| Don Orsillo | |
|---|---|
 Orsillo at Yankee Stadium in 2008 | |
| San Diego Padres | |
| Broadcaster | |
| Born:December 16, 1968 Melrose, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
| Teams | |
As Broadcaster
|
Don Orsillo (born December 16,1968) is an American sportscaster who is the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres and MLB on TBS. [1] Orsillo was the television voice of the Boston Red Sox on NESN from 2001 to 2015. He was then hired by the Padres to replace broadcaster Dick Enberg upon his retirement at the end of the 2016 season. [2]
Orsillo was born in Melrose,Massachusetts,where he often dreamed of being a broadcaster for the Red Sox. He moved to and grew up in Madison,New Hampshire,and was educated at John H. Fuller Elementary School. At the age of 12 he attended Kennett Junior High School in nearby Conway,New Hampshire. Don's family moved west just before high school. He is a 1987 graduate of Miraleste High School in Rancho Palos Verdes,California,where he played on the Marauder basketball and baseball teams.
Orsillo graduated from Northeastern University [3] with a degree in Communication Studies. [4] While at Northeastern,he interned under Red Sox radio voice Joe Castiglione. [5]
Before doing Major League Baseball games,he worked in the minor leagues announcing Pawtucket Red Sox games on the radio from 1996 to 2000,having previously called games for some of the New York Mets minor league affiliates. [6]
Orsillo was NESN's play-by-play man from the beginning of the 2001 season (his first game included a no-hitter thrown by then Red Sox pitcher Hideo Nomo against the Baltimore Orioles). He also called Cal Ripken Jr.'s final game,as well as the no-hitters thrown by young Sox pitchers Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester in 2007 and 2008,respectively. Orsillo originally only called the team's games which aired on NESN,with longtime Red Sox announcer Sean McDonough taking Orsillo's place alongside former Red Sox second baseman Jerry Remy for games which aired on local stations WFXT (2001 and 2002) and WSBK-TV (2003 and 2004). For the 2005 season,Orsillo did games on both NESN and WSBK,working with Remy.
Starting in 2006,NESN took over all Red Sox local telecasts,and until 2015,Orsillo worked with color commentator Jerry Remy. In 2009,Remy was out for the season due to health problems,and Orsillo worked with various color commentators,including Dennis Eckersley,Nick Cafardo,Sean Casey,Dave Roberts and Frank Viola. He was sometimes referred to by fans as "announcer boy," after he was given that nickname by Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield in a NESN commercial. [7]
On August 25,2015,NESN controversially [8] [9] [10] announced that Orsillo would no longer call Red Sox games following the 2015 season,and would be replaced in 2016 by Dave O'Brien,who had called games for the Red Sox Radio Network since 2007. [11] [12]
The Red Sox and NESN were further criticized in 2022 when Orsillo was not included in an April 20 tribute ceremony at Fenway Park for longtime broadcast partner Remy,who died the previous October. Red Sox officials claimed his absence was due to his obligations to the Padres,but Orsillo responded on Twitter that he had submitted a video tribute that the Red Sox ultimately opted not to include in the ceremony. [13]
Orsillo joined the San Diego Padres for 2016,to be the successor of Dick Enberg upon his retirement after that season. [14] During the 2016 season,Orsillo worked select Padres games for television and radio broadcasts. [15]
In addition to his Red Sox duties,Orsillo has called the Beanpot hockey tournament and Boston College Eagles men's basketball on NESN. He was also the play-by-play announcer for Providence College men's basketball for Cox Sports. Orsillo has also called Big East basketball for the Big East Network which is run by ESPN Regional Television. He was also a Springfield Falcons (AHL) broadcaster and voice of the Falcons from 1994 to 1996.
From 2007 to 2013,Orsillo was one of the voices of the Major League Baseball Division Series on TBS. He was one of four play-by-play men to work each of the years TBS had exclusive rights to the Division Series. His first call was the 2007 National League wild card playoff between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres,with Joe Simpson serving as his color man. After working with Harold Reynolds in the 2008 Division Series,Orsillo had Buck Martinez as his color commentator. His most recent Division Series assignment was the 2013 series between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics. As recently as 2017,Orsillo has been calling select Sunday afternoon regular season games for TBS. Also in 2017,he began calling select Saturday afternoon regular season games for Fox and FS1.
In 2018,Orsillo returned to calling playoff action,calling the entirety of the 2018 ALDS between the Astros and the Indians alongside analyst Dennis Eckersley. This was due to Ernie Johnson being unable to work the games following a diagnosis of blood clots in both of Johnson's legs. [16] When Johnson was given his studio hosting duties back,Orsillo became a permanent member of the postseason team in 2020,working alongside analyst Jeff Francoeur until 2022,when he was replaced by Bob Costas.
