On Michael Kay’s Radio Show Today…..A Rant About She-Fan!
So there I was this afternoon, working at my computer, when an email arrived from Bernadette, my Yankee fan buddy and the author of the MLBlog, This Fan’s Life.
“Michael Kay just spent five minutes talking about you and your book!” she wrote. “He was really upset that you said he had an ‘extremely large head.’ He went on and on about it. He even read part of the book on the air – the scene where you meet him and Al Leiter at the Toronto Airport. He said he was hurt because you said Al Leiter was handsome and he just had a large head.”
Was she kidding? Were my eyes deceiving me? Would Michael Kay, the play-by-play announcer for the YES Network and the host of his own show on ESPN Radio, actually get his knickers in a twist over my description of his head size and my comment that Leiter was cute?
I called Bern and asked her to repeat what she’d heard. “Yes,” she said. “It really happened!”
Joe Torre spoke to a huge media contingent about his book. Kobe Bryant scored a record 61 points against the Knicks. Manny rejected the Dodgers’ latest contract offer. And Michael Kay was talking about this?
Hey, I’m not complaining. Any publicity is good publicity, right? It’s just that I didn’t mean to insult Kay. I was merely being accurate. Judge for yourself.
Al Leiter’s head….
versus Michael Kay’s head.
No contest.
But the truth is, I wasn’t looking so hot myself that night in Toronto. No makeup. Bad hair. And wine breath. I hate to fly so I tanked up before takeoff and drank more atrocious plane wine during the flight.
So Michael Kay wasn’t the only one with head issues by the time he and I met at baggage claim. Mine was pounding.
I’m hoping he’ll have me on the show so I can apologize for hurting his feelings. He does have nice teeth. I plan on telling him that.
Confessions of a She-Fan 
he has a tall head.. like Bert on Sesame Street
Big head. No question. I’m enjoying the book!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com
He does have a very large head. He’s probably just self conscious about it because there is no way he hasn’t heard that before.
Melissa
http:/clemsongirlbaseball.mlblogs.com
Jane,
Like you said, “any publicity is good publicity” !!! … Maybe Michael Kay will invite you to appear on his “CenterStage” interview show on the Yes Network !!! … I reserved a copy of your new book, and will be traveling to Barnes & Noble tomorrow to purchase your book and Joe Torre’s book … I would have gone today, but we had another snow storm here in New York, so I delayed my trip to Westchester until tomorrow …. So, all good things will have to wait, as I look forward to reading both books !!! … “Congratulations”, again, on the release of your new book !!! … Jimmy [27NYY], “BY&L” http://baseballtheyankeesandlife.mlblogs.com/
“A tall head.” Maybe I should have written that, levelboss.
Thanks, Julia. Keep reading!
You’re right, Melissa. He gets kidded about it. I wasn’t the first to mention it and won’t be the last.
Jimmy, I hope the snow has stopped and you can venture out without getting soaked. I also hope the B&N has my book, as I’ve had reports from some who say they can’t find it. 😦
Wow! Michael Kay used to talk about John Sterling being vain when they used to do the radio broadcasts together. Don’t worry Michael, we still love listening to you (and your big head), even though I think Jane and I were ready to ship you off to Toronto in exchange for Halladay a few weeks ago. Jane, from everything I’ve heard Michael Kay is a really great guy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gives you the chance to apologize on his show.
I’m ready, pinstripe. I’ll go on there and beg for his forgiveness.
She-Fan,
I believe the proper description of Michael Kay is having “a radio head.” el duque
Glad I was able to help, Jane.
Kay has definitely been teased about his head before, so much so that he projects his own insecurities about it onto others. He can’t seem to stop himself from making fun of Kevin Mench (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Mench), who is known to have the largest head in baseball. Mench plays in Japan now, but when he played for the Texas Rangers, Kay could barely do play-by-play because he kept making fun of the guy’s head!
Bern
http://thisfanslife.mlblogs.com
His head is not big, his body is just small for its size. lol
Maybe he was the inspiration for Mr Potatohead. Serious tho, awesome blog as usual. Now the rest of us have to pick up our game to keep pace with the author.
Looking forward to March. Please do not ruin my book reading time and let too many stories get out from the book. Just kidding, I will enjoy reading it more than once, just like the rest of the crew here on Mlblogs.com.
Still waiting for your guest lecture on Jblog school. If I ever did one, it would be on how to piss off the Internet Rays bloggers by posting a blog they agree with in their hearts.
Rays Renegade
http://raysrenegade.mlblogs.com
I love your blog. I am hoping to pick your book up today, Michael Kay annoys me though.. And didn’t Al Leiter move to MLB Network?
Ok he did.
http://thewrightway.mlblogs.com/
Congrats Jane – You’re #2 on the Latest Leaders List!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
That is pretty cool to have your book talked about on the radio, even if the poor long-headed dude was upset. I think he should definitely have you on the show. And congrats on #2!!
http://kaybee.mlblogs.com
This is a hilarious story! You should’ve written about Francesa too!
