This wasn't the kind of breaking news I anticipated at baseball's Winter Meetings.
It was announced today, in somewhat stunning fashion, that ESPN baseball analyst and Baseball Hall of Famer Peter Gammons would be leaving the sports media empire, effective immediately after baseball's winter meetings wrap up this week.
It's an odd announcement at an odd time, leading me to believe something under the surface is going on here. Given Gammons' lifetime body of work and general acceptance as the be-all, end-all source for the most critical baseball news, it seems a bit strange that he is walking away with less than four full days notice. One can't help but wonder whether he or the network made the decision and why.
But that's for another day. If the Tiger Woods situation has taught me anything it's not to try to guess what's going to happen next. We don't need any more speculation or conspiracy theories.
Instead it's time to honor Gammons for what he is—a true pioneer.
This article is being read at BleacherReport.com, where hundreds of fans have the space to share their thoughts on the world of professional sports. It was a long and windy path, no doubt, but it's no stretch to say such an opportunity wouldn't exist without the work of people like Gammons.
For people with Boston connections, Gammons has been part of our lives for decades. I almost feel like he was in my living room growing up. His columns in the Boston Globe were legendary, full of insight and information you wouldn't find anywhere else. Everyone —and I mean everyone—listened to Gammons.
Gammons was gospel.
He covered the Red Sox for the paper, but made himself famous for his in-depth columns full of insider information he had extracted from his sources. People trusted Gammons like they trusted few others. His word was good as gold, and baseball insiders gave him tidbits and opinions they wouldn't give anyone else.
He was the sporting world's first blogger. His work may have appeared in newsprint in a major national publication, years before the Internet was even a glimmer in Al Gore's eye, but Gammons was blogging. He was taking a huge pile of insider information and plunking it in front of millions of eyes in a tantalizing and consumable manner.
He was among the first to write thousands of words in a single column, stretching the notion of what an "article" was. He changed the way sports was read. The word "blog" was in nobody's vocabulary at the time, and in that regard perhaps we can credit Gammons for inventing the term.
Bill Simmons left a tweet at Twitter.com today crediting Gammons with making it "OK to read sports on the web." And that's just what he did. The Internet was the perfect outlet for a reporter like Gammons, whose sources would offer up nuggets at any given time. Gammons revolutionized the breaking of baseball news.
He was never as irreverent as Simmons or many of the modern day bloggers. But make no mistake—Simmons and those like him wouldn't exist had Gammons not broken the barrier between sports opinion and a wide audience. He made it OK to write something other than a traditional game story and have it devoured by readers nationwide.
His appeal and impact was immeasurable. Speaking as a 20-something sports fan, I know I put more stock in Gammons reports than those by other reporters. It wasn't an official news item until I heard it from Gammons mouth or read it from his keyboard. And he got his start long before I was born. To have that kind impact for that length of time is historic.
There's a reason he's in the Hall of Fame.
Personally, he's an inspiration. As a professional sports writer at any level, you can't help but look at Gammons and imagine having that kind of cache with so many important people in the sports world. He is what we all aspire to be—a talented writer respected by any and everybody.
That's the pinnacle in this business.
So on this day, while part of me wonders why he's leaving and where he'll appear next, the rational side of me simply wants to pay tribute. Gammons was a pioneer in sports journalism, bridging the gap between generations and opening the door for a different and evolving style of reporting. His mark is indelible, and anyone contributing to this website or others like it should thank Gammons for the opportunity.
So no, it wasn't the kind of news I was expecting to break at the Winter Meetings. But I'm not sure any other announcement would have had the same impact.
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