| Tony Kubek | |
|---|---|
 Kubek, circa 1964–65 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1935-10-12)October 12, 1935 (age 90) Milwaukee,Wisconsin, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1957, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 1965, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .266 |
| Home runs | 57 |
| Runs batted in | 373 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Canadian | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2016 |
Anthony Christopher Kubek (born October 12, 1935)[1] is an American former professionalbaseball player and televisionbroadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with theNew York Yankees, Kubek played in sixWorld Series in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting in 37 World Series games. ForNBC television, he later broadcast twelve World Series between 1968 and 1982, and fourteenLeague Championship Series between 1969 and 1989. Kubek received theFord C. Frick Award in 2009.
A left-handed batter, Kubek signed his first professional contract with the Yankees and rose rapidly through the team's farm system. He was 21 years old when he played his first game inMajor League Baseball in 1957, and—except for one year (1962) spent largely in the U.S. military—remained with the Yankees until his retirement due to a back injury at the close of the 1965 season. In his prime he formed a topdouble play combination withsecond baseman (and roommate)Bobby Richardson on an infield that also featuredthird basemanClete Boyer.
In 1957, teammateSal Maglie praised Kubek when talking toRobert Creamer ofSports Illustrated. "He's a nice boy, that Kubek. He's going to be a great player. He's a fine hitter right now. He hits with the pitch and it's hard to fool him. His wrists are so quick he can wait to see where the pitch is thrown before he commits himself, and then he can push it to left or pull it to right. And he's never satisfied with himself. That's the sign of a good ballplayer."[2]
Kubek played 1,092 games, 882 of them atshortstop (although he also was anoutfielder and utilityinfielder in his early career), compiling a lifetimebatting average of .266 with 57home runs. The 38 doubles he totaled in 1961 remained the Yankee club record for shortstops until 2004, and his career fielding percentage and range factor were both above league average. During his nine years with the Yankees, he played on sevenAmerican League pennant winners (1957–58, 1960–64) and three world champions (1958, 1961–1962).
In 1982, Kubek was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
In 1986, Kubek took part inOld-Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium for the only time, as that year's event was a reunion of the1961 Yankees, and marked the recent passing ofRoger Maris.
He was signed by Yankees scoutLou Maguolo.[4]
In 1957, Kubek won theAmerican League Rookie of the Year Award. In Game 3 of the1957 World Series, he had one of the best World Series games a rookie has ever had, going 3 for 5 with two home runs, three runs scored, and four RBI in the first MLB game he played in his hometown of Milwaukee. Kubek is one of five rookies to hit two home runs in a World Series game. AnotherYankee,Charlie Keller, had performed the feat in the1939 World Series against theCincinnati Reds andSt. Louis CardinalWillie McGee homered twice in the1982 World Series against theMilwaukee Brewers. All three of these feats occurred in a Game 3; Kubek's and McGee's both occurred atMilwaukee County Stadium. TheAtlanta Braves'Andruw Jones homered twice in Game 1 of the1996 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Michael Conforto of the New York Mets became the fifth member of this club when he hit two in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series on October 31, 2015.
In Game 7 of the1960 World Series, Kubek was shaken up by a bad-hop ground ball that struck him in the throat in the eighth inning.Bill Virdon reached first base on the infield single, which helped thePittsburgh Pirates rally for a dramatic 10–9 victory, which was completed by a game-winning home run byBill Mazeroski one inning later. The play would haunt Kubek for the rest of his baseball life. When future broadcast partnerBob Costas once referenced Virdon's smash on the air, Kubek put his hand on Costas' thigh to stop him.[5] Just before the1963 World Series, TV personalityPhil Silvers, a Dodger fan, provided a reporter with a list of Yankee players to rattle. He included Kubek: "Show him a pebble."[5]
Upon his retirement, Kubek became acolor commentator onNBC's SaturdayGame of the Week telecasts, teaming withplay-by-play announcerJim Simpson on the network's backup games from 1966 to 1968 and then joiningCurt Gowdy to form the lead crew in 1969. He spent 24 years at NBC, teaming with such announcers as Simpson, Gowdy (whom Kubek later called his favorite partner),Joe Garagiola, andBob Costas. Kubek could be considered baseball's first network baseball analyst as contrasted with acolor commentator, similar toTim McCarver andJim Kaat later.
In addition to the weekly in-season games, Kubek worked 11World Series (1969–1976,1978,1980 and1982) for NBC, as well as 14American League Championship Series (1969–1975,1977,1979,1981,1983,1985,1987, and1989), and 10All-Star Games (1969–1975,1977,1979, and1981).[6]
He also worked local telecasts for theToronto Blue Jays onThe Sports Network andCTV from their inaugural season of1977 through1989. TheToronto Star stated Kubek "educated a whole generation of Canadian baseball fans without being condescending or simplistic."[6]
During the winter, Kubek would gohunting, coach junior high basketball, and wait for baseball to resume.[citation needed]
As a sportscaster, Kubek was known for his outspokenness. While calling the1972 American League Championship Series, Kubek said thatOakland'sBert Campaneris throwing his bat atDetroit's Lerrin LaGrow (who had just knocked Campaneris down with a low, inside pitch) was justified, on the grounds that any pitch aimed squarely at a batter's legs could endanger his career. Angered by Kubek's comments, executives from Detroit'sChrysler Corporation, which sponsored NBC's telecasts, phoned then-Commissioner of BaseballBowie Kuhn, who, in turn, called the network about the matter.[7]
On April 8, 1974, whenHank Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th career home run, Kubek, who was calling the game withCurt Gowdy andJoe Garagiola, criticized Bowie Kuhn on air for failing to be in attendance atAtlanta on that historic night. Kuhn later argued he had a prior engagement he could not break.[8]
In the 10th inning of Game 3 of the1975 World Series,Cincinnati'sCésar Gerónimo reached first base. Then,Boston catcherCarlton Fisk threwEd Armbrister's bunt into center field. Kubek, on the NBC telecast, immediately charged that Armbrister interfered (with the attempted forceout), though home plate umpireLarry Barnett did not agree. AfterJoe Morgan drove in the game-winning run for the Reds in a 6–5 victory, Barnett blamed Kubek and Gowdy for inciting death threats against him. Later, Kubek got 1,000 letters dubbing him a Boston stooge.
