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Dan Le Batard Fears Giving Away Hall of Fame Vote Cost Barry Bonds

“They made an overhaul of the voting system and one of the things they did was change it from 15 years of eligbility to 10 years.”

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Did Dan Le Batard giving his Hall of Fame vote to Deadspin eight years ago end up costing Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens election to the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Appearing on 95.7 The Game’s Damon and Ratto in San Francisco, Le Batard said his decision led the Baseball Hall of Fame to reduce players’ eligibility on the ballot from 15 years to 10 years. It’s entirely possible losing those five years cost Bonds and Clemens. Many voters still weren’t ready to elect them to Cooperstown, but those two controversial figures could’ve gained support over five more years.

“I didn’t want my vote to be something that kept people away,” Le Batard said. “But they changed the rules when they banned me. I thought the punishment was just going to be to ban me. I’m banned for life; I can’t vote anymore and that would be the end of it.

“But also because they didn’t want anyone else to do what I did in crowdsourcing the vote ever again. They made an overhaul of the voting system and one of the things they did was change it from 15 years of eligbility to 10 years, and I’m guessing that’s part of why Barry Bonds won’t be in the Hall of Fame by these voters.”

Le Batard expressed the same belief on his show, which is what prompted Damon Bruce and Ray Ratto to invite him on.

“I’m not OK with denying someone their excellence because I’m doing jazz hands on being Performance Troll,” said Le Batard.

In 2014, Le Batard’s ballot was taken away after he revealed that he was the writer who gave his vote to Deadspin. The site filled out Le Batard’s ballot based on reader votes, which ended up voting for the three players who were elected to the 2015 class: Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, and Tom Glavine.

The intention was to make a mockery of Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) voters who had used the process to draw attention to themselves, trying to make statements with their ballots. Additionally, Deadspin wanted to show that fans could do just as good a job with Hall of Fame votes as BBWAA members.

But was Le Batard’s “stunt” really that disruptive? Eight years later, the Hall of Fame vote still causes outrage and resentment. It’s one of the most unpleasant periods in sports media, as WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti said this week.

As Ratto said, Le Batard’s move alone didn’t cost Bonds a Hall of Fame election. But the Hall of Fame did change the requirement for BBWAA voters, stating they must be active with an organization for 10 years. Those no longer working in media would eventually lose their eligibility. Maybe that had an effect on a Bonds vote, as well.

Also making the conversation enjoyable was the chemistry, the sexual tension between Le Batard and Ratto. It’s probably a good thing this interview happened over the phone, not with the two of them in the same room.

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Sports Radio News

Jason Puckett Launches PuckSports.com

“I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”

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Jason Puckett, who decided to walk away from a contract offer from iHeartMedia’s KJR in Seattle after finding out his partner Jim Moore had been laid off, has launched a new venture – PuckSports.com. ‘Puck’ has a baseball opening day show posted on the Puck Sports YouTube page and also posted an introductory message about his new venture and what led to creating it.

“I wanted to talk to you guys, the listeners out there, the viewers out there, sorry for all of this,” an emotional Puckett said. “Sorry for what has happened and what has taken place. Thank you for all of the comments and the well-wishes and what you have said about myself and Jim.

“It has been a whirlwind of a last few days, for sure and I do want to say that I feel for the people that we used to work with. “I know it’s not easy to go through that, I have been on that side of it many, many times in this industry when someone is let go and you have to sit there and answer all the questions about them and for them…It’s unfortunate and it shouldn’t be that way, but the reality of this business is it’s like that.”

Puckett then told his fans that PuckSports.com and YouTube are where you will be finding his content along with Moore. “I am going to take what I have learned over the years and apply it to a new age of media,” he said and noted this was a direction he had been thinking about for a while.

As for what took place that led to his decision to not sign his contract and talk away, he said, “I just want to take you briefly back to last week. I don’t want to get too much in the weeds, I’m not here to lay any blame or point any fingers at anybody…there’s too many good people that I have worked with that I don’t want to drag into this. It was a process that was at times handled fine, handled perfectly, and at other times it got to a point where it just went on too long. But that’s corporate media and that’s what happens.”

Continuing on Puckett said, “…I had been without a contract since about January…when I was away from the station that was something that we and the station agreed upon…to see if we could get something done and we were all hopeful that we would…I was only supposed to be gone a couple of days…unfortunately as these things sometimes happen, it just went a little bit longer…We received the deal and it was what we wanted, but unfortunately with that news a few hours later came the news from corporate that Jim had lost his job. Obviously there was a mix of emotions with that from me.

