FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 14th, 2016

CHICAGO WHITE SOX LEGEND/COMCAST SPORTSNET ANALYST BILL MELTON TO BE THE NEXT FEATURED GUEST ON COMCAST SPORTSNET’S MONTHLY INTERVIEW SERIES, “INSIDE LOOK”

“Inside Look presented by Cadillac,” hosted by Comcast SportsNet’s Chuck Garfien, featuring Bill Melton to debut Sunday, April 13 at 3:30 PM CT

CSNChicago.com to provide additional web-exclusive coverage of ‘Inside Look,’ including extended video clips

Chicago, IL (April 14, 2016) – Comcast SportsNet, the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of the Chicago Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox, continues to delve into the lives of some of the biggest names in Chicago sports with its candid, monthly, one-on-one interview series Inside Look presented by Cadillac.

Debuting Sunday, April 17 at 3:30 PM CT (following “White Sox Postgame Live”), Comcast SportsNet’s Chuck Garfien hosts an exclusive one-on-one interview with Chicago White Sox legend/veteran CSN studio analyst BILL MELTON.  Regarded as one of the all-time White Sox greats, “Beltin’ Bill Melton, a ten-year MLB slugging standout (eight with the White Sox) and the American League home run champion in 1971 with 33 HRs (the first White Sox player to ever hold that distinction), discusses everything from the rarity of never playing organized baseball other than Little League and wound up being signed by the White Sox right out of high school, winning the AL home run title on the last day of the ’71 season, being embraced by White Sox fans and his unspoken rivalry with Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, returning to the White Sox as a team ambassador and eventual CSN analyst, and much more.

In addition, viewers are urged to check out Comcast SportsNet’s website, CSNChicago.com, for additional interview content never before seen on TV.  Fans will also be able to watch every Inside Look guest interview online after it debuts on Comcast SportsNet.  Comcast SportsNet will also re-air Inside Look with Bill Melton on the following dates/times: Sun , Apr. 17 at 6:30 PM (on CSN+HD) – Mon, Apr. 18 at 4:00 PM (on CSN+HD) – Wed, Apr. 20 at 4:00 PM – Sat, Apr. 23 at 6:30 PM (on CSN+HD) – Tue, Apr. 26 at 12:30 PM – Sat, Apr. 30 at 6:00 PM – Sun, May 1 at 12:30 PM – Thu, May 5 at 1:00 PM – Sat, May 7 at 8:30 PM (on CSN+HD) & Sun, May 8 at 12 noon (on CSN+HD). (Schedule subject to change).

Note the following quotes from Inside Look with Bill Melton presented by Cadillac premiering Sunday, April 17 at 3:30 PM on Comcast SportsNet:

Melton on never playing organized baseball and getting signed by the White Sox out of high school:
“I was playing baseball on Saturdays by the Rose Bowl in California just on weekends, pick-up games.  I remember there were a lot of A & AA players out there and that’s where Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, and the Dodgers would practice on the fields, but we played there every weekend.  Then, an old scout with the White Sox by the name of Hollis Thurston saw me hit two home runs in one game and he said ‘did you ever consider playing professional baseball?’ I said I never gave it any thought at all. He said ‘I’ll tell you what…we’re going to go down to Florida in June.’ I said ‘you know what? I do need a job, it’s a nice summer job, so let me go down there and see what I can do.’ That’s how it all started.”

Melton on winning the AL home crown title on the last day of the 1971 season:
“I had 30 home runs. Norm Cash and Reggie Jackson had 32. They had a game left and I played in that game. They didn’t play in their game that day and I hit two that night off Brett Parsons and Jim Slaton with the Milwaukee Brewers. So now, there’s three of us that are tied. 32-32-32. Their season was over. We had a game the next day…and I’m leading off. I go to the clubhouse. I had been out (the night before). The boys had thrown a little party for me on Rush Street. So I get to the ballpark, I remember it was September 30th and it was 95 degrees. I went to Chuck Tanner the manager and said “you know Chuck, I don’t feel like stealing bases today…you know what I’m saying?…why are you leading me off?’ At that time, what did another home run mean? Was I going to get a million dollar raise? I don’t think so. But the second time up, I hit a fastball out of the ballpark. Chuck Tanner made me go out to third base, I got a nice ovation, and they took me off the field. At five o’clock that evening, I was on a plane back to L.A.”

Melton on being a southside hero and the crosstown rivalry with Cubs third baseman Ron Santo:
“I was popular because (the White Sox) never had a power hitter, and the competition was Ron Santo at third base with the Cubs and this young kid Bill Melton with the White Sox. Fans were ecstatic that a guy on the southside could lead the league in home runs or a guy on the southside could hit more home runs than Ron Santo. So, in the bars, it was ‘I bet you Melton hits another home run…I bet you Melton hits more home runs than Santo… I bet you Santo hits more RBIs.’ It was competition between me and Ron Santo, even though he had already been in the big leagues about seven or eight years. So that’s where my popularity kind of came in because when you hit 33 home runs back-to-back, all of a sudden people go ‘is this guy for real?’ because (old Comiskey Park) was a big ballpark.”

Melton on his approach analyzing White Sox baseball on Comcast SportsNet:
“I think I’m overall pretty honest with the people. You know…one thing about a Sox fan, you can’t trick ‘em. You know what I’m saying? You just can’t. If they’re sitting there watching on TV, and I try to tell them something like I know about it because I played the game you didn’t…no, it doesn’t work that way.”

 

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