Charley Steiner's Baseball Beat on XM hailed by NY Times Bats Blog on final sad day.

Listening to Charley's final guest, Gordon Edes, I learn Baseball Beat has been mentioned in the NY Times Bats Blog. Tyler Kepner notes the passing of this unique and wonderful show, "XM's Baseball Beat Signs Off":

• (NY Times, Kepner): "One of the great advancements in baseball coverage this decade has been the introduction of XM Radio. I’ve greatly enjoyed the chance to listen to every game, for every team, all season. And I’ve had a lot of fun listening to and participating in Charley Steiner’s afternoon “Baseball Beat,” which airs today between 1 pm and 3 pm.

For those of us who care about intelligent baseball discussion, this is a sad day – because after today, “Baseball Beat” will be no more. Charley’s show has been cancelled, likely to be replaced by yet another call-in show on XM 175/Sirius 210. What a shame.

• “Baseball Beat” was folksy and informative, and every interview was two friends having a lively conversation about baseball. As a frequent guest on the show, I can tell you it was all genuine.

• Charley collects friends in the news media like a kid collects baseball cards, and when he closed an interview with, “Thanks, pal,” he really meant it. Beat writers and broadcasters are often asked to go on radio shows, and sometimes it can be a nuisance. But I never met anyone who thought that way about “Baseball Beat”. Chat with Charley for 15 minutes? Sure, why not?

With six segments over two hours, Charley’s show gave listeners an in-depth look at the state of several teams every day. Over the course of a week, pretty much every team would be covered. I know plenty of fans and scouts who happily passed their driving hours enjoying the banter and absorbing the information.

Friendships endure, and so will Charley – a former Yankees broadcaster, he remains one of the radio voices of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• But losing his talk show leaves a major void on the airwaves."

(I felt this was a special enough occasion to note Mr. Kepner's entire post). sm

• P.S. The show has a website, TheBaseballBeat.wordpress.com

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