By now, many of you have seen or heard or at least heard about ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe’s visit to the broadcast booth during a Padres game while in a very drunken state. There’s no question, he made a fool of himself.
I’m not going to provide a link to a video or audio. I don’t see the point. Sut has been humiliated enough. Sutcliffe entered the stadium in a very inebriated state with no intention of “working”, that is, going on the air. The San Diego ESPN affiliate people knew full well Sut had drank more than a few yet proceeded to bring him on the air. Which producer made the decision that doing that was a “good idea”?
Yet, it’s Sutcliffe who has to come out and make an embarrassing apology. For what? He was a drunk baseball fan having a good time. He was no drunker than half the guys in Petco, I’m sure. His only gaffe was that he wasn’t able to make the wiser decision not to go on air. But that decision should not have been his decision to make.
I was never a big follower of Harry Carey. Anyone know how many times he apologized for being inebriated while on the job? How about Mike Shannon, the Cardinal radio guy? These guys worked their whole careers with a beer in one hand a a microphone in the other. No need for apologies, Rick.