Tampa Bay Rays Broadcasters

Dewayne anchors the Emmy Award-winning Bally Sports Sun telecast this year, his 46th season broadcasting major league baseball and 24th with the Rays. Dewayne has also handled play-by-play for FOX Sports national baseball coverage. He has broadcast more than 6,000 MLB games in his career, including nine no-hitters. Before joining the Rays, he spent three years calling play-by-play for a variety of ESPN sports broadcasts. He began his major league play-by-play career as the radio and TV voice of the Astros from 1977-84, then for the Cubs from 1985-89. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the Yankees from 1990-94, and spent the 1994-95 seasons calling the action for The Baseball Network (ABC/ NBC). Dewayne began his baseball career as the radio voice of the Oklahoma City 89ers (1973-74). In 1975-76 he was sports director at KPLR TV in St. Louis and received an Emmy nomination. A 1975 graduate of SIU- Edwardsville, where he began his sports career with WSIE Radio, Dewayne earned Distinguished Alumnus of the Year honors in 1987 and was inducted into its Alumni Hall of Fame in 2010. Dewayne was named a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2019. He was named the 2013 Florida Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2015, Dewayne authored Position to Win: A Look at Baseball and Life From the Best Seat in the House, which chronicles his life and career in sports broadcasting. Dewayne was inducted into the Tampa Bay Sports Club Hall of Fame in 2018. He and his wife, Carla, support a number of causes, including military combat veterans via their 501(c)(3) charity W.A.R. (Warriors at Rest). He has two daughters, Stephanie Wheeler and Alexandra, and three grandchildren: Gabriel, 16; Zachary, 13; and Evie, 10.

Brian enters his 11th season as full-time television color analyst on Bally Sports Sun and his 13th season as part of the Rays broadcast. Brian previously served on the major league staff as assistant to the pitching coach, working under Jim Hickey from March 2008 through the 2009 season. He also filled in as broadcaster for the Indians on Sports Time Ohio and hosted a weekly highlights show while recovering from injury in 2007. Brian spent 13 seasons pitching in the majors with the Angels, Indians, Royals and Diamondbacks, and was a member of the latter’s 2001 World Champion team. He was selected third overall by the Angels in the 1993 Amateur Draft and the following season was named the Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year. He was also selected by the Diamondbacks as their first pick in the 1997 Expansion Draft. Brian was inducted to the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame on Sep 30, 2015 and made his acceptance speech by phone during the Rays broadcast. He and his wife, Jessica Marie, reside in Tampa. Brian has four children: Rylyn Mae, 16; Jackson James, 14; Harper Marie, 5; and Baker James, 2.

Orestes begins his 10th season as a pre- and postgame host for Bally Sports Sun and an in-game sideline analyst for select Rays home games. In 2017, Orestes and his Bally Sports Sun crew won a Suncoast Sports Emmy Award for "Demo Day," a one-time special program that aired during a Rays home game. Prior to joining the Rays broadcast, Orestes worked for ESPN as a host on Baseball Tonight and an analyst for the Little League World Series for five years. He also hosted live weekday radio sports talk shows on XM Radio and ESPN Radio, in addition to making several appearances on ESPN Deportes’ TV and radio programs. Orestes covered the 2014 and 2015 World Series for Univision Deportes as their lead studio analyst. Orestes spent 15 seasons in pro baseball with the Yankees, Pirates, Seibu Lions of the Japanese Pacific League and the Marlins as a designated hitter, first baseman and outfielder. He led NPB in home runs for three consecutive seasons (1990-92) and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1990 Japan Series. He was a member of the Marlins inaugural 1993 season, leading the team with 20 HR and 87 RBI. Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, Orestes and his family immigrated to Miami in 1968 when he was six years old. He and his wife, Drisana, reside in Tampa. Orestes has four children: Danielle, 33; Devin, 29; Armando, 16; and Bella, 13.

