Longtime SNY and Fox Sports baseball director BILL WEBB died yesterday in Morristown, N.J., due to "complications from cancer," according to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. Webb "made split-second decisions as he stitched the narrative of a game from live action, replays and graphics on dozens of screens." Before joining Fox in '96, Webb "worked at ABC Sports, where he directed horse racing and other sports; the MSG Network, where he directed Yankees games; and at what is now WWOR-TV." Lung cancer "kept Webb from directing the World Series" in '15, and he had "planned to return" for the '16 Series. But he "sustained another setback when he was injured in a fall at his home just before Game 1, keeping him from returning" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/8). Webb "worked 17 World Series and is a member" of the Sports Broadcasting HOF. Mets TV play-by-play man GARY COHEN said, "He was the VIN SCULLY of directors and I mean that without hesitation. He re-invented how baseball is covered on television. All of the pictures that you see came from the playbook that Bill invented" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/8). On Long Island, Neil Best notes Webb had "tried to work through his illness over the past two years, both for SNY and Fox." Fox Sports President & COO ERIC SHANKS said, "No one is more part of the fabric of Fox Sports’ baseball family than Webby" (NEWSDAY, 3/8). FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal writes Webb was a "historic figure in baseball, changing the way fans view the sport on television." He also was a "wise-cracking, no-nonsense, lovable grouch of a director" (FOXSPORTS.com, 3/8).
TWITTER REAX: Fox Sports' Kevin Burkhardt tweeted Webb was the "greatest baseball director of all time." FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman: "Considered by many the best TV director for baseball ever." Bergen Record's Bob Klapisch: "Great, great man. TV giant." Philadelphia-based WIP-FM's Chris Carlin: "If you watched a huge baseball game in the last 30+yrs, Bill Webb was directing. A master. Thanks for being nice to the new kid, Webbie." Boston Globe's Pete Abraham: "You knew his work, if not his name." SNY's Gary Apple: "A giant in TV sports and a cornerstone of Mets baseball on @SNYtv."
