Broadcasters

Dave O'Brien enters his 32nd year of Major League Baseball broadcasting and his seventh in NESN's play-by-play role after nine years with Red Sox radio network. Dave recently re-joined ESPN and is the ACC Network lead play-by-play announcer for its college football and college basketball coverage. From 2002-17 he served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN, working Major League Baseball telecasts and college basketball. He has called the LCS and World Series for Major League Baseball's International broadcasts, as well as select MLB playoff series on ESPN Radio. He worked as both a radio and television announcer for the Florida Marlins from 1993-2001 and was the television voice of the New York Mets on WPIX-TV from 2003-05. He also did radio play-by-play on Atlanta Braves games in 1990 and 1991 as well as college football and basketball action for the University of Georgia and University of Miami. A Boston native, Dave received the Georgia Associated Press "Best Sports Play-by-Play" honor in 1988 and 1991 and the Achievements in Radio (A.I.R.) award for Best Play-by-Play for his call of Mark McGwire's 59th home run in 1998. O'Brien and his family reside in Rye, New Hampshire.

Dennis Eckersley (Twitter: @Eck43) has been with NESN since 2003. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 after pitching 24 seasons in the major leagues with 5 teams (Cleveland, Boston, Chicago Cubs, Oakland, and St. Louis), including two different stints with the Red Sox (1978-84, 1998). He spent the first 12 years of his career as a starting pitcher, then moved to the bullpen to become one of the most dominant closers in the game. During a 5-year stretch beginning in 1988, Eckersley averaged 44 saves, a 1.88 ERA, more than 1 strikeout per inning, and less than 1 walk per 9 innings. In 1992, Eckersley became only the second relief pitcher to win both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in the same year. The 6-time All-Star has served as a post-season studio and game analyst for TBS since 2008.

Tom Caron (Twitter: @TomCaron) joined NESN in 1995 and has been a member of the NESN team for 27 years. For the past 21 seasons, he has been a member of NESN's Red Sox broadcasts, serving as the network's first baseball sideline reporter before moving into the role of host of the pre- and post-game shows in the championship season of 2004. Caron served as studio host for Boston Bruins hockey from 1997-2004 and has been the play-by-play announcer for two of New England college hockey's biggest tournaments: the Beanpot (for 15 years) and the Hockey East championship (25 seasons). Prior to NESN, Caron was the play-by-play voice of the Portland Pirates of the AHL and was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2014. An eight-time New England Emmy Award winner, Caron has been awarded New England's Favorite Local TV Sports Personality seven times by Channel Media Sports Research's New England Sports Survey, and was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. Caron is involved in many local and regional charities, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Mass Mentoring and Partnership and the Metrowest YMCA.

Tony Massarotti (Twitter: @TonyMassarotti) is a Waltham native and has been covering the Boston sports scene for over 30 years. From 1994-2008 he was the Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Herald, where he covered the 2004 and 2007 World Series championship teams. Massarotti has also worked as a columnist for the Boston Globe. Since 2009, he has been part of the "Felger & Mazz" show on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Tony has written multiple Red Sox-related books, including "Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits", which he co-authored with David Ortiz, and "Knuckler: My Life with Baseball's Most Confounding Pitch", written with Tim Wakefield. He is currently working on a fifth book.

Kevin Millar (Twitter: @KMillar15) is in his first season as an analyst in NESN's broadcast booth. Millar has co-hosted "Intentional Talk" on MLB Network since the show's inception in 2011. The 2004 World Series champion spent three of his 12 major league seasons with the Red Sox, batting .282 with 52 home runs and 220 RBI in 432 games for Boston from 2003-05. The former first baseman and outfielder used "Cowboy Up!" as a rallying cry for the 2003 Red Sox team that advanced to the American League Championship Series. In 2004 he played a key role in helping the Red Sox overcome a 0-3 series deficit to the New York Yankees in the ALCS, an astounding comeback that led to the organization's first World Series title in 86 years.