In 1978, Kubek had said ofNew York Yankees' ownerGeorge Steinbrenner that "He's got an expensive toy. Baseball's tough enough without an owner harassing you." In aSports Illustrated article published May 27, 1991, on the Yankees'bad season, he would go on to criticize Steinbrenner once again by saying, "George's legacy is not the World Series winners of'77 and'78 or having the best record of any team in the '80s, his legacy is these past five seasons—teams with worse and worse records culminating in last year's last-place finish." Kubek also added, "George talked a lot about tradition, but it was all phony, it was just him trying to be part of the tradition. You can't manufacture tradition in a plastic way. You have to have a certain class to go with it."
The team of Kubek andBob Costas (backing up[9]Vin Scully andJoe Garagiola and later,Tom Seaver) proved to be a formidable pair. Costas was praised by fans for both his reverence and irreverence while Kubek was praised for his technical approach and historical perspective. One of the pair's most memorable broadcasts was the "(Ryne) Sandberg Game" (between theChicago Cubs andSt. Louis Cardinals at Chicago'sWrigley Field) on June 23, 1984. In the ninth inning, the Cubs, trailing 9–8, faced the premier relief pitcher of the time,Bruce Sutter. Sandberg, then not known for his power, slugged a home run to left field against the Cardinals' ace closer. Despite this dramatic act, the Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the tenth. Sandberg came up again in the tenth inning, facing a determined Sutter with one man on base. Sandberg then shocked the national audience by hitting a second home run, even farther into the left field bleachers, to tie the game again. The Cubs went on to win in the 11th inning.[10] When Sandberg hit that second home run, Costas said,"Do you believe it?!" The Cardinals'Willie McGee also hit for the cycle in the same game.[11]
Kubek and Costas, who had worked together since 1983 (calling four American League Championship Series:1983,1985,1987, and1989), called the final edition (the 981st overall) of NBC'sGame of the Week, which aired on September 30, 1989. That game featured theToronto Blue Jays (Kubek was the broadcaster, from 1977 to 1989 for the Blue Jays) beating theBaltimore Orioles 4–3 to clinch theAL East title atSkyDome.
When the subject came up of NBC losing the rights to televising Major League Baseball for the first time since 1946, Kubek said,"I can't believe it!" The final broadcast for Kubek and Costas as a team was Game 5 of the1989 American League Championship Series (October 8), also at SkyDome, where theOakland Athletics won to advance to theWorld Series.[12]
When NBC lost its baseballTV rights toCBS after the 1989 season, Kubek left the national scene, joining the Yankees' local cable-TV announcing team (which earned Kubek US$525,000 a year).[citation needed]
Kubek spent five years calling games for the Yankees (1990–1994) on theMSG Network withDewayne Staats, where he earned fans and critics' respect for his honesty. After 1994, Kubek effectively quit broadcasting.[13] He explained his sudden retirement from sportscasting by saying:
I hate what the game's become—the greed, the nastiness. You can be married to baseball, give your heart to it, but when it starts taking over your soul, it's time to say 'whoa'.
Kubek added, "I want to go home and spend more time with my family. They deserve it more than anyone. I don't need that ego stuff. I feel sorry for those who do." In a 2008New York Times article, Kubek claimed not to have seen a major league game since his retirement from broadcasting.[14]
Kubek lives inAppleton, Wisconsin, and is a supporter of theFox Valley Lutheran High School and its baseball team.[15] TheNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame on June 20, 2019, named its inaugural Excellence in Media Award the Tony Kubek Award andAdrian Wojnarowski ofESPN was honored.
On December 22, 2008, Tony Kubek was named the recipient of the 2009Ford C. Frick Award, an honor bestowed on broadcasters by theBaseball Hall of Fame.[16]
Kubek was selected for the honor by a committee of 15 prior Frick Award winners and five broadcast historians and columnists.[17] He became the first Frick Award winner whose broadcast career was solely in television, and the first to have called games for a Canadian team, the Toronto Blue Jays, from 1977 to 1989.[16]
In that regard he was named to theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame, in St. Marys, Ontario, in the Class of 2016.
Kubek is aDemocrat. In 1976, he declined to go toSouth Carolina to campaign for former teammateBobby Richardson, aRepublican, who lost a close race for theU.S. House of Representatives to incumbent DemocratKenneth Holland by a 51% to 48% margin.[18]
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lead color commentator, Major League Baseball on NBC 1969–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leadcolor commentator, Major League Baseball Game of the Week 1969–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secondarycolor commentator, Major League Baseball Game of the Week 1983–1989 | Succeeded by |
