Tim McCarver retiring

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2013/03/27/tim-mccarver-major-league-baseball-telecasts-fox/2024825/

I can turn the volume up during the World Series again.

[Edgy MD]

I dunno. I always thought of McCarver as a symptom of FOX telecasts, not the problem. I doubt that he'll be replaced by a superior analyst. Hopefully one who is younger and less surrendered, though.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Edgy MD wrote: I dunno. I always thought of McCarver as a symptom of FOX telecasts, not the problem. I doubt that he'll be replaced by a superior analyst. Hopefully one who is younger and less surrendered, though.

His excessive gushing over Paul O'Neill during the 2000 World Series grated on me. Stuff like, in game 2, when the Mets were about to be down only 0-2 in the series -- "We are potentially looking at Paul O'Neill's last Yankee Stadium at-bat." Yeah, I know he was right.

[seawolf17]

I really liked Tim on Mets games as a kid, and I really enjoyed his "Baseball For Brain Surgeons" book. Not so much anymore, though.

[G-Fafif]

McCarver in the 1980s was Madden before Madden became a caricature (though Madden remained pretty good all the way through), except Tim was basically just for us and on almost every day or night for almost six months. If the Original Three taught me what baseball was, McCarver taught me how baseball is played.

Mostly intolerable for the past two decades, but brilliant when he emerged.

[Edgy MD]

Sometimes I wonder how much his irritatingness was due to him getting dumber (which he certainly did), and how much was due to us getting smarter (which the baseball-loving audience surely has). And then, how much of our getting smarter do we owe to him.

So yeah, I find Tim-on-FOX to be a horrible spectacle, but (1) I have to maintain a degree or charity there, and (2) I have to wonder if we have any reason to expect better in his stead, or are we gonna get some Steve Lyons sorta deal?

I guess we could get Bobby Vee.

[G-Fafif]

Not retiring, Timmy says. Just leaving Fox. A few MLBN gigs a la Costas would seem a good fit.

[Centerfield]

I remember when Ralph Kiner joined him in the booth a few years ago. McCarver went back to play-by-play, was deferential, and was suddenly the likeable Tim from our youth.

Ralph left and Tim was a dick again.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

G-Fafif wrote: McCarver in the 1980s was Madden before Madden became a caricature (though Madden remained pretty good all the way through), except Tim was basically just for us and on almost every day or night for almost six months. If the Original Three taught me what baseball was, McCarver taught me how baseball is played.

THIS. Exactly.

Mostly, I think, we got smarter. Or, rather, when the game changed, we did the homework, and he did Robert Goulet. Considering that he was-- and is-- the professional and we're mostly highly-motivated amateurs, that's kind of a shame.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

"Fox Sports Special Tribute to Tim McCarver" hosted by Bobby Valentine and Deion Sanders

[bmfc1]

I wonder if the Mets will lose Ron Darling to FOX?
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/march/ten-best-candidates-to-replace-tim-mccarver-on-fox.html

[Edgy MD]

He could certainly do both a local and a national job. McCarver did often enough.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I doubt that they'd "lose" him; he'd just be unavailable for most Saturday Mets games.

As for Tim, I'm not too familiar with his recent incarnation. I don't watch games that the Mets aren't playing, and when they're broadcast by someone other than Gary, Keith, and Ron I tend to only pay half-attention (at most) to what the announcers are saying. So while I admit that it's very possible that Tim jumped the shark at some point, I have no opinion on this.

What I do know is how Tim enlivened the Mets booth when he (and Steve Zabriskie, who also deserves credit) appeared in 1983. The difference in the telecasts between 1982 and 1983 was enormous. Lorn Brown had lulled Ralph Kiner into a season-long coma, but when Ralph was joined with Tim and Steve he really came back to life. Combined with what was happening on the field (return of Seaver, acquisition of Hernandez, ascension of Strawberry) 1983 was the year when it again became fun to be a Mets fan, and Tim McCarver was no small part of that. Whatever he may be today, I'll always think of him as the guy from the 1980's.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, it has to be said that part of what made McCarver great at telling the story is that he had a great story to tell.

[metirish]

I like McCarver, working with a mailing it in Buck can't have helped.......

[Lefty Specialist]

Once McCarver was separated from the Mets gig, he started to go downhill. Zabriskie, McCarver and Kiner were the best announcing team up until GKR. All due respect to Murph/Lindsey/Ralph, but the team in the 80's made it FUN to listen.

Once Tim was Foxified, he would parachute into games with a pre-programmed storyline that he was going to hammer away at incessantly regardless of the results. "Despite the fact he lost 14-0 today, Roger Clemens is one of the all-time greats."

That and the Derek Jeter worship drove me nuts. He could be broadcasting a Cardinals-Cubs game and he'd find a way to bring up The Captain. Imagine, if you will, Tim McCarver in bed after sex:

She: "Hey, baby, was it good for you?"
Tim: "Yeah, but you're no Derek Jeter."

[Edgy MD]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Zabriskie, McCarver and Kiner were the best announcing team up until GKR. All due respect to Murph/Lindsey/Ralph, but the team in the 80's made it FUN to listen.

One must count Bill Webb as the silent partner with Zabriskie, McCarver, and Kiner.

[Lefty Specialist]

Absolutely. Webb made it work. And they went out of their way to acknowledge him on the air which was nice.

[Edgy MD]

All part of my stealth campaign for Bill Webb's induction into the Mets Holla Fame.