Rich enters his eighth season covering the Rays on television with the Bally Sports Sun broadcast team. In 2020, he won a Suncoast Sports Emmy Award for hosting the "Salute to the Troops" pregame special. He began his broadcast career as a sports anchor with the ABC affiliate in Great Falls, Mont. in 1995, then served as the sports director with Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum Sports) in Clearwater from 1995-97, where he received a CableACE award for the best local sports program. Rich was also host of "H.S. Sports Extra" for WTVT FOX-13 from 1996-98, the in-arena voice for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Storm from 1999–2002 and a host for a variety of other regional programs. He spent a number of years as a national reporter for NFL Network as well. During the baseball offseason, Rich handles college basketball play-by-play duties on ESPN Networks. Rich earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University in 1993. A New Jersey native, Rich has called the Tampa Bay area home for 26 years. He and his wife, Jill, reside in St. Petersburg with their three children: Jason, 17; Lindsey, 15; and Bryan, 11.

Tricia begins her third season on the Bally Sports Sun telecast as the in-game reporter and host of select feature episodes. She is a two-time Emmy Award recipient, receiving accolades for hosting 2020’s “Salute to the Troops” pregame special, as well as for a 2018 production on the legacy of Peyton Manning. Prior to joining the Rays broadcast, the Stuart, Fla. native spent four years covering local sports with the CBS affiliate in Indianapolis, including the Indiana Pacers, IndyCar racing, college basketball and the Indianapolis Colts. Her career experience also includes a two-year stint covering professional and collegiate teams, including the Brewers, for the ABC affiliate in Green Bay. Her professional career began as a web reporter with the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. Tricia graduated from Indiana University with a degree in communications. She has returned to teach sports broadcasting at IU’s media school as an adjunct professor for the past four years.

Doug begins his seventh season providing in-depth pitching analysis as a member of Bally Sports Sun’s pre- and postgame shows. In 2017, Doug and his Bally Sports Sun crew won a Suncoast Sports Emmy Award for "Demo Day," a one-time special program that aired during a Rays home game. Doug is a St. Petersburg native and graduate of Northeast High School. Prior to being selected out of high school by the Devil Rays in the third round of the 1999 Amateur Draft, he had signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of South Florida. With his 2003 debut, he became the first St. Petersburg native to play for the Rays. He remains one of three Rays players born in St. Petersburg, along with Casey Kotchman and Ryan Weber. In his first major league start, on Sep 3, 2003 at Tropicana Field, he pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Mariners. He spent six years in the majors with the Devil Rays, Marlins and Royals and 11 seasons overall in professional baseball. Doug coaches his two children, Kaden (13) and Karsyn (11), in baseball and softball, and is a realtor in the Tampa Bay area. In 2004, he was presented a key to the city of St. Petersburg by Mayor Rick Baker. Doug and his wife, Kristin, reside in St. Petersburg with their children.

Andy returns to the booth for his 17th season with the Rays broadcast team, which was voted tops in the American League by subscribers of The Athletic in 2020. He joinedthe Rays after serving as the voice of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox for four seasons. Andy was also the voice of the Double-A Trenton Thunder (Red Sox) for five seasons (1996-2000) and was inducted into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. He began his play-by-play career with the St. Lucie Mets of the Class-A Florida State League in 1994-95. Andy’s baseball radio career began as a broadcast assistant with the Orioles flagship station WBAL conducting postgame interviews for all home games during the 1990-93 seasons. His other play-by-play experience includes college basketball for ESPN Regional (2004–present), Providence College (2003-05) and Rider University (1996-2001). He also broadcast for The College of New Jersey football and Baltimore Spirit soccer. Freed is a graduate of Towson State (Md.) University, where he called basketball, football and lacrosse during his time at school. Andy was named 2015 Florida Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He enthusiastically works with the ALS Association. In addition to reciting Lou Gehrig’s famous speech at Tropicana Field every year on “ALS Night,” he emcees various local events, including their annual "Ride to Defeat ALS." He and his wife, Amy, reside in Bradenton, Fla. with their daughter Sarah, 18, twins Casey and Maddie, 11, and rescue dog, Charlie.

