Mccarver Is A Nerd

Was Tim McCarver a nerd as an athlete?
The man drives me crazy. He is so overly dramatic and contrived in the broadcast booth that whatever insights he has into baseball are overshadowed by the sheer stupidity of his delivery. And to make matters worse he sits next to Joe Buck.
I like Joe Buck. I think he is intelligent. I think he is knowledgeable and has a great command of the English language. I love his sense of humor. It is sarcastic, understated and fueled by intelligence; my favorite type of humor.
One or both of my sons hate Joe Buck. I'm not sure of the statistics because I have so many sons to keep track of. Anyway I don't get it. I am always willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because they are both supremely knowledgeable in the world of sports. I tend to defer to them. Although as with most everything in life I am probably more knowlegable than I give myself credit for.
I gotta go with my gut on this one. Joe Buck is good. Which makes McCarver look like even more of an idiot. Kind of like Steven Hawking sitting next to George W. Bush.
McCarver's overall aura in the booth is one of nerdiness. Which makes me wonder what his persona was as an athlete. Athletes comes across as cool. Carefree. Jokester/pranksters. Sometimes tough and intimidating. It is rare that you perceive an athlete as a nerd. Unless you consider chess a sport.
So, what if McCarver was a nerd? Did the other baseball players laugh at him behind his back? Or to his face? Did they taunt him? Did they tell him they were going out to The Beerhouse for dinner when they were really going to The 1904 Steakhouse? Did they deflate the tires on his car?
I have this picture of him sitting alone at one end of the bench while the rest of the team sits together at the other end. Telling Tim Mccarver jokes.
In 1964 Mccarver was the World Series' Most Valuable Player. He could play the game. But I just can't shake this image of him on the field and in the locker room and dugout as a buffoon. Lots of former players suck at broadcasting. This conforms to my theory on why lots of bosses suck. The skills required to be a boss are much different than the skills required to do a job. Doing a job well does not automatically translate into good bossifying. Being a successful athlete does not mean you will be a superstar in the booth.
Athletes' personalities do not change from the field to the booth. Kevin Millar is as funny in the booth as he was on the field. He is who he is. Ergo I have to believe Mccarver was a nerd on the field.
His life must have been a living hell. Ugly women and cleats filled with shaving cream.
I'm running out of gas on this theory so I gotta refer to two quotes from yesterday's Red Sox game. I was watching the Sox get spanked by Detroit. It was painful but the hot dogs I grilled were magnificent. Actually the dogs weren't that great but what I decorated them with was. Sweet onions, four blend Mexican cheese and horseradish mustard.
Beckett threw a hanging curve that got slammed for a double. Mccarver said:"I don't want to alarm Red Sox fans, but that pitch looked like a pitch thrown by a pitcher with thumb problems." Beckett has been struggling with an injured thumb for over a year and it was rumored that he might not be ready to start this season. Mccarver was just playing the odds, betting that Beckett is indeed hurt and will miss some starts so that McCarver can look like a baseball genius. He was also being incredibly insensitive to the emotions of Red Sox fans. I don't think McCarver's powers of observation are so finely tuned that he can determine a pitcher's health from one pitch. Even if he was a catcher.
Detroit destroyed the Sox. Five home runs. Mccarver said:"And on this Masters weekend Detroit is really driving the ball." Jesus. I think he was trying to be funny. He was funny as a nerd. Funny as in fans shaking their heads and saying this guy needs to be institutionalized.
What scares me is the thought that there is a chance he thought his comment was insightful commentary. Creative. Incisive.
My dream is that one day Joe Buck will be drunk in the booth, Mccarver will say something inane and Buck will smear hot dog mustard and chili all over Mccarver's face.
That would be good TV.