Len Kasper taking White Sox radio job

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Can't believe McCarthy quit on the Cowboys once Dak got hurt.

[mias_tisg]

I like Len but if the Cubs were to replace him with someone other than Chris Myers, it would lessen the blow. They have their choice of literally any announcer in America. It's a dream job and money shouldn't be an issue here.

[Andy]

I like Len but if the Cubs were to replace him with someone other than Chris Myers, it would lessen the blow. They have their choice of literally any announcer in America. It's a dream job and money shouldn't be an issue here.

The only person who I know definitely wouldn't be a big step down is Boog Sciambi. I'm sure there are folks I don't know who would be good, too, but Sciambi is the guy Marquee should be after here IMO.

[Backtobanks]

money shouldn't be an issue here.

 

?????????????????? Haven't you heard that the Cubs (and everything having to do with them) are totally broke?

[Irrelevant Dude]

money shouldn't be an issue here.

 

?????????????????? Haven't you heard that the Cubs (and everything having to do with them) are totally broke?

Don't forget that Marquee Network has secured massive carriage deals with every carrier!

[mias_tisg]

money shouldn't be an issue here.

 

?????????????????? Haven't you heard that the Cubs (and everything having to do with them) are totally broke?

Guys are going to take less money to come to the Cubs because it's a dream job. If Chris Myers is the guy, he's a national voice and probably going to demand a good chunk of money.

[mias_tisg]

I like Len but if the Cubs were to replace him with someone other than Chris Myers, it would lessen the blow. They have their choice of literally any announcer in America. It's a dream job and money shouldn't be an issue here.

The only person who I know definitely wouldn't be a big step down is Boog Sciambi. I'm sure there are folks I don't know who would be good, too, but Sciambi is the guy Marquee should be after here IMO.

There are good announcers in MLB already that might flip from their local team to the Cubs much like Len did when he was with the Marlins.

[Derwood]

I hear Thom Brenneman is available

[Bertz]

I like Len but if the Cubs were to replace him with someone other than Chris Myers, it would lessen the blow. They have their choice of literally any announcer in America. It's a dream job and money shouldn't be an issue here.

The only person who I know definitely wouldn't be a big step down is Boog Sciambi. I'm sure there are folks I don't know who would be good, too, but Sciambi is the guy Marquee should be after here IMO.

 

Yeah Boog comes to mind immediately as the guy I want. He and JD would probably be a blast together.

[NOLA]

i'm sad about len but i'm far more pissed about myers

 

at least hire someone horsefeathering good and not that ass clown

100%. Not only is he an ass clown, he’s said some pretty Fox Newsy right wing garbage over the years. Wonder if that makes him the pick.

[Banedon]

I like Len but if the Cubs were to replace him with someone other than Chris Myers, it would lessen the blow. They have their choice of literally any announcer in America. It's a dream job and money shouldn't be an issue here.

The only person who I know definitely wouldn't be a big step down is Boog Sciambi. I'm sure there are folks I don't know who would be good, too, but Sciambi is the guy Marquee should be after here IMO.

 

Yeah Boog comes to mind immediately as the guy I want. He and JD would probably be a blast together.

 

The last former Marlins announcer we had worked out pretty well.

[Derwood]

Does this mean Kasper and Stone on radio?

[NOLA]

Serious question because I have no idea, but is there any chance the White Sox could overtake the Cubs in popularity in Chicago? Their broadcast teams are pretty solid now and the team is about to be worlds better.

[jersey cubs fan]

Does this mean Kasper and Stone on radio?

stone is on tv

[Cubswin11]

Serious question because I have no idea, but is there any chance the White Sox could overtake the Cubs in popularity in Chicago? Their broadcast teams are pretty solid now and the team is about to be worlds better.

Lol, absolutely not

[rocket]

Jason Benetti is the only replacement that wouldn't depress me but why would he want to do that to himself.

 

Maybe Bonnie Hunt can be talked into it

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Does this mean Kasper and Stone on radio?

 

He'll be partnered with Darrin Jackson.

[jersey cubs fan]

Serious question because I have no idea, but is there any chance the White Sox could overtake the Cubs in popularity in Chicago? Their broadcast teams are pretty solid now and the team is about to be worlds better.

The White Sox were the far more interesting team in the 90s and the first to crack the longterm WS drought in 2005 and never came close to overcoming the Cubs in popularity in any meaningful sense. They lost a lot of games in recent years and have a long run of sub 2 million attendance seasons as one of the worst teams in the worst division. They'll have to go on quite a run and keep the team together for the long haul and have the Cubs go back to a White Sox level of postseason droughts to make a dent.

