Hawk approaching eighth decade in baseball

NEW YORK -- White Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson is not sure if he will call it a career after this season. He has already cut down his schedule to 81 games in order to spend more time with his family.
The guy known for such phrases as "He gone!" and "You can put it on the board, yes!" has one more goal he would like to reach before it's all said and done. Hawk would like to be in baseball in some capacity until 2020. If he reaches that goal, it would mean he was in the game in parts of eight decades.
Harrelson, 75, would also like to win the Ford C. Frick Award, which is given to a broadcaster by the Baseball Hall of Fame for major contributions in baseball. Harrelson started his broadcasting career in 1975 with the Red Sox. He is now in his 32nd year in the White Sox booth.
"That would put me in a very exclusive club, being in professional baseball for eight decades," Harrelson told the Newsmakers podcast. "It's not for me, it's for my grandchildren, to leave them something. They can tell their children. 'Your granddad was in professional baseball for parts of eight decades.'
"It would be nice to win the [the Frick Award]. But I don't think about it. I know there were a lot of people pulling for me every time [I was nominated]. It probably won't happen until I'm dead. But the only reason I want it is for the grandkids. It would be an honor, certainly."

Harrelson loves the direction the White Sox are going, after general manager Rick Hahn replenished the farm system this offseason by trading veterans like Chris Sale and Adam Eaton.
Harrelson also likes what he sees from manager Rick Renteria. The team, according to Hawk, is focused, and it has many young players eager to play and "bust their [rears] for him."
"It's the most prospects we have ever had since I've been here, by far," Harrelson said. "They have done the redo, which I did not think they were going to do. … Rick Hahn did a real good job in maximizing the chips he had to play with.
"Chris Sale, I love him. He is the ultimate competitor, and he is likely to put Boston over the top, especially with David Price being iffy right now. But the thing about Sale is, as good as he is, he wasn't going to help us get in contention. To maximize what they got for him and Adam Eaton, I think it was one of the best jobs I've seen a general manager do in a long time."
After his career in the booth comes to an end, Harrelson plans to stay busy. He still loves to play golf, and he plans to watch his grandchildren play sports. He also intends to travel with his wife, Aris, around the United States and to Greece, her home country. Hawk credits Aris for turning his live around for the better.
"My wife saved my life, because when I met her, I had retired from baseball," Harrelson said. "I was going out every night, drinking and getting in fights. If you did that long enough, you are going to [be] dead. I realize if I didn't stop all that, I was going to lose her, so I stopped it. We have been together 44 years. She raised those children."