Chico Carrasquel was happy to be back in Comiskey Park. Even though it was colder than he remembered. And much snowier.
”It`s a lot different from when I played,” the soft-spoken Carrasquel said of the ballpark. ”When I played, I never saw it with so much snow.”
Carrasquel, 62, was the first in a long line of White Sox shortstops from Venezuela, playing for them from 1950 until he was traded to Cleveland after the 1955 season.
And starting this season-if there is a season-Carrasquel will join Frank Diaz on WTAQ Radio`s Spanish-language broadcasts of Sox games.
”He`s been spending his summers in Chicago,” said Diaz, who has been doing play-by-play at WTAQ for five years. ”He had done winter league analysis on radio and TV in Venezuela. That prompted us to have him as a guest analyst last year. One thing led to another.”
And before Diaz knew it, he`d invited Carrasquel to join him full time, or as full time as the station`s 40-game schedule will allow. Which is just fine with Carrasquel-for now.
”Most of the people like what I talk about,” he said. ”I talk about the old times. Frank Diaz likes it. Next year will be better, though, with more games.”
Carrasquel`s old times include breaking in a young second baseman by the name of Nellie Fox, who would become the sparkplug of the Sox`s 1959 pennant- winning club.
And Carrasquel is properly puzzled over Fox`s exclusion from the Hall of Fame, something that the Hall`s Veterans Committee failed to rectify last month.
”Nellie was a really great player,” Carrasquel said, shaking his head.
”He helped this ballclub to win a pennant. He was the Most Valuable Player. He was the best second baseman I ever played with.”
But the years roll by on the South Side. After Carrasquel, there was Luis Aparicio. And now Ozzie Guillen plays shortstop.
”Ozzie is real good; I enjoy watching him play,” said Carrasquel, who added a touch of history. ”I saw him play at all different levels, from Little League and winter league and now the majors.”
Few other analysts can make that claim, in any language.
– CBS Sports, perhaps influenced by NBC`s hard-charging ”Sports Update”
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studio show, has changed its pregame plans for Saturday. Instead of a preview of the NCAA basketball tournament, James Brown will host ”The Road to the Final Four: A Crossroads for College Sports” at noon on WBBM-Ch. 2.
The half-hour program, put together by Executive Producer Ted Shaker, will feature a roundtable discussion between NCAA Executive Director Dick Schultz, Notre Dame Executive Vice President Rev. William Beauchamp, Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson and CBS correspondent Curry Kirkpatrick on the future direction of big-time athletics.
It should be interesting-and so, too, should be the response of NBC Sports Executive Producer Terry O`Neil.
– Furious over a World Boxing Association that changed opponents for featherweight champion Antonio Esparragoza, NBC Sports has dropped its recognition of the WBA. ”We are ceasing to recognize the WBA,” said NBC boxing coordinator Kevin Monaghan. ”We will never televise a WBA fight. We will not pay any WBA sanctioning fees.”
– How times change: In 1963, when Loyola won its NCAA basketball championship, the title game was shown on tape delay on WGN-Ch. 9. Why?
Because the station was telecasting the state high school basketball finals live. Today, the NCAA title contest is a prime-time network hit, while the state prep meet is relegated to cable TV. You`d think that Illinois, like its sister state Indiana, would be able to accomodate both colleges and preps on regular TV.
– Dan Roan`s superb highlights show, ”The 1989 Cubby Awards,” on WGN-Ch. 9 Monday night received an overnight Nielsen rating of 9.3 and a 14 share, good enough for third place for the 7 p.m.-8 p.m. time slot.
– Don`t invite Dick Vitale and Howard Cosell to the same Final Four party. Cosell, appearing on ESPN last weekend, said, ”How in the world did winning basketball and football teams become the credo of educational life in America? . . . You worship big-time college basketball, you`re worshiping immorality.” Vitale, during the Purdue-Michigan game on ABC, responded: ”He`s a bitter, bitter man. I hope in my career I never end up like that.”
– ABC Sports has a hearing scheduled Friday in U.S. District Court to try and settle its suit against the U.S. Treasury Dept. over the Pan American Games. A lawsuit was filed in January by Capital Cities Inc. on behalf of ABC, over Treasury`s demand that the network use only videotape from the Games next year in Cuba.
– The third installment of the NutraSweet Challenge of Champions figure skating competition from Moscow airs on WLS-Ch. 7 at 3:30 p.m. Saturday as part of ”ABC`s Wide World of Sports.” The Deerfield-based company, in conjunction with Kemper Sports Marketing of Northbrook, put together the professional skating competition, the first held in the Soviet Union. It features such stars as Brian Boitano, Scott Hamilton, Debi Thomas and Rosalynn Sumners as well as the first professional appearance of many Soviet skaters.
– WLUP Radio will carry several NCAA men`s basketball tournament games, starting with the East Regional semifinal March 22. The station won`t be doing the March 23 regionals because of a conflict with the Bulls, but will have the rest of the contests through the April 2 final.
– ESPN has completed its baseball announcer lineup with the addition of play- by-play man Steve Zabriskie and analysts Jim Palmer and Tommy Hutton. Zabriskie, formerly with the Mets, and Palmer, formerly with ABC and currently with the Orioles, will work the first game of the Friday night double-headers, while Hutton will team with Chris Berman on the Tuesday night second game. . . . With or without spring training, ESPN kicks off its daily ”Baseball Tonight” at 10 p.m. March 19.