Cards, radio voice Shannon agree to multiyear deal
Former player, 74, entering his 56th season with St. Louis organization
ST. LOUIS -- Mike Shannon, the longtime voice of the Cardinals, will remain in the broadcast booth for at least another two years after signing a multiyear contract extension with the organization. The Cardinals, who announced the news in a release on Monday, did not specify the length of the extension.
Shannon, 74, is expected to call all of the Cardinals' home games and approximately 30 road games in 2014 for KMOX radio. His workload is being cut back, though that was to be expected after Shannon had to undergo heart surgery last summer to replace an aortic valve.
Recovery from that procedure kept him out of the broadcast booth for about a month, though Shannon did return for the final week of the regular season. Unrelated to the health issue, Shannon had already planned to decrease his number of road games to about 50 in 2013. In previous years, he was in the booth for all but about 15 games each season.
This next season will be Shannon's 42nd behind the microphone for the Cardinals and his 56th year as a part of the organization. He helped the Cardinals to two world championships as a player from 1962-70.
"Mike's voice has become the soundtrack to St. Louis baseball," Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III said in a statement. "We look forward to having him back in the booth this season and for years to come."
Shannon, a St. Louis native, will again be paired on KMOX with broadcaster John Rooney, who will work with Rick Horton and Al Hrabosky when Shannon is absent. Hrabosky and Horton are members of the Cardinals' FOX Sports Midwest television team.
Shannon will continue to host pregame and postgame shows and participate in call-in segments for KMOX morning shows throughout the year. He will also host the "Live at Shannon's" show at his nearby restaurant after every Tuesday and Friday home game, beginning on April 11.