Dave enters his 17th season in the Rays radio booth, voted best in the American League by The Athletic subscribers last season. He came to the Rays after 11 seasons as part of the White Sox radio broadcast team primarily hosting the pre- and postgame shows. His first play-by-play action came with the Class-A Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League from 1991-95, where he was the franchise’s first radio voice. Dave was the radio voice of University of Illinois-Chicago men’s basketball from 1997-2005 and has also done some television play-by-play for the Flames. He also anchored the pre- and post- game shows for Notre Dame football and basketball, and served as co-host of the Kevin White Show while with ESPN Radio 1000 (Chicago). From 2000-05, Dave did television work with Comcast’s Sports Weekly high school highlight show. Dave served as the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator with Elmhurst (Ill.) College in 1989, and as interim head coach at the University of Chicago in 1990. He owns bachelor’s degrees in speech communication and urban studies from Elmhurst, where he played baseball for three years. In 2016, Dave was inducted into the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame at the former Foley’s Pub and Restaurant in New York City. He participates in the Hillsborough County Great American Teach-In and assists with Rays community efforts, among them Tampa Bay’s Buddy Baseball League. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have a son, Alex, and a daughter, Michelle. They reside in Lutz.

Neil begins his 10th season on the Rays Baseball Network as host of the pre- and postgame shows, This Week in Rays Baseball, fill-in play-by-play voice and studio analyst. Before joining the Rays full time, Neil was the radio voice of the Triple-A Durham Bulls from 2004-11, and filled in on the Rays pre- and postgame show from 2010-11. While with Durham, he broadcast the Triple-A All-Star Game and the Triple-A National Championship Game to a nationwide audience. Before the Bulls, Neil broadcast minor league games for the Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) and Quad City River Bandits (Twins). He was part of the TV broadcast for the Olympic baseball qualifier Premier12 in South Korea in 2019, and he has done other freelance work for regional and college TV and radio networks. Neil attended Rutgers University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English. He and his wife, Sari, reside in Palm Harbor with their daughters, Emily, 14, and Abby, 13.

Enrique returns for his 23rd season as color analyst on the Rays Spanish broadcast. He received the Alexis Arguello Award, given to the top sports figures in Nicaragua, and the Nicaraguan Sportswriters Association Award for his accomplishments in the world of sports during the 2016 season. In February 2009, Enrique was inducted into the Florida College Sports Hall of Fame for his impact on the college and in life. He is the subject of the award-winning 2009 documentary Henry O!, filmed by Boston-based Rosemont Productions during the 2007 season. Born in Nicaragua, Enrique came to the United States at age 10 and attended the St. Augustine School for the Blind. He called his first professional action in 1989 for the Jacksonville Expos, and then served as color commentator for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball League. Prior to that, he was the public address announcer for seven years for Florida College baseball in Tampa. He also appeared as a regular contributor on Solamente Pelota (“Only Baseball”) on SiriusXM, hosted his own show on WQBN 1300 AM and has been a guest analyst on USF Spanish broadcasts and on baseball broadcasts and talk shows in Managua, Nicaragua. He has also called action for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (2003-05) and served as the Spanish voice for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002-03. Enrique owns a communications degree from the University of South Florida. He delivered the keynote address at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind’s 100th commencement in May 2014. His wife, Debbie, closely assists him on the broadcasts. The two reside in St. Petersburg.

Ricardo begins his 19th season calling play-by-play on the Rays Spanish broadcast. Taveras has more than three decades of radio experience. He has also worked locally as a sportscaster for Mira TV Tampa. Ricardo began as a sports commentator in his native Dominican Republic and was program director for HIVG 870 AM and HIVP 970 AM from 1990-92. He also served as assistant program director for WRIV in Providence, R.I., for three years, and as a sales executive for Telemundo Tampa from 2011-13.