“I wrestled with that and the decision and what I would do. It was hard for me to move forward…I couldn’t fight the perception more than anything that I had received a new deal while at the same time, my partner and good friend, guy I love to death, who I grew up reading…it was a hard reality…The loyalty I have, I couldn’t live with myself even though Jim knew what the truth was.”

Puckett said he was aware Moore was planning to step away from the radio show at the end of the year and was looking forward to the nine months they would have left to work with one another. Then, when iHeartMedia made the decision to make Moore a casualty of their latest round of layoffs, Puckett knew he needed to revisit the idea of starting his own venture.

He said, “It has kind of changed my timeline as far as what I wanted to do and where I felt I was at…I am super motivated right now and I can’t wait. I have probably been busier now than I’ve ever been in the last 48 hours.”

Puckett said several of the show’s regular guests would stay with the show and he thanked several sponsors who he said would remain supporters of the show with the new venture. ‘Puck’ noted that starting next week, “…We get underway in full force…I’m going to continue to try and make people laugh and entertain you and talk about sports…and all of the other things you have become accustomed to with this show.”

As he started to wrap up, Puckett said, “I’m jumping into the deep end of the pool and I am going to see if I can swim or sink.”

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Sports Radio News

Kirk Minihane: WEEI is “Going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in Afternoons”

“Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin.”

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Photos of Kirk Minihane and Rich Shertenlieb

As the speculation continues on where Boston sports talker Rich Shertenlieb will end up, one former WEEI host said he has the scoop on what is going to happen. Kirk Minihane, now with Barstool Sports, said, “What I heard was, initially, was they were moving Rich Keefe from nights to middays, moving Adam Jones from afternoons to middays and keeping Fauria there, and moving Andy Gresh to afternoons…But now it appears Rich Shertenlieb is going to do afternoons with Andy Gresh.”

On Wednesday, Boston Globe sports and sports media columnist Chad Finn put out a post on X, saying, “Didn’t think Rich Shertenlieb would end up at WEEI after leaving Sports Hub. I do now, most likely in afternoon drive. Audacy management has been telling people to expect changes.”

Minihane continued commenting on the matter, saying, “It’s going to be Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb in the afternoons, which is going to be so awful. Maybe the two most sensitive c***s in the history of radio. That’s a show we are going to ruin…we haven’t done that in a while, we are going to take that show down…Once that show starts, we are just going to blitz them with phone calls because Gresh can’t handle that.

“What they don’t understand, because they are so dumb, is that…Rich Shertenlieb has no fan base…no fan of [Toucher and Hardy] in the morning is going to be like ‘I’m not going to listen to Felger in the afternoons, I’ll now listen to Andy Gresh and Rich Shertenlieb.’ It’s going to be dreadful.”

Recapping what he has heard the rest of the WEEI lineup will be, Minihane said, “…And then in middays you have Adam Jones, failed afternoons. Rich Keefe who has now failed middays, drivetime, nights and is now going to fail again in middays… and Christian Fauria who has never drawn a rating in his life.”

WEEI has not commented on any of the speculation. BSM will have more as the story unfolds.

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Sports Radio News

Former 670 The Score Host Tommy Williams Has Died

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Courtesy: Lakeshore Public Media

Tommy Williams, who was heard for a decade on 670 The Score, died on Wednesday at the age of 66.

Williams began his broadcasting career in his hometown of Gary, Indiana in 1982 at WLTH before moving on to The Score. In 2003, Williams became the PA Announcer for the Gary Southshore RailCats of the American Association where he had his signature call to get the attention of the fans, “People, People, People.”

A story in The Times of Northwest Indiana said, “The longtime RailCats public address announcer and Lakeshore Public Media sports journalist was known for broadcasting countless games, interviewing countless athletes and covering Region sports at all levels. The Gary native and co-host of “Prep Sports Report,” “Prep Football Report,” and “Lakeshore PBS Scoreboard” often signed off shows saying, “Gary, Indiana, you know I love you.”

“The cadence he had in his voice echoed across the Region in a way we may never see again. He was widely known and widely loved,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations at Lakeshore Public Media told the paper.

“He’d want to be remembered as the voice of Lakeshore sports,” his Regionally Speaking co-host and producer Dee Dotson told The Times. “Most people will remember him for covering prep sports all the way up to semi-pros. He’ll be remembered for treating each of his subjects like they were world champions. His depth of knowledge of sports at all levels is commendable. He was a walking encyclopedia of stats.” 

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