Yes! Hawk Harrelson heading to Hall of Fame
Rarely, if ever, has Ken "Hawk" Harrelson been at a loss for words.
A call from the Hall of Fame on Wednesday morning did the trick.
"I just couldn't think," Harrelson said on a conference call later in the day. "I've won some awards in my life and done some things I'm very proud of, but this was something different. I really haven't digested it yet. Maybe I have, but Hawk hasn't. That's my buddy.
"We'll get this thing sorted out to where I can get my thoughts together."
It's shaping up as a fun upcoming summer for the White Sox.
The three-year rebuild is over, and the Sox are starting to look like contenders in 2020.
They'll play in the showcase "Field of Dreams" game in Iowa against the Yankees on Aug. 13.
Last, but not least, the iconic Harrelson will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 25. On his fourth try as a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, which is presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Harrelson made the cut.
Cubs radio broadcaster Pat Hughes was one of the eight finalists this year.
Harrelson was in the White Sox's broadcast booth for 33 years. He retired after the 2018 season at the age of 77.
"Last night when I went to bed was really the first time that I had trouble falling asleep because I knew what was going to happen today," Harrelson said. "I just started thinking about all the great names on that list. There are great announcers there. It was just an honor to be on the ballot in the first place. Then an unbelievable honor to have been selected.
"I am truly humbled to receive the greatest honor for any broadcaster in baseball."
Former White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko sat in with Harrelson for a game late in the 2018 season and has been pushing for him to get to Cooperstown.
"I'm doing what he would do, which is to be a homer," Konerko told the Daily Herald last month. "I want him in."
Konerko, who is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year as a player, finally got his wish. So did countless baseball fans, White Sox and otherwise.
"Hawk is so deserving of this tremendous honor," Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. "His passion for baseball is unmatched and he has entertained generations of White Sox fans with his stories, experiences and insight. He cared passionately about the White Sox and like our fans, took every win and loss to heart.
"With his nicknames and catchphrases, Hawk changed the way people talk about baseball and even how they describe day-to-day life."
Harrelson has better than seven months to get his thoughts together for what figures to be a memorable speech in Cooperstown.
"I thought that one day that I would go in, but I told my family that it would probably be after I've passed away," Harrelson said with his customary bluntness. "I'm just so happy to be able to share this with them. I love baseball right now more than I ever have because of the fact that it's the greatest game going. It's just been a wonderful life for me."