Padres hire Orsillo to be new TV broadcaster
SAN DIEGO -- The Padres announced Wednesday that they've hired Don Orsillo as their television broadcaster where he'll call games on FOX Sports San Diego for the 2016 season.
"We are excited to add Don to our broadcast lineup," said Padres president and CEO Mike Dee. "Over his 15 years broadcasting Major League Baseball, Don has established himself as one of the premier play-by-play men in the game. We look forward to both his fun-loving personality and outstanding play-calling ability resonating with Padres fans during what we expect will be a very long career in San Diego."
Orsillo will also do some radio work before shifting full-time to television in 2017, according to a press release. The hiring of Orsillo was part of the team's announcement of its broadcast lineup for '16.
Orsillo, 46, called Red Sox games on NESN for the past 15 seasons, but the network decided to replace him with Dave O'Brien, who is moving over to television from radio next season.
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The decision was very unpopular with Red Sox Nation, as more than 60,000 fans signed a petition demanding the Red Sox reverse their decision.
The Padres have courted Orsillo for some time, and he has ties to management.
Dee spent eight seasons with the Red Sox (2002-09), the last seven of which were as the team's COO.
Broadcaster Dick Enberg, who won the Ford C. Frick Award this year, announced last Wednesday that the 2016 season would be his last as a play-by-play broadcaster for the Padres. He's finishing his sixth season with the team.
Enberg to retire after next season
Enberg will end up working approximately 120 games on television this season, but that number figures to be truncated in 2016 to accommodate Orsillo.
Orsillo will pair with popular color analyst Mark Grant, who is finishing his 20th season with the team.
The release stated that Ted Leitner will return for his 37th season calling games on radio for the Padres. He will be joined by Jesse Agler, who moves from the team's director of content and Padres Social Hour host, into a full-time broadcast role. Orsillo will also call games on radio.
Color analyst Bob Scanlan, who is completing his fourth season with the broadcast team, won't return in the same capacity. Scanlan previously worked on the pregame and postgame shows on Channel 4 San Diego.
"Over the past decade, Padres fans have gotten to know Bob on both television and radio broadcasts, and have come to appreciate both his knowledge of the game and the insight he adds as a former player," said Padres Chief Marketing Officer Wayne Partello. "We thank Bob for all he has done for the Padres organization, and after the season concludes, we will discuss possible opportunities within the organization that utilize his many strengths to continue to offer fans his insights."
Eduardo Ortega and Carlos Hernandez will continue to call games in Spanish on FOX Deportes, but with an expanded schedule. Ortega is finishing his 29th season as the club's Spanish-language voice. Hernandez, a former Padres catcher, is finishing his fourth season as color analyst.
As for Orsillo, he comes to the Padres with high marks from within the industry.
After calling Triple-A Pawtucket games from 1996 to 2000, Orsillo started his run in the Red Sox booth in '01, where he teamed with color commentator Jerry Remy to call some of the most memorable seasons in Red Sox history.
"He's been an outstanding partner for 15 years and I'm truly going to miss him on a work-related side, and I'm going to miss him on a personal side, because he's also become a very, very close friend of mine," Remy told MLB.com.
Orsillo was born in Melrose, Mass., and grew up in Madison, N.H., and he graduated from Northeastern University.