A year ago tomorrow morning I got a text message while settling into my cube in Atlanta. My friend Ernie was trying to alert me that my main nemeses in life, Harold Reynolds, had been dismissed from his job. I refused to believe it. Then another text came in came from minor league personality Segal and I decided to check it out, still not believing that Reynolds had reached his day of reckoning. But sure enough, the blogs were reporting that H.R. was out of work. Victory was mine.The two time Gold Glove winner has now been off of ESPN broadcasts for a year as he was indeed fired year ago today, July 25, 2006. Reynolds is currently suing the television network over the dismissal which he claims was without merit. It was reported that Harold was fired over an 'inappropriate hug' that occurred at an Outback Steakhouse just prior to his termination. This hug is in dispute.
But looking back on it I have realized that I lost. I lost big time. I will be the first to say I miss the bumbling H.R. and yes, I entered the 'Spend a Day With Harold Reynolds Contest' in 2005. I have an Orioles personalized throwback jersey with 'Reynolds 6' on the back of it. I also know that in his only year with the O's in 1993 Harold wore two numbers, 6 and 25. I now will admit I was a fan.
Reynolds was a lightening rod for controversy (at least in my circles) with his commentary often being controversial (in my circles) and difficult to understand (in my circles) on Baseball Tonight which he teamed with John Kruk as the two most dynamic personalities of the show. ESPN has tried many talking heads in an attempt to replace Harold on Baseball Tonight since then, but no one has been able to have the on air chemistry that he possessed with the Krukster. Harold also was a manager on the ESPN hyped celebrity all-star softball game and gave kid friendly broadcasts of the Little League World Series in addition to his duties on Baseball Tonight.
Good luck to Harold on his new job with MLB.com, selling his coaching videos and his 5 million dollar lawsuit against ESPN. We just hope that if he testifies in his trial that someone will give the jury a copy of what he said because Lord knows there is no way they will understand what he's saying.
On that card pictured above Harold notes the following verse from the book of Jeremiah 29:11 "I alone have the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future full of hope."
