Striking A Chord

You know, it figures that the thing that I've written about that's gotten me the most feedback isn't about baseball, but about the screaming idiot (who shall STILL not be named) who was heard loud and clear in Milwaukee Wednesday night.

Here's just a sample of the e-mail I've received since then.

From Tim:

Blasted freakin HELL man!! THAT was annoying, and I just heard it for
a few minutes as I was driving to work!

Don't hold back, man. Tell us what you really think!

From Rich, who remembers that last year I called him the "human air-raid siren":

I live in Florida so I listen to Pat & Ron over the Internet and mute my DirecTV MLB package audio on the TV, and he was coming through CLEARLY almost the whole game.

I've only been around him a few times at Wrigley. It's terrible. I understand that you call him the 'human air-raid siren'...but I have to disagree. Air-raid sirens at least serve a purpose.

Good point!

From Chris:

When I was listening to the radio broadcast of the game [Wednesday] night I heard some idiot screaming at the top of his lungs during every at bat and it was driving me nuts! I wanted to strangle the guy because he was giving me a headache - is this the same guy you were referring to? The guy I heard was screaming rhythmically and was able to keep his voice through it all.

Yeah, that was him. It's odd -- it's not really screaming. I've seen him do it enough to notice that it doesn't come from the throat, it's kind of pulling air in and expelling it out in that loud, irritating fashion. I think that's why he can do it for hours.

From Dick:

I was listening to Pat and Ron [Wednesday] night as I watched the TV (I become physically ill or enraged when exposed to Chip Caray), and gradually I became aware of this incessant pounding in my brain. It was the individual you referred to. After noticing him, it became unbearable to listen. So I turned the radio off as well, picked up the paper, and read it as I glanced up to take in the last two innings. This was all the attention that game, and the team, deserved [Wednesday] night.

From Claude:

Nothing like great public relations. Now we know what we have in common with Brewer fans. That guy is supposed to have very little money. How does he get into the games? How does he get up to Milwaukee? Or out to Arizona?

I had heard that when Mark Grace and Mickey Morandini were Cubs, they used to pay his travel expenses. How stupid of them. Think they'd like having him sit next to them in the dugout screaming for two hours? Later, I think one of the goofy morning radio DJ's paid some of his costs, and now, incredibly, he makes his own public appearances, has a CD (now, that'd probably break your speakers) and a website -- no, now you didn't really think I'd link to it, did you?

Finally, this post from the Cubs newsgroup:

Could hear it on TV, too. I caught the end of the game and Chip and
Steve were laughing at the Brewers' fans who stared at Ronnie like he was from another planet. They looked like they wanted to shove every brat in Milwaukee down his WOO throat WOO.

Wish they had.

Got this late e-mail from Kasey Ignarski:

I have hated Ronnie since the early 70's when I was starting to sit in the bleachers. Unfortunately, there are people who have paid to get him tickets and to help him travel. I have also heard Grace himself say that he used to leave tickets for him. I remember one time in the 70's, a petition was distributed to have him banned... unfortunately nothing happened. People who come to the park once or twice find him "Cute". I saw him the other day in front of the park trying to get some cute girls to hula hoop with him. They were giggling as they fell for his lines. That's what keeps him there. It's really pathetic. Since I work by the Water Tower, I remember seeing him at the Brickhouse funeral (it was up the street from me) in full uniform. He is a walking joke. Have you heard his radio commercial for some office products company? It's horrible. Really makes me think that if I needed their services, I would find a competitor fast.

So would I, Kasey.

Seriously, I hope all of this brings more attention to the fact that security at Wrigley Field and other ballparks can put a stop to this. I say again, there's nothing wrong with him being a fan, and making his weird noises if he wants to.

But if you happen to be unlucky enough to get stuck next to him, and you ask him politely to stop, he ought to just do it, and if not, he should be escorted off the premises.

He didn't show up at the Cubs/Sox series at the Cell this year, and I think for good reason. He's been thrown out of there more than once.