[SaorsaDaonnan]

I completely believe Len when he says he always dreamed of baseball radio, and in that sense I’m really happy for him, even though I’m also really sad for us.

 

However, I also find it hard to believe that having to rep a team that helped Trump, did little about Russell, or made deals with Sinclair was something that sat well with him. So while I tend to think the Cubs have probably been decent to Len as an individual, at a certain point, just the facts of who they are or what they tolerate have likely made it a bad fit. Just the idea of walking away from all that, getting it the hell out of your life, probably sounds like a huge weight off his shoulders.

 

And I may be wrong, but at times I’ve also wondered about Len’s mental state. He seems like a wonderful and very sharp guy, but he sometimes gives me vibes that he may suffer from depression and anxiety, and like might not like being on camera that much. I tend to think his inclination towards radio, while authentically about passion for that medium and for history, may also be a workplace comfort issue for him, one he can certainly manage well enough to do tv, but that might still be a downside for him.

And it has to have been even more depressing for Len to watch the org not only waste so much in these last few years, but do so while helping the worst segments of society play down corona or violence against Black people. At all times but maybe especially this year, I think that has had to weigh on Len and a lot of others in the org too.

 

So to me the fact that he’s moving on to a less awful employer, in a job that may be a better fit and is definitely a dream come true, with a fantastic young team still in the same city he probably loves by now, and getting to work with great other broadcasters like Jason Benetti and Steve Stone...that sounds like a great deal to me. While I get that the fact that it’s a departure from a standard career arc will seem discordant to some, personally I feel like someone I’ve come to care about has just had something great happen to him...and better still, has arranged it for himself.

 

But of course I also hate that he won’t be doing any more Cubs games, above all for the same reasons many of you are saying he wouldn’t dream of accepting Pat’s job. It’s basically the same feeling as when a friend moves away. He’s someone we know and like, and have lots of great memories with, but he’s also someone we respect and trust. And now he’s going away...

 

...unless, I guess, we all just relax a little about the Sox, and focus on hating the Cards. I can confess that I was feeling nostalgic about the early 90s Cubs and Harry and Steve earlier this year and tuned in to a couple Sox games, wanting to see Steve again and see whether Benetti lived up to the hype, and I have to say, it was kinda fun...and after all, isn’t it better to be a fan of the game first, and a fan of a particular org only secondarily to that? I admit it’s easier after some time has passed, but next year, Len will still be there if you want to tune in. This year especially, that’s saying a lot.

 

Anyway, thanks for everything Len, and best of luck!

 

PS I liked the mention that he’s leaving after the same amount of time as Harry too. A+ to whoever noticed that.

[SaorsaDaonnan]

Does this mean Kasper and Stone on radio?

 

Stone and Benetti are an amazing team on tv. Every day they teach Hawk anew what a good broadcast should look like.

[SaorsaDaonnan]

I hear Thom Brenneman is available

 

They’re probably waiting to see whether Rudy will be available in February...

[mias_tisg]

Serious question because I have no idea, but is there any chance the White Sox could overtake the Cubs in popularity in Chicago? Their broadcast teams are pretty solid now and the team is about to be worlds better.

No chance.

[ConstableRabbit]

For the record Len has been open about his anxiety and depression:

https://www.dailyherald.com/amp-article/20140608/sports/140608612/

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Jon Greenberg has a suggestion: https://theathletic.com/2239770/2020/12/04/len-kasper-cubs-white-sox/

 

Years ago, Boyer asked Kasper to find “the next Len Kasper” for their Sox job and he recommended Benetti, among others. Kasper said that kind of formal inquiry didn’t come from McCarthy and Kenney, but if it did, I bet I know of one name he’d suggest: Wayne Randazzo.

 

McCarthy said he values baseball play-by-play experience, so that’s a plus for Randazzo, the suburban Chicago native who is the radio play-by-play voice of the Mets. According to a source, he and McCarthy have chatted before — McCarthy is a Mets fan.

 

Randazzo, who graduated from North Central College in 2007, was an update anchor on The Score and WBBM while he was the play-by-play voice of the Kane County Cougars before leaving in 2015 to work for the Mets.

 

It doesn’t have to be Randazzo, of course, and the drumbeat would be louder for Adam Amin, had he not already moved to Fox Sports and taken the full-time Bulls play-by-play job. But McCarthy should forget about getting the biggest name and find someone who fits with the Cubs. Kenney seems to understand the importance of connection. Kenney referenced how this is similar to finding someone to replace Kaplan as the pre and postgame host. They picked Cole Wright, a Chicagoland native who had been working at the NFL Network.

[jersey cubs fan]

putting "grew up in chicago" in the list of attributes needed is a terrible idea. The most provincial big city in the world doesn't need more of that nonsense.