I didn’t really mean to post this up, but when there’s a guy broadcasting on a large stage like Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN just filling the airwaves with nonsense, he needs to be called out for it. Such is the story with Joe Morgan, who continues to prove once again why he needs to be put on mute. If you remember last year, Morgan was caught telling a blatant lie on air. He placed himself in a historical context that never existed. Yes, he fabricated a story. Which brings us to Sunday night when Eric Patterson hit a home run at Wrigley Field that landed in the netting in left field, barely clearing the fence. Morgan essentially called it a cheap home run but went even further to say the basket of netting was placed there when Ernie Banks played and that it was called “Banks Boulevard” because he hit so many home runs there. Unfortunately I was duped like many other saps into believing the story, though I should have known better. Luckily Awful Announcing is here to correct things, giving the explanation from Bleed Cubbie Blue:
“There are many reasons virtually all of us criticize Joe Morgan’s “broadcasting” (the quotes are there for obvious reasons; he may be among the worst sports broadcasters in history). However, when he invents “facts” to back up his biases, I think he needs to be called on it and shown that doing this isn’t just wrong, it’s irresponsible. I speak here of his continued carping about the Wrigley Field outfield wall basket and his contention that Ernie Banks deposited “many” home runs into the basket.
Ernie Banks was nearing the end of his career when this basket was installed. I went through Ernie’s game logs. After April 26, 1970, he hit 8 home runs at Wrigley Field. Eight. The first one he hit after that was one I personally witnessed — his career #499, hit on May 9, 1970. That one didn’t go in the basket. Video exists of his 500th, hit three days after that, on May 12, 1970 — you’ve probably seen this video, and know that one didn’t go in the basket, either.
That leaves six others. It’s possible that all of them landed in the basket, but I doubt it. And even if that’s true, that’s six of 512 — a little over 1% of his career total, maybe 2% of all he hit at Wrigley. The basket was never, ever called “Banks Boulevard”, nor nicknamed after any other player.”
Cub Hub has more details correcting Morgan, and Awful Announcing even has the video if you want to hear the b.s. for yourself. I don’t know why this guy feels the need to make up stories. Why can’t he just shut up when he doesn’t know what the eff he’s talking about? Someone, someone, please get this guy off the air!
