Nice-guy Stewart didn't fit
Steve Stewart didn't have the dynamic personality he needed for the nearly impossible situation he found himself in. It's never good to be the man after The Man, whether you're Ray Perkins following Bear Bryant or Steve Stewart replacing Joe Nuxhall. Stewart was gentlemanly, self-deprecating and well-prepared. He never had a chance.
He's done at the end of this year. Apparently, team brass is looking for an "analyst." Translation: A former player. Baseball is brain surgery: Who knew?
The bosses feel you need less play-by-play on the radio and more "backdoor sliders" and "cut fastballs" and "inside-out" swings. What? Me, I just like someone who calls a good game. That's so 1950.
Unless you are among a handful of long-running, truly outstanding broadcasters - Vin Scully, Marty Brennaman, John Rooney in St. Louis - you had better have some tap-dancing in you. Because, just as the game isn't enough to hold our short attention spans anymore, neither is simply calling the game. If it were, Steve Stewart wouldn't be on the bricks in October.
Stewart didn't have a shtick. He didn't rant, he wasn't a wiseguy. He just came prepared to do his job. He spent four hours a day during homestands, three hours on the road, reading local newspapers and surfing the Net. He talked to people: Players, coaches, managers, people connected to the game. He did his homework, in other words. Stewart didn't just show up and talk smack.
If only he had worked on his persona. If only he had talked smack.