Season 3 of ‘Brockmire’ allows George Brett to show off his acting chops

The question had to be asked.

“Who is a better actor,” I pressed Hank Azaria, lifelong Mets fan and award-winning performer in his own right. “Keith Hernandez or George Brett?”

“My heart says Keith,” Azaria said Monday in a telephone interview, “but my head might actually say George. He was tremendously professional.”

In this duel of acting batting champions, I’d have to give the edge to Hernandez. His performance as himself in the legendary “Seinfeld” episode set the gold standard in this category.

Yet the Hall of Famer Brett, whose IMDb page is surprisingly light, shows some promise in a cameo in Season 3 of Azaria’s “Brockmire,” which premieres Wednesday night on IFC.

“It’s amazing how time consuming it is for 45 seconds on camera. It takes you two and a half hours,” Brett said Monday, in a separate telephone interview. “I enjoy doing it. Hopefully someone will see this on ‘Brockmire’ [and I’ll get more opportunities].”

Brett was one of the best-known athletes of his time, and for New York baseball fans, it only makes sense for him to play an adversarial role as (partial spoiler alert) he does in “Brockmire.” Said Azaria: “I’m a Mets fan, but I definitely paid attention to those Yankees teams in the ‘70s. You couldn’t not. They did great battles with those Royals,” and Brett hurt the Yankees the most, finally propelling his Royals over George Steinbrenner’s guys in the 1980 American League Championship Series.

So when the show wanted the “classic, iconic, Kansas City guy” to play the role of Brockmire’s best friend, thanks to the character’s Kansas City roots, it made sense to turn to Brett, who found the part manageable once his request to ad-lib his lines (within the parameters of the story) was approved.

The 65-year-old, who still holds the title of Royals vice president of baseball operations, would have loved to get action on shows like “Seinfeld,” or even, say, one-tenth of Reggie Jackson’s extensive screen time over the years.

“I’m in Kansas City, not LA or New York,” he said, laughing. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

It’s not too late, though. Here’s hoping that someone sees this on “Brockmire” and we see Brett on more TV shows.

Other tidbits from this new seasons of “Brockmire,” which stood out in its first two seasons for expertly blending dark comedy with pathos:

Brockmire’s new broadcast partner, Gabby Taylor (Tawny Newsome), is a “former softball star.” She is based in part, Azaria acknowledged, on the ESPN baseball broadcaster who was a former softball star … and who also works as an adviser for the Mets.

“We had Tawny take a look at some Jessica Mendoza stuff,” Azaria said.

2) After watching this show for two-plus seasons, I felt compelled to ask Azaria about his character’s propensity for flipping the bird, something Brockmire does frequently and with great gusto. Where does that come from?

“I think it really just comes naturally to me, from a lifetime of frustration and hatred,” Azaria said, laughing. “I’m fortunate enough as an actor to really channel that. Brockmire’s a good outlet for that.”

This week’s Pop Quiz question came from Joseph Piro of Jersey City: In the 1989 film “UHF,” Bob Steckler (David Bowe) wears a baseball cap sporting the logo of a Major League Baseball team. Name the team.

Kudos to Major League Baseball for adding a “Play of the Week” to its longstanding honors of AL and National League Player of the Week. The inaugural winner is the game-ending, homer-saving catch by Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain against the Cardinals.

Your Pop Quiz answer is the Cubs. If you have a tidbit that connects baseball with popular culture, please send it to me at [email protected].

Source: Read Full Article