Best Sports Broadcast Personality - 2005
Al Hrabosky
Readers' Choice: Joe Buck
Any sports-bar blowhard with a decent timbre to his voice and a varsity letter jacket moldering in his closet believes that he too could be a color commentator. And who can blame him? After all, the paragon of the profession is John Madden, whose "analysis" consists of the well-placed "Boom!" Thankfully, FSN Midwest Cardinals analyst Al Hrabosky is that most practiced of patient observers -- and, undoubtedly, the goofiest of pro sports' many goofballs -- the former relief pitcher. So while he isn't afraid to criticize an Albert Pujols base-running blunder or to question one more Tony La Russa pitching change, Hrabosky understands that "color" doesn't have to equal "loud" or "outraged." His countless hours spent sitting in the bullpen getting up to who-knows-what hijinks taught him that over the course of a 162-game season there are only a half-dozen or so plays worth getting that upset about. Instead Hrabosky approaches each game with a dry wit and a bevy of terrific stories from his days as the Mad Hungarian at the ready -- because, as any ex-reliever will admit, sometimes just watching baseball day after day can get a little boring.
