Padres name Alex Miniak Petco Park's next public address announcer
Miniak selected from pool of more than 800 hopefuls following nearly three-month-long process
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Padres today named Alex Miniak Petco Park's next public address announcer. The New Hampshire resident is the final one standing after a nearly three-month-long selection process that started with an open casting call in January that drew more than 800 PA announcer hopefuls from across the country. After being announced as the winner during the seventh-inning stretch of tonight's game vs. the San Francisco Giants, Miniak immediately took the microphone and got to work.
"We want to thank everyone who tried out for sharing their time and enthusiasm with us over the past few months," said Padres President and CEO Mike Dee. "Our intent for this process was to offer a true open casting call, with the possibility of discovering talent in even the least expected of places. In finding Alex, we accomplished that goal."
"Alex has the iconic voice that we were looking for and we're excited to welcome him to the Padres family," said Padres SVP/Chief Marketing Officer Wayne Partello. "This was not an easy decision. There was a tremendous pool of talent, and the final three, especially, were all impressive. But in the end, Alex has the right voice to take us into the next era of Petco Park."
Miniak beat out two other finalists, Sam Chin and Todd Leitz, after each had the opportunity to announce a full game at Petco Park this week. Chin, a San Diego resident and UCSD graduate, is a marine biologist. Leitz, another UCSD graduate and Studio City resident, is a public information officer for MYSAFE: LA. He is a former radio news anchor and reporter.
The group of more than 800 who originally tried out to be the next public address announcer was narrowed down to 50, then 30, then 10, with the help of a fan vote, and finally to the Top 3.
Miniak, a Sr. Account Executive with Gigunda Group, plans to move to San Diego, leaving his current role as the public address announcer for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.