Hagin out, Rooney in on Cards broadcasts
The shakeups continue with the Cardinals radio broadcasts.
Wayne Hagin, who was hired three seasons ago to replace Jack Buck after the legendary Cards broadcaster died, has been fired.
He’ll be replaced by John Rooney, a former St. Louis sportscaster who has spent the last 18 years broadcasting the Chicago White Sox on radio. Rooney will work with Mike Shannon, who will be back for his 35th season on the air.
Rooney is "the cream of the crop," Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck said. "He’s a guy who has direct ties to the St. Louis area, a guy who was a dear friend of my dad’s and a guy who has fun while he broadcasts and does a great job with the play-by-play. He’s everything you’d want.
"That being said, I thought Wayne did a great job and I thought he did a great job in a tough situation, taking over for my dad. I don’t think Wayne could have done a better job. I feel bad that didn’t work out."
The changes come three months after the club announced that it is moving its radio broadcasts from KMOX, where they have been for the last 51 seasons, to KTRS.
"I was very surprised," Hagin said. "I absolutely have fallen in love with St. Louis, with its people, with the baseball fans, and I wanted this to be my final spot. It was THE perfect place for me.
"But events have changed that. I have a family to take care of, and I will take care of them."
Rooney was the first choice for the job after Buck's death, when it was decided that Joel Meyers -- who had filled in during 2002 -- would not be the full-time replacement.
But Rooney was under contract with the White Sox, and the search turned elsewhere. Hagin, who had been with the Colorado Rockies, ended up with the job.
"It’s the age old line -- you don’t want to be the guy taking over for the guy, but you want to be the guy taking over for the guy who took over for the guy," Joe Buck said. "That’s the nature of it.
"Wayne Hagin, I’m sure, is going to have teams lined up to sign him to do their radio. It would have been tough for anybody, I don’t care who it was, stepping into that situation. I don’t think Wayne could have handled it any better."
Rooney ended up without a job in Chicago after the White Sox won the World Series last month, as that team also is switching flagship radio stations.
“I’m not a bitter person,” Rooney told the Chicago Tribune at the time. “I don’t like holding grudges. I had a good run here.”
Now Hagin has been dropped, just four months after Cardinals president Mark Lamping said the club was picking up his contract for 2006.
Rooney had two stints at KMOX in the 1980s and also broadcast Mizzou basketball.
"I think John is the kind of guy who has the ability to lighten the mood and have fun," Buck said. "He worked with a guy, Ed Farmer, who is cut from the same cloth as Shannon — you’re liable to hear anything. That’s what makes it fun."
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