Thinking of baseball's current stars, we hear names such as Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Joe Buck. All of which either on steroids, of Asian decent, drunk, or just completely talented with baseball. But not only do these men make baseball enjoyable, its the ones who do the true dirty work.

No, not the prostitutes.

No, not the politians.   

But the Baseball Analysts.

Attending the beautiful University of North Carolina, Peter Gammons worked for the student-run newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. When graduating in 1969, he began his career for the Boston Globe in the Sports Section for small journal articles. Covering mostly the Boston Red Sox predictions, recaps, and stories from 1969-1986 (must have quit because we all know what happened in the '86 World Series with the Sox), he also held the title as lead baseball columnist for Sports Illustrated, where he not only covered baseball, but as well as hockey and college basketball. Finally in 1990, he was given a promotion to the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" aka Tony Kornheiser (because, except for on MNF, Tony K.   is always right) aka ESPN. Since 1990, he's been an in-studio analyst for shows such as SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, Baseball 2Day, and even Baseball 2Morow all brought to your homes by no one other than ESPN.

His hard work at UNC and his high school in Massachusetts truly payed off. Peter Gammons' baseball predictions, explanations, and story presentations are all excellent and is one reason why he is reffered as "The Commissioner." Heck, I don't think it'd be close to a TIED vote between Gammons and Bug Selig in a vote for new baseball commish.

Not only does this man predict, explain, present, and read words off a screen, but is he the author of many terrific written sports books such as The Numbers Game, Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old, and Beyond the Sixth Game.

In 1989, 1990, and 1993, he was voted as the National Sportswriter of the Year, a huge honor, and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 31, 2005.

All his career, many referred to him as the everyday baseball analyst that would help many with Fantasy Baseball and provide information on trades and news. But, this man is more than an actor on television. All his life, at Groton School in MA, and writing at UNC, and writing for the Boston Globe for 17 years, he truly showed us that he loves what he does. Not frequently do we see a man in baseball show that he loves what he does. Peter Gammons is one of the few that is keeping baseball the way it should be, today. He worked a good 40 years in writing to what he is today, and if he didn't truly love baseball and living baseball and breathing baseball, this proud man wouldn't have made any of the accomplishments he has made. Not many other baseball writers and analysts have won this number of awards or been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the class and humbleness he has shown in these proud awards is present. Peter Gammons brings such a great vibe and atmosphere to the television and to our hearts when he gives us his heart-filled prediction or story. This man was the most widely-recognized analyst on t.v., yet it wasn't until June of 2006 until he proved to us that happiness is the most important virtue of all.

On a hot, sticky, summer afternoon in Cape Cod, MA, on the 27th of June, Peter Gammons was striked with a rupture of a brain aneurysm and was placed in intensive care for 12 days. Not every baseball analyst, or even player would recope, recooperate, and return to the headlines or fields and live baseball. Peter Gammons did.

Back, in his favorite team's home, he made his first television appearence nearly two months later in Fenway Park on August 19th. He didn't talk, mention, or write about his stroke in a way that would draw unneeded attention to himself, which shows how much he wanted to come back to the game he loved without a lot of attention drawn.

Each day, this man filled with pride and determination must wake up, find out any pending news, arrive at the ESPN studio ready to present and work. If he needs to broadcast a game, he's got to be at that stadium early, ready to broadcoast. The guy's list of things he can do is countless, and is one reason we still dare to watch our favorite sport, to know that we have one man out there that is willing to find happiness even if it takes 40 years, or less than two months from a stroke, he can find it.

Being a baseball analyst, author, broadcaster, writer, and presenter takes much more work and effort that many think, and I think we owe much more respect to the "unknown stars", such as the deserved legend, Peter Gammons.