When I was younger I used to wait outside the press gate to get autographs from the players. A few times some of the radio announcers would stop and give autographs. This one instance it was Michael Kay he was going down the line and he got to me, took my baseball out of my hand, without me giving it to him. So I snatched it back from him and told him that I was waiting for a ball player and that I didn’t like him and wouldn’t want his autograph anyways. That must have hurt his ego a bit.
http://www.bronxbaseballdaily.com
You could fit 2 1/2 Kay heads inside one Leiter head, Jane. Congrats on topping us… it hurts but not so bad because we like you. Your book is on its way to me (along with Torre’s — sorry) but I’m supposed to receive them by tomorrow. Hope so! Can’t wait! I think I will read yours first… because Torre never writes me back.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
I wonder if that’s how the band got its name, duque. Hmm.
Bern, now that you mention it, Mensch does have a huge head. I remember thinking that the first time I saw him.
OK, renegade. No more stories from the book. I’ll try to restrain myself!
Leiter did move to the MLB Network, gomets, but he’ll still be doing part-time work for YES, I think.
Thanks for sharing the rankings list, Julia and Kaybee. You guys are more on the ball than I am.
You’re right, Andrew. I should have written about Francesa. Wait. I did mention him but I didn’t have a face to face with him. So it doesn’t count.
Ouch, Rob. I bet you did hurt his feelings. What he failed to comment on during his show yesterday was that I say in the book how he was nice to kids waiting for autographs.
I’m honored that you’re planning to read mine first, Jeff. It’s candy. It’ll go down fast and then you can move on to Torre’s.
Jane,
That’s very cool that he read/is reading your book! I’m sure he won’t regret it, even if he did find it insulting. If A-Rod will be able to take all the Torre insults, I think Kay can take your playful ones!
I was very upset, Barnes and Noble and Borders aren’t getting your book until the end of the week. I called every store within a ten mile radius, I was planning on driving out there myself. I am getting it ASAP though, I promise!
-Elizabeth
http://redsoxgirl46.mlblogs.com
Jane,
Hey, congratulations on being number 2 in the rankings! You and Julia are like the Yankees and the Red Sox of MLBlogs;) If your dominance continues, other bloggers are going to be calling for a blogging cap.
And is it just me, or does Michael Kay look kind of like the illegitimate child of Joe Pesci and Michael Keaton?
-Erin
http://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com
His parents must have laid him on his side a lot while sleeping as an infant.
Very tall head…eggplant-like.
BTW, you said it…no such thing as bad publicity when you’re trying to sell something! (unless it’s food!)
http://thehappyyoungster.mlblogs.com/
Jaaaaaneeee……. I went to Borders today and they didn’t have any more She-Fan in stock! I had to reserve a copy and I can’t get it until Sunday 😦 I can’t wait!
At least I got some serious Rachel Hawthorne to keep me going until then.
Kylie — http://kylie.mlblogs.com
Elizabeth, so sorry you’ve had to play detective to find my book. Very frustrating. I had a feeling this would happen with the chains – it’s why I tell people to order on amazon – but I’m glad you’ll be able to get the book fairly soon. Thanks for being so persistent.
I think it would be great to see a Twins blogger make it to #1, Erin. What are you waiting for?
So you think his head is eggplant like, Happy? That’s an interesting observation. I’ll have to go look again. 🙂
Kyyyyyylie! See my above comment to Elizabeth. I’m SO sorry your Borders didn’t have the book. I’d so mad at the bookstores!!!!
Jane,
May you sell millions of books off Kay’s plug (no pun intended — I think his hair is real).
I had a somewhat similarly odd experience recently when a friend from high school told me a major studio had purchased the rights to his screen play and plan to produce the film with a character whose name is based on mine. Now that’ll be the day!
– Dan
http://thediamond.mlblogs.com/
Well you know what they say about a big head… just catching back up Jane give me a while to get my groove. : )
tom
http://rockymountainway.mlblogs.com
Dan, your friend’s screenplay is based on you or a character with your name? Either way, it’s interesting!
Welcome back, Tom. Hope all’s well with you.
Congrats on being #2 on the latest leaders. Any word on how your book is doing?
http://hardballblog.mlblogs.com/
Thanks, hardball. I think the book is doing well. It’s moving up in the rankings on amazon. My hope is that it’ll sell over the long haul – especially once the season starts.
That’s great news. I agree, once the season starts it will probably pick up. I hope for the best.
http://downonstrikes.blogspot.com/
I appreciate that, hardball!
Jane, that may be the coolest thing i’ve ever heard, Michael Kay talking about your book on his show!??!! I would love to read your book, just gotta scrape around for a few bucks first 🙂
-Alex H
It totally took me by surprise, Alex. I didn’t hear the show and I’m sorry I missed it!
Jane, I’m not sure, but I think you can download it here: http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/1050espnradio/show?showId=TMKS
Take a look at the bottom left of the page.
I tried that, pinstripe, but those podcasts are edited and all you get from that day’s show are the highlights. No ramblings about me or my book!
Michael Kay has a huge melon and a bigger ego. He calls a very good game, but loves himself, his vocabulary, and is rather sensitive.
He’s well-informed about baseball, but a whiner.
http://heartlandpinstripes.wordpress.com/
Interesting assessment of him, kozmo. I used to wince when I heard his voice when he first moved from print to TV. It didn’t sound like an “announcer’s voice.” But I’ve gotten used to it.