Steve Stone replaces Singleton on White Sox radio broadcasts
Barring a blockbuster trade involving Joe Crede, the White Sox pulled off what's likely to be their best deal of the spring when they announced Tuesday they were swapping Steve Stone in for Chris Singleton as their radio color analyst.
The Sox had it forced upon them when Singleton decided to pursue a regular gig on ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," but Stone immediately improves their radio broadcast on WSCR 670-AM in moving in alongside Ed Farmer. He will debut with Friday's exhibition game and is expected to do 150 regular-season games.
"It's a great move for everybody," said Score program director Mitch Rosen. "Chris has a great opportunity, and we wish him nothing but the best. … Stoney being a Score guy for four years just stepped up big time."
Rosen said it "came out of the blue" when he learned of Singleton's departure late Monday night. But Stone, who already was slated to join the radio broadcast for Friday home games this season, was eager enough to step in that he announced it Tuesday morning on Mike North's show on the Score.
"It happened so quickly," Stone said. "It's a great opportunity for Chris, and I know that he'll do very well in his television career. I wanted to get back into the game, and working with Ed Farmer is going to be great."
"Steve, at the end of the day, missed being around the team and missed being around the clubhouse," Rosen added.
"I am in talks with ESPN and have enjoyed dealing with them," Singleton said. "We are working on details, and there's nothing to announce at this time, though I am hopeful there will be.
"I love the White Sox organization and am sincerely grateful to them for allowing me to pursue this opportunity. My years in Chicago as a broadcaster and player were among the best in my baseball career. I also want to thank my partner Ed Farmer for helping me in so many ways. I am and always will be part of the White Sox family."
Stone, who pitched for both the White Sox and the Cubs during his playing days, was the Cubs' TV color analyst for 20 years but left the team after the 2004 season.
Since then, he had served as the Score's baseball analyst and done TV work for ESPN, but it was his short stint filling in during Darrin Jackson's paternity leave last summer that paved the way for his return to the booth.
Stone and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson hit it off on TV, and Sox fans reacted enthusiastically.
Much like Jackson, Singleton was plucked off the playing field and put in the broadcast booth two years ago when Farmer assumed play-by-play duties with the departure of John Rooney. Yet, although Singleton worked hard at his new craft, he didn't show the development Jackson had.
In a candid interview with MLB.com after extending Singleton's contract at the end of last season, Sox vice president and chief marketing officer Brooks Boyer was open about Farmer and Singleton's shortcomings but said, "We felt that the best thing for the broadcast at this point was to keep some consistency."
Singleton's departure, however, opened a spot for Stone. "We are absolutely ecstatic about Steve Stone stepping in as color analyst," Boyer said Tuesday.
Farmer and Stone both are ex-pitchers, but they're both broadcasters with enough standing that they should be able to work out a division of labor without much difficulty. Farmer will stick to play-by-play and Stone to color, with no role reversal in the middle innings.