SO were his methods on air.
    He had a long run, out lasted alot of hosts, said/did some good things but fumbled terribly the opportunity to be an icon because of the defects Ive described above, and for that I feel badly for him. He wont be missed, and he WILL have a LARGE resentment, that wont be good for his health. I hope he can grow up and forgive, Life is short, especially if your over 50 already.
    There is a 80% chance he will read this, I know how he is, and I say to you Ralph, take the high road, move on, dont sue, return to PRACTICE your Faith, spend time with the Blessed Sacrament, enjoy these teams you Love, with your son, get past this. Prayer will help your health situation, but resentment will aggravate your condition, and your son needs you. Not angry, but available.
    I spoke to Ralph many times on air. I speak to you now Ralph, move on and forgive, or probably die younger than you need, from the fight thats coming and it wont be pleasant. You accomplished more than you ever knew you could...
    Peace
    Kevin in Santa Rosa
    (PS- Willie Brown got that stadium built, no other Mayor of SF could have)

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  32. I listened to Ralph for the last 15 yrs or so I guess. Never liked him really, seemed arrogant and self important. Tommy was the balance, the class, the adult (thats a strech) so to speak. Ralph was extremely insecure, one of those nerdy guys in school that probably got pushed, and run over. As an adult he suffers from "small mans" syndrom. Im sure there was MANY a time where Ralphie thought to himself, "how'd I get/earn this gift of 50K watts and a LARGE audience in a major (weird, but major) market? I cant answer that, right place right time I suppose. He had that bay Area 60's
    "hate the man, dont trust the Man" type of attitude that probably kept him on air in SF area, but he wouldnt of made it anywhere else. Too abrassive, disrespectfull. Loved that "gotcha" journalism where he liked to ambush those who had achieved higher than he, typical bitter Liberal mentality. He often brought into the conversation his Faith, that he went I think to USF, a decaying Catholic Univ, thats SO far away from Catholic teaching, they are nothing they used to be. Ralph was a reflection of that, he misrepresented My Church alot, not out of malice, but ignorance of a non-practicing Christian I think. Jesuit schools are dying, SO were his methods on air.
    He had a long run, out lasted alot of hosts, said/did some good things but fumbled terribly the opportunity to be an icon because of the defects Ive described above, and for that I feel badly for him. He wont be missed, and he WILL have a LARGE resentment, that wont be good for his health. I hope he can grow up and forgive, Life is short, especially if your over 50 already.
    There is a 80% chance he will read this, I know how he is, and I say to you Ralph, take the high road, move on, dont sue, return to PRACTICE your Faith, spend time with the Blessed Sacrament, enjoy these teams you Love, with your son, get past this. Prayer will help your health situation, but resentment will aggravate your condition, and your son needs you. Not angry, but available.
    I spoke to Ralph many times on air. I speak to you now Ralph, move on and forgive, or probably die younger than you need, from the fight thats coming and it wont be pleasant. You accomplished more than you ever knew you could...
    Peace
    Kevin in Santa Rosa

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  33. Barbieri's ego and imagined investment in SF sports got in the way of his willingness to ask tough questions. I listen to Dan LeBatard's radio show podcast out of Miami because it's a blend of pop culture and sports (without harping about stats and trade rumors). Miami Marlins' owner David Samson has a weekly show on the LeBatard show and he's had to answer questions about allegations of unethical financial dealings, dismantling championship teams and somehow getting Miami to pay for the new Marlins ball park. LeBatard and his sidekicks, however, don't go after Samson like fans or like fellows with personal investment in the issue. They ask tough questions like Cohn does -- professionally. The interview that caused the Barbieri-Sabean falling out was cringe-worthy. A wild-eyed Giants' fan had a platform to just assault the Giants GM with a fan's opinions based on imagined facts and hoped for realities. The folks who make decisions in sports need to answer tough questions, but Barbieri lost all track of how to get those answers ... ego and imagined personal investment did him in and will keep him from landing with 95.7 FM.

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    1. Um, he was afraid to ask tough questions, or he asked tough questions but not in a professional manner, or he asked tough questions without understanding baseball 'realities'--so no matter what he did he did it wrong--compared to who? you? Cohn? Cohn was a constant critic of the 49ers during their championship years! talk about not being acquainted with 'realities.' For years and years Sabean defended himself by hiding behind a 'plan' that never happened--drafting pitchers and trading for sluggers. He drafted mediocre pitchers and traded them for mediocre sluggers. Sport GM's are not beyond throwing out BS year after year to make failure look like success. That also is 'reality.'

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  34. Ralph had his moments. He became tiresome to me of late. He would grab onto a point-of-view and never deviate even in a deluge of contrary evidence. The last decade, he really did not seem that interested in sports, at least not in a fan(atic)'s view. I hadn't heard the parking lot story but I like to think that that was the exception.
    ...Don't like the pizza. ...Loved his command of the English language (didn't hang prepositions, didn't say jealous when the actual word should have been envious.
    I nearly always agreed with Sabean beginning with the Jeff Kent - Matt Williams trade. Ralph was mightily against it. He didn't seem follow personnel enough to have an opinion except that of a typical hack/reactive caller.

    That being said: KNBR sucked for not giving him more ballyhoo upon exit. They should have risen above pettiness. There should have been an homage and Ralph should have been allowed on the air. They were most likely afraid of what he would say, I guess.