Kevin Youkilis (Twitter: @GreekGodofHops) is in his first season as an analyst in NESN's broadcast booth after one season in 2021 as a weekly contributor to NESN's pre- and postgame show. Inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2018, Youkilis spent 9 of his 10 MLB seasons in Boston, where he was a 2-time World Series champion (2004, '07) and 3-time All-Star (2008, '09, '11). The Red Sox franchise leader in fielding percentage at first base (.997), he holds the AL record at first base for consecutive games without an error in a season (135 in 2007) and career (238 from July 2006 to June 2008), and was rewarded for his defensive prowess with the 2007 Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Following his playing career, Youkilis spent time as a scout and development consultant for the Chicago Cubs (2015).

Jahmai Webster (Twitter: @WebsterOnTV) returns to the broadcast team for his fifth season as a Red Sox sideline reporter. He joined NESN in October of 2016 and serves as an anchor/reporter on NESN's sports news programs. He has also served as host of NESN's award-winning and commercial-free Red Sox pre-game show for kids, NESN Clubhouse, which airs on Sundays 90 minutes before game time. Before joining NESN, Webster worked at Denver's ABC affiliate KMGH Denver7 and KITV 4 News in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Cal State Northridge graduate got his start in sports broadcasting at two ABC affiliates in central Texas, KRHD-TV 40 in College Station and KXXV-TV 25 in Waco.

Jim Rice is in his 20th year as a pre- and post-game analyst on NESN. In 2009, he became the 32nd member of the Red Sox to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Rice played 16 seasons in the major leagues, all with Boston. The eight-time All-Star finished his career with a .298 batting AVG, 382 home runs, and 1,451 RBI. He was voted the AL MVP in 1978 and helped lead the Red Sox to two AL pennants (1975 and 1986). He ranks third behind only Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski on the Red Sox all-time leaders list in hits and total bases, and is fourth in home runs and RBI. Since retiring after the 1989 season, Rice has remained active in the Red Sox organization, serving as a minor league hitting instructor from 1992-1994 before joining the parent club as hitting coach from 1995-2000. He currently serves as a special organizational instructor for the team.

Tim Wakefield (Twitter: @TimWakefield49) joined NESN's pre- and post-game team in 2012. His 19-year MLB career included 17 years as a member of the Red Sox (1995-2011). He ended his career with 200 wins, 186 of them with Boston, which ranks third behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens on the Red Sox' all-time career wins list. He was the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 1995, an All-Star in 2009, and a two-time World Series champion. He was also honored as a champion off the field as one of the most charitable players in the league, winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010 after being nominated eight times during his career. He currently serves as a special assignment instructor as well as honorary chairman of the Red Sox Foundation, and was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2016.

Mike Monaco (Twitter: @MikeMonaco_) joined NESN for the 2020 season for select play-by-play games, after spending three seasons from 2017-19 with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. The Cohasset, MA native also broadcasts college sports for ESPN and the ACC Network. Before joining ESPN, Monaco broadcast college sports for FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network and has also called college basketball for NBC Sports. He served as a broadcaster in the Cape Cod Baseball League (2013 and 2014) and for the Chicago Cubs' (2015) and San Diego Padres' (2016) Single-A affiliates in the Midwest League. The University of Notre Dame graduate has also served as a play-by-play broadcaster, reporter, and host for his alma mater, including nationally syndicated Notre Dame football shows.

Adam Pellerin (Twitter: @AdamPellerin) serves as a host for NESN's pre- and post-game shows. He is one of the lead anchors for NESN's sports news programs. The Massachusetts native joined NESN in 2012 after serving as general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor at FOX 25 for five years. His television reporting career began in Portland, ME at CBS affiliate WGME.

Ellis Burks is in his second season as a NESN game analyst and pre-game/post-game analyst. His 18-year MLB career included 7 seasons with the Red Sox, including as a member of the 2004 World Series champion club in his final year in the majors. The two-time All-Star compiled a .291 batting average with 352 home runs and 1,206 RBI in 2,000 career games. In 1990 with Boston, Burks earned an All-Star selection and received both the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award as an outfielder. Following his playing career, the Texas native worked for the Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, and San Francisco Giants organizations.

