Did Randa's candor as a player keep him out of the booth?
By JEFFREY FLANAGAN
The Kansas City Star
When FSN Kansas City and the Royals were searching for a broadcaster to fill in, on occasion, for
Paul Splittorff, one of the names considered was former Royal
Joe Randa.
Randa, as any reporter here knows, was always comfortable in front of microphones and notebooks, and that confidence would seem to make him a natural fit for future work in broadcasting booths.
“I did have some conversations with the people at Fox,” Randa said, “and it would have been fun because the number of games I would have been doing (about 20) wouldn’t have interfered much with spending time with my family.
“But, for whatever reason, they went another direction, which was fine with me. I’d still like to try something like that down the road.”
FSN Kansas City eventually chose Frank White as its utility man in the booth. That decision led to speculation in broadcasting circles that Randa’s name was shelved because he perhaps was too outspoken against Royals ownership during his playing days. As a player, Randa once suggested that Royals ownership may have been meddling too much in baseball decisions.
Randa admits he was candid when talking to the media during his playing days, mainly, he said, because he had to.
“I was the older guy on teams with younger guys,” Randa said, “I guess I was the guy who had to answer the tough questions. Someone had to.
“But I have nothing against the Royals, and it’s never been my intent to bash them.”
The Royals say Randa’s outspoken nature had no bearing on the decision to hire White instead.
“We went with the candidate we thought was most qualified and that was Frank White,” Royals vice president of communications Mike Swanson said.
Fred White not fired
On the subject of Royals broadcasters, Fred White reports that the headline from Wednesday’s column apparently led some friends and fans to believe he had been fired by the Royals. That wasn’t the case — the column explained that White simply won’t be filling in as a backup announcer in the radio booth any more but will retain his job as director of alumni and broadcast services.
“This was a mutual thing with the Royals,” White said. “I told them that I know I’m not the future of Royals radio, so let’s keep that in mind as we reshuffle the broadcasting picture.”
Tony G and Oprah
Tony Gonzalez
will be appearing on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” at 4 p.m. today on Channel 9 to discuss his role as a celebrity judge on Oprah’s other show “Big Give,” which debuts Sunday night on ABC at 8 p.m.
Tony G also will provide his insights into the “Big Give” show on an upcoming blog planned for www.kcchiefs.com.
To reach Jeffrey Flanagan call 816-234-4492 and leave a message or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com
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