Dave Barnett’s final broadcast for the Texas Rangers last June made the veteran announcer something of a You Tube sensation ; Barnett, who had a history of head injuries, had what many thought to be a stroke-like episode on air that his employer later blamed on a migrane headache. Earlier this week, Texas declined to extend Barnett’s one year deal, and it seems the franchise was rather quick to write him out of the history books, as the Dallas Morning News’ Barry Horn explains.
Dave Barnett said he wishes it had ended differently. He would have appreciated it if someone had called from the Rangers to tell him, rather than inform his agent, that he was through.
Barnett said the Rangers have been distant since they took him off the road in June.
“I’m not an idiot,” he said. “Am I shocked by this? No.”
John Blake, the Rangers executive vice president for communications, said he had been in contact with Barnett’s New York-based agent for months and believes he was following “proper channels” when he informed the agent that Barnett’s contract would not be renewed. Blake said he would have no more comment on “a personnel issue.”
Without wishing to minimize the seriousness of Barnett’s condition, if the occasional lapse towards nonsensical gibberish has no place in a baseball telecast, how did Fran Healy stay on the air for so long?