The write stuff

Baseball lost more than a great writer with the passing of Rick Hummel

Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, working in the Busch Stadium press box that bears his name (Photo: St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

I feel similarly about Baseball writing as I do about Baseball on the radio.

For generations, most fell in love with Baseball and grew deeply connected to the Game through the words of great writers and great radio broadcasters. Today, however, we live in a different era, one in which most fans consume the game on television or via streaming, and most consume their information in short spurts via social media. The resulting bond is, in many cases, not the same.

Newspapers are declining in influence in most cities and, in some cases, are going away altogether. And I have for several years had serious concerns about the future of Baseball on the radio, some of which have begun to play out before our eyes.

That’s not to say there aren’t brilliant writers and brilliant radio broadcasters out there. But their impact on the Game is, sadly, far from what it once was. And each time we lose one of the best at these crafts, it stings.

Many who love the Game felt that sting Monday upon hearing we had lost a Baseball writing giant.

Rick Hummel, who covered the Cardinals and Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 51 years, passed away Saturday at the age of 77.

“The Commish,” as he was known by most—even by Commissioners themselves—retired at the end of the 2022 season. And yet there he was at Spring Training and in the early part of this season still writing about Baseball as a freelancer.

Because that’s what Baseball writers do.

Through deep relationships built on foundations of mutual trust and respect, Hummel reported on the game like few others. And through the wisdom socked away over more than half a century of observing and asking the right questions of the right people, he brought the game to life for his readers, a great storyteller whose robust vocabulary and vibrant descriptions jumped off the page.

In 2007, he was honored with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s Career Excellence Award, recognized at the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the best to ever do the job. Hummel was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, and he was a 4-time Missouri Sportswriter of the Year.

Commissioner Rob Manfred called Hummel "One of the best and most respected baseball writers of his or any era."

But awards, honors and plaudits are not what those who knew Rick and his work will remember. The legacy he leaves includes a rigorous work ethic and a passion for the game that shone through in every conversation he had and in every keystroke he typed.

Rick would tell you one of the joys of his job was writing for one of the most devoted and knowledgable fan bases in Baseball. But I’ve often thought about the devotion and knowledge that defines St. Louis baseball fans. People aren’t born like that. Much of it, I would suggest, has to come from members of Cardinals Nation growing up reading Rick Hummel and listening to the late Hall of Fame Cardinals voice Jack Buck, who delighted fans in the shadow of the Gateway Arch with his calls for 47 seasons.

Their impact on generations of Cardinals fans is undeniable. They were direct lines who connected Cardinals fans on a daily basis to Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Whitey Herzog, Ozzie Smith, Tony La Russa, Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright.

That direct line to history and to childhood heroes goes away when we lose a Rick Hummel. Rick’s passing represented a terribly sad day for the Cardinals, for St. Louis and for anyone who loves Major League Baseball.

“I wanted to be fair and accurate and hopefully make the readers smile once in a while. It’s baseball. It’s not bigger stuff than it is. We should enjoy it. I’ve been blessed.”

—Rick Hummel in Baseball Digest, upon his retirement in 2022

To learn more about Rick Hummel, here is a terrific career reflection he wrote for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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