Looking back on the Al Campanis interview

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous 4/6/1987 Al Campanis interview on the ABC Nightline program which was the focus of a recent ESPN Outside the Lines episode.

The remarks Campanis made on this show generated a storm of controversy and quickly cost him his job as general manager of the Dodgers. But putting aside what he said, I find it stunning how amateurish Campanis looked and sounded during this segment. I am stuck by his strange demeanor throughout the program and his awkward laughter around the 0:38 mark on this clip. One would expect that a man who had been a longtime Major League Baseball executive would have had a vast amount of experience with press conferences, media interviews, and other public speaking engagements. But the video footage seems more consistent with someone who is appearing live on-camera for the first time.