Aaron Rowand didn’t look like he missed a beat after four seasons away from baseball.
The former outfielder held court in the visitor’s clubhouse Friday at the Oakland Coliseum, sitting at a table with White Sox players Adam LaRoche, Gordon Beckham, Tyler Flowers and J.B. Shuck.
Rowand is back with the White Sox in Oakland this weekend to serve as a fill-in color analyst alongside Ken “Hawk” Harrelson on telecasts for the duration of the White Sox-A’s series. Steve Stone has the series off.
“It’s definitely enjoyable,” said Rowand, who is making his second appearance in the White Sox broadcast booth. “The baseball part of it is easy, as far as dissecting the game and trying to jump into the heads of the guys out there and what they’re trying to get done. That part of it is easy. Getting used to all the sponsor hits and all that kind of stuff is a little bit unusual because that’s a different part of the game. But it’s fun.”
As a former player and member of the White Sox, Rowand doesn’t think he’ll have any problem finding talking points during the telecasts.
“Pretty sure anybody that knows me knows that I don’t have any problems talking,” Rowand said. “Being able to talk about baseball is something that as a player you’ve done your entire life, from being in the clubhouse to being on the bus or the plane, whatever, that’s what we do all year long. So talking baseball and breaking stuff down is not uncommon, not unusual for a guy who has played the game because we do it constantly.”
Rowand was a member of the White Sox for four seasons from 2001-05, helping the team win the World Series in his final year. He spent six more years in the majors with the Phillies and Giants.
He said he’s always enjoyed listening to White Sox broadcasters as well as Dodgers play-by-play man Vin Scully.
Unlike Harrelson, though, Rowand will not be coming up with any catchphrases of his own.
“I’ve got all of Hawk’s down, though,” Rowand said. “‘He Gone.’ ‘Yaz.’ “I don’t think I’m going to make a name for myself probably. I’ll just try not to screw it up.”
Watch Rowand discuss joining the White Sox broadcast team below:
