Ralph Barbieri fired by KNBR

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Not really SF Giants news per say but Ralph Barbieri, long time radio personality on KNBR, the SF Giants radio station, was fired on Tuesday after 28 years at KNBR. I didn't even know he was fired until this morning.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_20373925/report-barbieri-let-go-by-knbr?source=most_viewed

Anyone know why he got fired?

[jimm]

Bum deal imo....He would have been well down my hit list there!

[Mr Fell]

This is a no win deal for either side. Barbieri was in contract talks because his old deal is up November 1. Also he went public about having Parkinson Disease. So the station looks bad anyway you look at it, but then again they totally mishandled the Larry Krueger case a few years back. I hope the find a way to bring back Ralph B.

[KHenry14]

Wonder what the real reason for this move. It's not like they didn't like what Ralph has been doing...I mean 28 years of being a crusty fan/host, why cut him loose now? And if it was about his salary, why not offer him a cut and see if he'd take it? Methinks that there is more to this story, one wonders if we will ever find out.

[west coast orange and black]

^
agreed. there is probably more to the story than what we know.

"crusty" is an apt description of barbieri, who was a knbr fixture. bay area sports fans are sharply divided on whether they enjoy his style, but in talk radio that's usually a good thing.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

If KNBR didn't want Ralph back they just should have let his current contract expire and not resign him.

[west coast orange and black]

“[Barbieri attorney Angela] Alioto said Barbieri, a Novato resident, was dismissed from the station because he is a 66-year-old with Parkinson's disease and vehemently disputed KNBR's given reason that Barbieri was fired for showing up late.”

“The station responded with a statement from Bill Bungeroth, an executive from Cumulus, Inc., the parent company of KNBR, who called Alioto's version "filled with inaccurate statements and baseless accusations."
-dan brown, bay area news group, monday 15 april 2012

go here for the short article

[KHenry14]

This is a bit old, but I stumbled across this story. Ralph isn't helping himself IMO. He may actually have a case, but his case will be stronger if he argues it in court rather than on a rival station.

http://www.bayareasportsguy.com/a-gravelly-voiced-ralph-barbieri-bashes-knbr-cumulus-bosses-on-95-7-fm-the-game/