Count on Zaun to tell it like it is
Blue Jays commentator doesn’t mind dishing out ‘dose of reality’ to players
When UBC Thunderbirds baseball enlisted Sportsnet analyst Gregg Zaun to headline their upcoming fundraiser, they couldn’t have guessed he would come complete with a news angle.
Toronto Blue Jays ace Marcus Stroman has taken to Twitter recently, stating that Sportsnet needs a change in its on-air staff and that he “can’t wait to have a home broadcast that defends its home players.”
Toronto struggled this season, finishing 76-86. Zaun, a former Blue Jays catcher, was critical of several Toronto players, including Stroman.
For instance, he balked at Stroman being overly animated after an April win over the Los Angeles Angels, explaining: “There’s no reason for it. It’s an unsportsmanlike way to behave. You just dominated somebody. Just high-five your teammates and go back in the clubhouse and celebrate. I don’t understand why the jumping around, the flashy, the showboating.”
Zaun, in an interview to promote his Nov. 3 appearance at the UBC fundraiser, to be held at Boston Pizza on Beatty Street, didn’t mention Stroman specifically when asked about how difficult it is to be hard on players and performances, but it’s probably fair to suggest the onetime Vancouver Canadians righthander was top of mind.
“It gave me a little pause my first year, because some of the guys then were former teammates,” said Zaun, 46, who had a 16-year major-league career. “I looked at it two ways: I’m not saying anything that I wouldn’t say to your face as a teammate, because I was brutally honest with my teammates and they were brutally honest with me, and it’s the network and not the players that pay my bills.
“Now, I don’t feel bad at all. The players today are so thin-skinned. They’re used to mommy and daddy telling them how pretty they are. I have no problem giving them a dose of reality.
“And I never criticize the man. It’s my job to analyze the performance. Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it’s bad. Apparently some of these guys have forgotten that it’s a game of failure, that the best hitters are only successful three of every 10 times. What am I supposed to do? Spin it positive all the time?
“The guys who play the game the right way never have to worry about me. Contrary to some people’s beliefs, I will never forget how hard it is to play the game. I wasn’t a great player. I was an average player, at best. But it’s not hard to try to do the right things. It’s never hard to hustle. If people do these type of things, they’ll never have a problem with me.”
Zaun says he’s close friends with broadcast partner Jamie Campbell, and contends that their natural rapport means that “the hardest part of my job some days is figuring out where Jamie and I are going to eat dinner afterwards.”
“I have the second cushiest job in TV sports in Canada,” he continued. “Right after Don Cherry.”
Zaun has drawn comparisons to Cherry, 83, the Hockey Night in Canada stalwart, for both his blunt assessments and some of the outlandish outfits he wears on TV.
Zaun says they are friendly, and he has called on Cherry for advice in the past.
Cherry has appeared on Blue Jays broadcasts on Sportsnet on Canada Day. And Zaun admits he regularly attempts to come up with a bolder, brighter suit than whatever Cherry will wear that day.
“I remember the first time he was coming. I had something absolutely outstanding. He came in, looked at me and said, ‘You out-Cherry-ed me, kid,’ ” explained Zaun.
Zaun does talks like the one he’s doing for UBC across the country in the off-season and says he enjoys them because “there’s such a thirst for baseball knowledge in Canada.”
Tickets are $100. Check out gothunderbirds.ca for more information. All proceeds will go toward UBC’s trip to Japan in August, 2018. There will be door prizes and silent auction items available.