Lenny DiNardo (Twitter: @DinardoLenny) returns for his sixth season on NESN after joining the network in 2017 as a pre- and post-game analyst. DiNardo was a pitcher for the Red Sox and a member of the 2004 World Series Championship team. He also pitched for Oakland and Kansas City before retiring from baseball in 2013.

Will Middlebrooks (Twitter: @Middlebrooks) is in his first season as NESN pre- and post-game analyst. He also serves as a baseball analyst for CBS Sports HQ and is a co-host of the WAKE and RAKE Podcast. Selected by the Red Sox in the 2007 MLB Draft, Middlebrooks spent eight seasons in the organization, including the first three of his six years in the majors. The Texas native burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2011, batting .288 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI in 75 games. He was a key contributor to the 2013 World Series championship team, serving as the team's primary third baseman. When the Red Sox returned to play after the Boston Marathon in 2013, Middlebrooks tweeted, "I can't wait to put on my jersey today...I get to play for the strongest city out there. #BostonStrong," with the hashtag becoming a rallying cry for the season.

Mo Vaughn is in his second season contributing to NESN pre-game and post-game with a weekly appearance. He spent the first eight seasons of his 13-year career with the Red Sox, earning all three of his All-Star selections (1995, '96, '98) in Boston. Vaughn won the BBWAA Most Valuable Player Award in 1995 after batting .300 with 39 home runs and an American League-leading 126 RBI. He also earned a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award at first base in 1995. He was a frequent visitor to the Jimmy Fund Clinic during his playing days in Boston.

Joe Castiglione is in his 40th season on Red Sox radio (1983-2022), the longest tenure of any Red Sox radio broadcaster and of any Boston broadcaster. Prior to coming to Boston, Castiglione called television games for Cleveland in 1979 and 1982 and for Milwaukee in 1981. The Hamden, CT native has also announced television games for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and did college basketball on NESN for 6 years. During the offseason, Joe taught classes in broadcast journalism at Northeastern University for 29 years (1985-2013), at Franklin Pierce University for 15 years (1996-2010), and at Emerson College in 1996. Since 1990, he has also served as a Jimmy Fund staff member in fundraising. A graduate of both Colgate (undergraduate) and Syracuse Universities (graduate), Joe is the author of Broadcast Rites and Sites: I Saw It on the Radio with the Boston Red Sox, which was published in 2004, and Can You Believe It? 30 Years Inside Red Sox Baseball, published in 2012. Castiglione was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014. He and his wife, Jan, have 3 children and 6 grandchildren. They reside in Marshfield, MA.

Will Flemming returns for a fourth season in the Boston Red Sox radio booth (2019-22). In addition to his work with WEEI, he has also been a play-by-play broadcaster for MLB and college basketball games on ESPN, filled in on Red Sox TV coverage on NESN, called college basketball games for CBS Sports, and worked NCAA Championship events for Turner Sports. Before joining the big league club, Will spent three seasons with the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's former Triple-A affiliate. Prior to Pawtucket, he worked for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians and the Potomac Nationals. Fluent in Spanish, he has interviewed dozens of Spanish-speaking athletes, often translating into English in real-time. A native of Alexandria, VA, Will attended Stanford University, where he was the play-by-play voice for baseball and basketball. He and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of two-year old Bailey, who saw his first baseball game at Fenway Park when he was six weeks old.

Nilson "Junior" Pepen is a lifelong resident of Boston and a native of the Dominican Republic. He started covering sporting events upon his arrival to the city, being the host of sport segments for local Latino television. In 2000, he became a member of the radio show "Conversando De Deportes," Boston's only Spanish sports talk radio show, which aired on 99.9 FM and 1300 AM. Since then he has been the producer and host of the show for 20 years. Through those years, he has covered Pan American Games, Baseball Caribbean Series, the World Baseball Classic, MLB World Series, and also NBA games. From 2006-10, he was part of the Red Sox Spanish-language broadcast team. Most recently, Nilson became the Sports Presenter of the Univision Network, where he participates in the news with his segment, "The Baseball Report," and conducts the weekly Unideportes Program.