Don Orsillo previously lived in Smithfield,Rhode Island. Orsillo currently lives in Coronado,California,with his wife Kathy Maguire Orsillo. [17] [18] [19]
Dennis Lee Eckersley,nicknamed "Eck",is an American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998,he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians,Boston Red Sox,Chicago Cubs,Oakland Athletics,and St. Louis Cardinals. Eckersley had success as a starter,but gained his greatest fame as a closer,becoming the first of two pitchers in major league history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career.
New England Sports Network,popularly known as NESN,is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North. Headquartered in Watertown,Massachusetts,the network is primarily carried on cable providers throughout New England. NESN is also distributed nationally on satellite providers DirecTV and as NESN National via select cable providers.
Gerald Peter Remy was an American professional baseball player and sports broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for ten seasons—three with the California Angels (1975–1977) and seven with the Boston Red Sox (1978–1984). After retiring from professional play,Remy was a color commentator for televised Red Sox games for 33 years until his death.
Richard Alan Enberg was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career,he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks,including NBC (1975–1999),CBS (2000–2014),and ESPN (2004–2011),as well as for individual teams,such as UCLA Bruins basketball,Los Angeles Rams football,and California Angels and San Diego Padres baseball.
Joseph John Castiglione is an American retired radio announcer,best known for his 42 seasons announcing games of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He has also been a college lecturer,and author. Castiglione was the recipient of the 2024 Ford C. Frick Award,presented by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum,and is an inductee of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
Sean McDonough is an American sportscaster,currently employed by ESPN and the WEEI Boston Red Sox Radio Network. McDonough has play-by-play experience for all four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
Edwin Martin III was an American sportscaster,known primarily as a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from 1961 to 1992.
Eric Frede is an American sportscaster who has worked for NESN since 2002. He was previously the play-by-play announcer for NESN College Football Saturday broadcasts until he left NESN and joined NBC Sports Boston and is currently an anchor for the SportsNet Central.
The Pawsox Radio Network was the radio network of the Pawtucket Red Sox,a Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. There were 12 stations and three F.M. translators in the network,including the flagship and part-time stations. The network last broadcast games for the Pawtucket team in 2019,as the 2020 minor league season was cancelled and the team relocated to Worcester,Massachusetts,becoming the Worcester Red Sox for the 2021 season.
Wally the Green Monster is the official mascot for the Boston Red Sox. His name is derived from the Green Monster,the nickname of the 37-foot 2-inch wall in left field at Fenway Park. Wally debuted on April 13,1997. Although he was an immediate success with children,he was not as well-received by older fans. Wally has since become more accepted by Red Sox fans of all ages,in part due to the Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy creating stories about him and sharing them during televised games.
David O'Brien,nicknamed "OB",is an American sportscaster who is a lead play-by-play announcer on the New England Sports Network (NESN) for telecasts of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB),and for college football and college basketball games aired on the ESPN Inc.-owned ACC Network. He has previously broadcast for MLB's Atlanta Braves,Florida Marlins,and New York Mets,and has announced other sports including basketball,football,and soccer.
Joe Allen Simpson is an American former professional baseball player,and has been a radio and television broadcaster for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1992.
Mark Andrew Grant,nicknamed "Mud",is an American former professional starting pitcher and is the current color commentator for the San Diego Padres' television broadcasts.
David E. Jageler is an American baseball broadcaster. He joined Charlie Slowes in the Washington Nationals radio broadcast booth to call games in 2006.
Glenn Geffner is an American radio play-by-play announcer who recently announced for the Miami Marlins. Geffner joined the Marlins radio broadcast team in 2008. Until 2021,he partnered with Dave Van Horne on the Marlins Radio Network. In addition to his play-by-duties,Glenn hosts the Marlins pre- and post-game shows.
Jon Rish is an American former radio personality,best known for his work in the Boston area.
William Scott Middlebrooks is an American retired professional baseball third baseman and is currently a color analyst for the Boston Red Sox broadcast team on NESN. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Red Sox on May 2,2012,and played with them through 2014. He also played in MLB for the San Diego Padres,Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers. He also worked as an analyst for a 2024 AL Wild Card series on ESPN Radio. A fifth round draft pick in the 2007 MLB draft out of Liberty-Eylau High School in Texarkana,Texas,Middlebrooks signed with the Red Sox for $925,000,bypassing his commitment to Texas A&M University. Middlebrooks was originally a shortstop,but the Red Sox converted him into a third baseman in the minor leagues. He represented the United States in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game. Following Middlebrooks' emergence as the Red Sox's starting third baseman in 2012,the organization traded former All-Star Kevin Youkilis. After struggles in the 2013 and 2014 seasons,the Red Sox traded Middlebrooks to the San Diego Padres before the 2015 season. He signed minor league contracts with the Brewers and Rangers before the 2016 and 2017 seasons,respectively.
John Joseph Block is a radio and TV play-by-play announcer who calls games for the Pittsburgh Pirates on SportsNet Pittsburgh,KDKA-AM,and KDKA-FM,joining the team in 2016 after four years with the Milwaukee Brewers.
