In all seriousness, Larry Bowa on early AM XM comes off like Edward R. Murrow compared to Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble. And he’s less likely to suffer an aneurysm. From the Courier Post’s Aaron Bracy :
You’re not the only one who thought former Phillies manager Larry Bowa would be the last person to turn up as a member of the media.
Bowa, himself, never had much desire to get into the profession until ESPN asked if he’d be interested in doing some analysis for the playoffs last fall.
“They approached me right after the season and I thought it would be sort of fun,” said Bowa, who often was at odds with the media as a player and manager. “I decided I might as well try it to see if I liked it.”
Bowa liked it enough that he finds himself today with not one, but two, media jobs. He debuts as an analyst for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight this season, and in February began co-hosting a baseball show on XM Satellite Radio.
He turned down a coaching position with the Marlins to accept the ESPN job, meaning this will be his first year out of uniform since 1966.
“I liked the fact you could talk about baseball and (ESPN) thought I did a pretty good job and asked me to come back,” Bowa said. “I didn’t know really what I wanted to do, but I weighed a couple things and decided to give it a shot and see what transpires from it.”
“We were happy with the job Larry did during the postseason, bringing a current manager’s perspective to our coverage,” ESPN spokesman Nate Smeltz said. “We look forward to having him for a full season.”
Opposite of how he often appeared in TV interviews as manager of the Phils, Bowa seemed completely comfortable in front of the ESPN cameras last fall. He was forthright in his analysis, which is something you can expect of him this season.
“The one thing when you analyze is you try to be as honest as you can,” he said. “The most important thing is you have to be yourself. People who know you will know if you’re lying or being phony or trying to cover up.”
I am looking forward to hearing Bo on the radio and seeing him on Sportscenter as I am happy to see him *anywhere* else other than in the Phillies dugout.
Would like to see more of Bo in Philadelphia media as well. How ironic would it be for HIM to ask Charlie Manuel questions at a post-game conference? Whitey Ashburn (May G-d rest his soul) made the transition beautifully (when all was said and done).
though I was an early skeptic, I’ve gotta say that Larry’s early AM appearances on XM 175 have been one of the channel’s highlights. Admittedly that isn’t saying much compared to Ronnie Lane, Dibble & Kennedy or making his recent debut, Charlie Steiner, but Bowa is funny and knowledgeable. Just keep him out of the dugout!