    Ralph -- you were company, good company to me, to us for a long, long time. It was good hanging out with you.
    Chris in Menlo Park (aka Stoopid in San Mateo)

    P.S. 95.7 might be able to use an on-air editorialist. They are hella more interesting than the 50k watt blowhard at this point. Stay real - embrace humility - be healthy!

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  35. Finally!!!! No More Razor constitutes a beer Bottoms up, boys!

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  36. I played golf with an old friend today and Ralph's axing came up. My friend thought Ralph's firing was about 27 years too late, but I was thinking how Radnich always commented that Ralph was doing something right to have lasted as long as he has. However, Radnich's comments are generally a backhanded way to stroke his own inflated ego. My take is that Ralph has always been an incrediably insecure man. He can be described as a jock sniffer, single father sperm donor, interupting interviewer, a grossly liberal 3 time drunk driver, and no doubt a piss poor athlete in his prime. I mean really?! Bragging about his days playing softball in Hawaii is supposed to make his audience believe he was an athlete? I thought I might miss him. I don't and mainly because I will never have to hear another commercial about his friend Peter and his overpriced crappy wafer thin pizza. That is the only pizza I have ever eaten where I left the joint and I was still hungry.

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  37. Funny thing about Ralph... If We Had Listened to him we would have Two other horrendous ballparks that Ralph wanted (they were each voted down) Rather than this Beauty.
    Fortunately, They were turned down by the voters... When the voters REFUSED to LISTEN to Ralph.
    Pat yourself on the back one more time ralphie... See ya Monotone!

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  38. Don't know if this story is true but do know he felt no need to show up for his job on time. Pay me $400K a year and I'll be there early. Felt him and Tom were perfect,a classic odd couple. Having won a championship Brian Sabean can now be considered one of the best GM's in Giant's history, but he coasted for years and years on the BS that he had a plan--draft for pitchers and trade them for sluggers. Only problem is it never happened. Until Cain he drafted mediocre pitchers and traded them for mediocre sluggers. So the Giants and Sabean need riding and criticism to light a fire under their but, and was glad to see Ralph do it.

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  39. I never, ever, weigh-in on these discussions, BUT this is different and I couldn't bite my tongue any more about Ralph. As an "old timer" that's been in the Bay Area a long time we've been blessed with some great TV and radio announcers and analysts: Lon Simmons, Kuiper and Krukow, Hank Greenwald, Wayne Walker, and Gary Radnich to name a few. All of these guys had a few things in common; a) they played the game at a high level (Radnich was one of the best HS basketball players I ever saw), or were serious journalists and students of the game (e.g. Greenwald), b) they all had a really good sense of humor, and c) the didn't trip over their own egos. Ralph Barbieri was NONE of these things and he did OFTEN trip over his own ego - apparently on and off the air. Playing softball in HI does not count as "lacing them up" Ralph! I couldn't believe he was on the air so long. I'm sure he would have been fired years earlier if Tolbert had not carried him. He owes Tom as good chunk of his salary for these last few years. The only Bay Area on-air sports personality who was remotely as arrogant, egotistical, and really hard to listen to was Rick Barry - and I don't hear anyone feeling bad that he's no longer around here. Ralph wore out his welcome a long time ago! 'Bout time he's gone.

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  40. i am surprised reading this blog...i really, really liked Tom and Ralph together..i thought Ralph by himself was insufferable, but when paired with "Mr. T", i though an excellent combination...and, in comparison..Eric Byrnes is almost getting me to the point of finding another station..If i hear 1 more sigh before he makes his comments or have to listen to his accomplishments..i am going to have to..even though i still do like Tom T., who seems sick of Byrnes as i am

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  41. Hey Ralph, if you are reading this, THANKS for all the years of local Bay Area sports talk and opinion.

    I listened to you on KGO as a kid and watched you make sports radio happen (from an on air personality perspective).

    I guess, as they say, if they are still talking about you -- you did something right.

    Thanks again, and good luck with your health, family, and any case you bring against that company (I can't bring myself to type their name) that is ruining local radio here and around the nation. The dumbing down of society, and the audience.

    I think a lot of the people that complain about you...will one day miss you. Byrnes...just bites. Tolbert, tolerable in small doses. Radnich? BARF from day one. KNBR pretty much useless now. KGO, same deal. Sad times in old media in the Bay Area.

    I didn't always agree with your opinion...and anyone can have a bad day parking the car...and I am sure you weren't proud of that kind of thing.

    BUT, a lot of noodnicks here are not realizing that if you are on the air for 28 years you are bringing in a radio audience on a regular basis -- NOT easy to do (look at 95.7's growing pains...the GURU? Please. Great for his ambition, BARF for his desperation and low intelligence, low on air class...

    Miss you Ralph, you were rarely boring.

    And for a lot of us You Are a Legend. --It is just sad how things have down trended in our society and with traditional media.

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    1. So glad morons like you are fading away, tolerating u is hard work but necessary. Easy to ignore u, just thought I'd tell u.

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  42. Rich: It was a wheelchair bound very well known employee who said Hi Mr Barbieri I listen to your show ALL the time but you can't park there.

    Ralph said F*** you who the hell are you. I got this park built and I am more important than ________.

    Debby McGowan witnessed the entire debacle, went up to the employee and said, sorry you had to experience that. He is such an ass...

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