Fox baseball analyst Tim McCarver won’t be disciplined for ‘inappropriate’ comments
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On the same day Dwyane Wade apologized for what some considered to be a poor choice in words, Fox baseball analyst Tim McCarver found himself in a similar position, calling an analogy he drew between the New York Yankees organization and World War II-era Germany and Russia ‘inappropriate.’
During the fourth inning of the televised game between the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday -- the same day Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was buried -- McCarver started blasting the organization for its treatment of former manager Joe Torre, an ex-teammate of McCarver’s.
‘You remember some of those despotic leaders in World War II, primarily in Russia and Germany, where they used to take those pictures that they had taken of former generals who were no longer alive, they had shot them.’ McCarver said during the broadcast. ‘They would airbrush the generals out of the pictures; in a sense that’s what the Yankees have done with Joe Torre.
‘They have airbrushed his legacy. I mean, there’s no sign of Joe Torre at the stadium. And that’s ridiculous. I don’t understand it.’
The Anti-Defamation League said Monday that McCarver’s comments were improper.
‘No matter what one thinks of the Yankees’ treatment of Joe Torre, likening it to how Germany and Russia treated their generals who fell out of favor is an inappropriate comparison,’ the organization said in a statement.
Two days after his initial comments, McCarver agreed that he had gone too far.
‘Although my analogy was inappropriate, in my opinion the underlying point remains true,’ McCarver told the New York Daily News on Monday. ‘That Yankee management -- not the players, they have embraced Joe Torre and always will -- has erased Joe Torre from their history, for the most part. The way the Yankees treated Joe was not in response to the book he wrote [‘The Yankee Years’]. The book came out well after the old stadium closed. But I admit my analogy was over the top.’
Fox spokesman Dan Bell said Monday that McCarver will not be disciplined for the comments.
‘We’ve discussed the situation with Tim, and relayed in no uncertain terms that his choice of analogies was inappropriate, which he completely agrees with and regrets using,’ Bell said. ‘Given his contrition and flawless 25-year track record, we’re comfortable no further action is necessary.’
-- Chuck Schilken