Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrín to retire after next season

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dodgers Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrín, who has been the team’s Spanish-language radio host for 64 years, said on Tuesday that next season will be his last in the cabin .

Jarrín, 85, from Ecuador, began broadcasting Dodger matches on KWKW when the team moved from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles in 1958. He joined the broadcast team permanently in 1959.

Jarrín became baseball’s longest-serving announcer when legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully retired in 2016 after 67 years calling games for the organization.

In 1998, Jarrín was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award – presented annually to a broadcaster for major contributions to baseball – becoming the second Spanish-speaking announcer to earn this honor. .

Prior to this season, Jarrín and his son Jorge spent six seasons together in the broadcast booth, becoming the first father-son duo to share the Spanish broadcast booth in Major League history.

“I am grateful to the Dodgers – the best organization in baseball – for giving me the opportunity to do what I love most for 64 years,” Jarrín said in a statement released by the Dodgers on Twitter. “While I will miss my ‘baseball family’ at Dodger Stadium and across the country, I look forward to spending more time with my sons Jorge and Mauricio and my grandchildren and maintaining my love of travel. “

Jarrín later told the LA Times: “I think it’s a good time to end my 64-year vacation because my job is a vacation because I love it so much.”

According to the Dodgers, Jarrín has called three Perfect Games, 22 No-Strike, 30 World Series and 30 All-Star Games in his career. He also served as Fernando Valenzuela’s interpreter during the latter’s emergence with the Dodgers in the early 1980s.

Tributes to Jarrín poured in from members of the Dodgers family.

“It’s impossible to put into words what Jaime meant to the Dodger organization. For more than six decades he has brought us characteristic calls from baseball’s greatest moments, while serving the Dodgers and Los Angeles with grace, integrity and class, “said the president and CEO of the Dodgers. Stan Kasten said in a statement. “Jaime was instrumental in bringing the Dodgers to Los Angeles and voicing the franchise’s Latin American stars. We will treasure this past year with him on the show and wish him the very best of retirement. “

Scully, now 93, then posted a tribute to Jarrín on Instagram.

“Los Angeles has been fortunate to benefit from the talent of Jaime Jarrín for over six decades,†Scully tweeted. “I am delighted that my dear boyfriend can spend some precious time with his retired family. All the best for you Jaime.”

Jarrín said on Tuesday he would only broadcast all 81 home games for the Dodgers in his final season in 2022.