McCarver's Response
The following are selected quotes from Tim McCarver's interview with WFAN's Mike Francesa in New York.
On his reaction to the news:
“I don’t think it was a shock. I was surprised. I mean, to say I was anything less than surprised would not be honest. It’s been a part of my life for 16 years. And more than anything else, it was fun. I loved doing Mets games.
“And I’ll miss the fun.”
(later) “As I said, to say anything less than I was surprised would not be honest. I was surprised, [but] I was not shocked. I guess in this business, in the way things move around, and certainly with the Mets going away from channel 9, I was prepared for anything and prepared for this.”
On money as a possible reason for the decision:
“Certainly it was not the money, because we had not entered into any negotiations with either MSG or Channel 11 or the Mets. So it was not the money, and anything else is speculation - other than the fact that the Mets wanted to build tradition with Tom Seaver, and I can’t think of a better guy to build tradition with than Tommy Terrific.”
On the possibility his criticism of manager Bobby Valentine was the reason:
“Well, candidly Mike, I hope that’s not the case. Because if a manager has the say on who is going to be a broadcaster and who tries to objectively criticize and objectively praise in the booth, [then] the business has taken a terrible turn. I hope that is not the case, but anything other than that is speculation.”
On if sensed strained relations at the end of last season:
“No, I didn’t think so.”
On whether announcers and managers can be friends:
“I think you’re going to have a relationship with a manager,” McCarver said. “To say that any announcer is friends - or even good friends - with a manager, I think, would be straining things.”
On his relationship with former Met manager Davey Johnson:
“I was neither a friend nor a foe of Davey Johnson. I said some things about Davey Johnson; Davey and I had words; He always confronted me with it. And life went on. That to me, is the way that it should be. You can’t be prevented from telling what you perceive as the truth.”
On if today's players and managers are more sensitive to criticism:
“I don’t know whether that’s the case or not. I think 10 or 20 years ago, the standard was such that players and managers expected ex-players, or perhaps even ex-managers, to defend them in the booth. I don’t necessarily think that that’s the case today. Because I hope that the business as a whole, and the understanding of the business as a whole, has grown to the point that criticism is accepted just like praise is accepted.
"It has always been my stance that you cannot objectively praise somebody - be it a manager or a player - unless you objectively criticize him when the time comes.”
On how he handled confrontations:
“I welcome stuff like that. If a guy has a legitimate grip with me, I’d be the first one on the air. Or if I were wrong in the booth, I’d be the first guy on the air ... and either apologize to that player or whatever."
On receiving phone calls Wednesday from Mets owners Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilbon:
“It was very nice of them. A classy way to handle it. Life goes on. And that’s the way it is."
(later) “I got the figuratively speaking gold watch.”
On if there is any bitterness:
"Bitterness? Absolutely not. As I said, life moves on. And you get on with it. Turn the page.”
On doing Yankees games on the Fox affiliate in New York:
“While that’s a possibility, I’m only five hours away from the original phone call, so I really can’t answer that right now.”
“Well, we just have to talk. I mean it is late - it’s into February - and there are an awful lot of teams that do have their announcers in place. If something like that comes up, I’ll listen. Absolutely.”
WFAN in New York contributed to this story.
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