BOSTON – ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons was stricken with a brain aneurysm Tuesday morning and underwent surgery.

The 61-year-old Gammons is expected to be in intensive care for 10 to 12 days, The Boston Globe reported on its Web site. Gammons started at the Globe in 1969.

Gammons, a member of the writers’ wing of the Hall of Fame, has been a regular on ESPN’s Sunday night telecasts this season. He worked the Braves-Yankees game in New York on Monday night.

“Our thoughts and best wishes are with Peter and his family at this time,” ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said.

In the 1970s while at the Globe, Gammons popularized the style of baseball notes columns that became staples in Sunday newspapers. He later wrote for Sports Illustrated.

At the 2005 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Gammons was awarded the 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, selected in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Gammons covered the NHL, baseball and college basketball for Sports Illustrated from 1976-78 and 1986-90, working a second stint at the Globe in between.

He began working for ESPN full-time in 1990 and is a studio analyst for “Baseball Tonight,” as well as a regular contributor for “SportsCenter,” ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine. His column and Weblog can be found on ESPN.com. He also has written a book, “Beyond the Sixth Game,” about free agency.

Gammons, a native of Boston who grew up in nearby Groton, attended the University of North Carolina.

AP-ES-06-27-06 2145EDT