June 28th, 2006 → 1:46 am @ Seth Mnookin // No Comments
On Tuesday morning, Peter Gammons suffered a brain aneurysm at his home in Cape Cod and was airlifted to a Boston hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He’s now in intensive care.
A case can be made that no single person has been as important to Boston baseball than Gammons; certainly there’s never been a more influential baseball reporter and commentator. Gammons, who was inducted into the writers wing of the Hall of Fame last summer, began his career at the Globe and also wrote for Sports Illustrated before going to ESPN, where be became the unofficial commissioner of baseball.
One of the things that I find most impressive about Peter is his never-ending curiosity about the game. I’ve never met a reporter who works the phones harder. He seems to know every minor leaguer in the country–and their families–and reports his ass off at a time when he could coast by on his reputation. His love of baseball is infectious. Most importantly, Peter is a delightful human being: considerate, thoughtful, generous, and funny.
Despite a bar mitzvah and years of High Holiday services, I still waver on where I fall on the whole religion question, so it would be disingenuous for me say I’m praying for Peter’s speedy recovery. So I’ll just say I hope I see him back at Fenway soon. The whole game feels a little more exciting when he’s around.
Post Categories: Peter Gammons