Milo Hamilton's Retiring, Finally

Here's my Houston Press story on Milo Hamilton announcing his retirement later today. The retirement's not actually until after the season, which means another season of listening to Milo talk about anything but baseball while he's calling the game.

It might make me a bad person, but I can't wait for a broadcast booth without this guy. Over the next year we're going to hear and read of ton about what a great guy Milo Hamilton is, and about how much he's meant to baseball and the Astros. And it's all going to be lies. Everything.

(I do hope that at some point during this year we'll get to hear from the likes of Gene Elston, or the Harry Caray family, or the Ernie Johnson, Sr. family, or anybody else that Milo tried to screw over in his many, many, many stops in the majors.)

Milo's ruined the experience of listening to Astros on the radio. Even before he started aging and losing the ability to see, his focus was never on the actual game on the field but was instead more concerned with pushing the story of Milo Hamilton.

But aside from that, in my years working the Astros DiamondVision, I saw too many petty things involving Hamilton. I saw too many near fights with co-workers and too many hissy fits because the people of Houston didn't appreciate him enough.

Frankly, I now really look forward to 2013. Not only is Milo retiring, but the Astros will be out from Carlos Lee's contract. And for once, for the first time since Gene Elston was let go by the Astros following the 1986 season, the focus of the Astros radio broadcast will be on the actual baseball game, and not on where Milo went for lunch.

And now that Milo's gone, bravo to Gene Elston, the original voice of the Astros, the true voice of the Astros. And let's celebrate the fact that a great guy, a true gentlemen, and a fantastic broadcaster, Bill Brown, will finally be the man.