These women made history as baseball's first ever all-female radio broadcast team
Thanks to the hard work of Melanie Newman and Suzie Cool, history was made on Tuesday night as baseball's first all-female radio broadcast team took to the airwaves to call the Salem Red Sox' 2-0 win over the Potomac Nationals.
Tonight is the night...
— Salem Red Sox (@salemredsox) April 23, 2019
Good luck to @MelanieLynneN and @SuzKewl while they make history as the FIRST all-female broadcasting booth in professional baseball! You won’t want to miss a pitch between the Sox and the @PNats42 starting at 7:05! ⚾️#whereIThappens pic.twitter.com/24WKv80xVO
Before the game, NESN aired an interview with the two women in which Newman explained how the language of baseball can transcend barriers:
The Salem Red Sox welcomed @MelanieLynneN & @SuzKewl into the broadcast booth on Tuesday. @KacieMcDonnell was there to mark the historical day. https://t.co/CRukEiNRjn pic.twitter.com/yuyWSznKHP
— NESN (@NESN) April 24, 2019
Newman also posted on Instagram to thank everyone for the support.
You can listen to their broadcast from the top of the first inning below. This is history going straight to your ears:
“If you look at our resumes, there’s no way we shouldn’t be doing this,” Cool, who originally wanted to be a sideline reporter, told the Athletic. “I still do potentially want to do sideline stuff. But after this past year, seeing all this news being created from going into a broadcast booth and actually really enjoying it … you don’t know what you are capable of until you’re given that chance.”
It's an exciting start to see two women in the booth and we're looking forward to listening to them all season. Hopefully their work will also help open up new opportunities. Currently Suzyn Waldman occasionally calls play-by-play for the Yankees radio network and Jessica Mendoza does color commentary on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts. The Rockies' Jenny Cavnar became the first woman to call play-by-play on TV in 25 years when she called a Rockies game last season.
Michael Clair writes for MLB.com. He spends a lot of time thinking about walk-up music and believes stirrup socks are an integral part of every formal outfit.
