Longtime ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons is listed in good condition Wednesday, resting in intensive care after undergoing an operation to treat a brain aneurysm Tuesday. Gammons suffered the aneurysm Tuesday morning near his home on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He was airlifted to a Boston hospital, where the surgery was performed.
"Peter is resting comfortably after surgical repair of a brain aneurysm," Gammons' wife, Gloria, said in a statement. "We appreciate all of your good wishes and ask that you keep Peter in your thoughts and prayers. Please understand that we are asking for our privacy at this time as we focus on Peter's recovery."
Several ballplayers called the press box Tuesday during Boston's
game against the New York Mets for updates on Gammons' condition.
"Peter is one of the Hall of Famers we have on TV, and
everybody has a lot of respect for him," Mets pitcher Pedro
Martinez said after the game. "I wish him well."
Gammons, 61, is probably the best-known baseball writer of his generation, first with the Boston Globe, beginning in 1969, then for Sports Illustrated, before joining ESPN in 1990.
He was honored with J.G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing during the 2005 Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y. He was selected in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
He started his career as a reporter for the Boston Globe in 1969 and wrote a very popular weekly Sunday baseball column for many years. He has also worked for Sports Illustrated covering the National Hockey League, college basketball and Major League Baseball (1976-78, 1986-90).
In 1986, upon his return to Sports Illustrated as a senior writer following a second stay at the Globe, he wrote numerous stories covering some of baseball's most important news events, as well as authoring "Inside Baseball," Sports Illustrated's weekly baseball notebook.
Gammons primarily serves as a studio analyst for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," but he also does regular spots for "SportsCenter," ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio and contributes to ESPN The Magazine. Beginning this season, he became a reporter for ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball." He is also a columnist and writes a popular Weblog for ESPN.com.
Gammons is the author of "Beyond the Sixth Game", a look at free agency.
More recently, Gammons has dabbled in music and next week is
scheduled to release his first CD, "Never Slow Down, Never Grow
Old." The proceeds are designated for the foundation established
by Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, who appears on the album
along with several ballplayers and professional musicians.
"He and his wife know our thoughts are with them," Epstein
said Tuesday. "We're hoping for good news."
Born April 9, 1945, Gammons is a native of Boston, raised in nearby Groton, Mass. He attended the University of North Carolina.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.