Hank Greenwald passed away last week after a lengthy battle of various health issues that finally took its toll.
Hank Greenwald was 83.
He of course will be remembered for broadcasting SF Giants' games but he also did the Warriors and had a brief stint with the NY Yankees and even one year for the Oakland A's.
In all the obits about Greenwald, there was no mention of Hank's souring relationship with the Giants; a relationship that basically placed him in the Giants' doghouse for years and rendered him enemy #1 with team CEO and kingpin, Larry Baer.
Baer called Greenwald "a broadcasting legend" in a statement released by the Giants. It was noticeable that Baer simply released a statement and didn't do any press conferences on the death of one of the Giants' greatest broadcasters.
There was a reason.
Greenwald wrote a book about the Giants' and their kid-glove treatment of Barry Bonds. It was critical and emphatic. There was a lot more to the book but the Giants and Baer especially were livid. They had every right to be but blackballing Greenwald wasn't right. It went over the top really because most of what Hank wrote was right on the money. He was no homer and spoke his mind which irritated the hell out of the controlling Baer who made it certain that Greenwald was kicked out of the Giants' family and fraternity.
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| Larry Baer |
Those of you that read me understand my ambivalence toward Larry Baer. He is not the sweet, lovey-dovey man that is portrayed by the local sports media. He is quite mean at times and can be a very controlling and knifing individual. He can literally destroy a professional life. Ask Dusty Baker.
If Hank Greenwald were still alive today and were able to talk about Baer, you'd have to close the door for a few hours and listen intently.
Believe me.
Another story you won't read anywhere else.
And if it's true that #MeToo should have a beef with Lockstep - and the Bay Media is too afraid to address this - ask Ronan Farrow or any other renowned national writer, especially one who is high on baseball, to poke enough holes to get enough San Franciscans, residential and professional, to expose all the warts. No control freak should ever have so much free reign over any business, let alone city or region. We already have that problem nationally with a very sick enabling base that sees through likely crimes. Let's hope that there are no crimes that are being covered within the city and ballclub. Otherwise the Giants' efforts to rebound on the field - and hopefully on the air - will be for naught.
ReplyDeleteHuh?
DeleteI agree 100% with your remarks regarding Baer.
ReplyDeleteEnough with the Baer pics for fucks sake...god he's hard to look at.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, Larry Baer did an almost 8 minute segment on KNBR remembering Hank Greenwald on Oct. 24th. But you are correct there was no press conference.
ReplyDeleteSad to read about how Hank's health went downhill. He was out of the public eye for years.
ReplyDeleteI remember when he would do the Warriors TV broadcasts in the 1970's. When the camera panned to Bill King, Hank would refer to Bill as a Russian spy. When the Warriors hit a shot, Hank would say, "Swish!"
He moved to the land down under for a couple of years but returned to broadcast the Giants with Lindsay Nelson. I'm not sure why he hasn't been considered for the Ford Frick Award.
In short, Larry Baer stabbed Hank Greenwald in the back.
ReplyDeleteA cowardly act.