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The Best of Hawk and A.J.

The feisty backstop brought out the best in Papa Hawk

By Brett Ballantini Updated

It was hard to know how well this pairing was going to work, seeing as how Hawk Harrelson has struggled to put together a good broadcast all season long. But teaming up with one of the guys he “loved like a son,”* A.J. Pierzynski, made for a great call for the game. And crushing the Boston Red Sox, 8-0, didn’t hurt, either.

*Don’t feel too special, A.J., you were one of literally 50 guys during the broadcast that Hawk “loves like a son.”

Pregame photo album section:

Clockwise from right: Darrin Jackson, who Hawk loves “like a son”; Tom “Wimpy” Paciorek, who Hawk loves “like a brother”; Jerry Reinsdorf, who Hawk loves “like a father”; and Steve “Cracklin’ Calcetines” Stone, who Hawk does not love, and may have vaguely alluded to during the broadcast when saying those he doesn’t love “know who they are.”
Chris Sale grinned through the entire ceremony.

Scott Reifert (back left) and Ed Cassin (back right) take in the knuckleheaded Stooges antics of A.J. Pierzynski and Frank “The Big Colada” Thomas.
Leave it to Wimpy to emcee his portion of the festivities wearing a self-fashioned “Hawk nose.” Reports have him getting this costume custom designed at a cost of approximately one dollar.

(The screengrab below came as Hawk was giving A.J. crap about dropping baseballs when runners stole against him.)

(To be fair, by game’s end, Hawk had conceded A.J. beat him, today, and wouldn’t take his 12th victory “as a birthday gift,” so he’s principled about Picks to Click. Kudos to A.J. for teasing Hawk all game about how well Engel was doing, and making up a story after Tim Anderson’s home run in the first that TA is who A.J. “really” wanted, so he should be credited for TA’s effort. Toward the end of the game, Hawk also admitted, in a way that seemed a self-own, that Hawk wins Picks to Click every year.)

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