Earlier in the week former Oakland Athletics pitcher, Mark Mulder, confirmed via “The Damon Bruce Show” on 95.7 The Game, he will not be back in the broadcast booth for any A’s telecasts this season. Previously, Mulder would fill in for color analyst Ray Fosse, joining play-by-play announcer Glen Kuiper.
“A little over a month ago, I suppose, and said, ‘we’re going to go in a different direction.’ So while unfortunate, I appreciate the time I had in those clubhouses and out on the field and talking baseball for the A’s fans,” Mulder told Bruce.
Yesterday, The Mercury News reported another former A’s pitcher, Dallas Braden, will be replacing Mulder. Braden will join the NBC Sports California broadcast team for a total of 89 A’s games, 35 in the booth and 54 games as a field analyst. Braden, who worked for ESPN from 2014-2017, will also be a studio analyst for NBC Sports California. On ESPN, Braden was one of the analysts on Baseball Tonight, but fell victim to the network’s layoffs last April.
“Dallas’ presence at nearly every home game in this newly created role will provide a dynamic perspective that fans have not seen before. We are excited to welcome a lifelong A to the broadcast team,” A’s President Dave Kaval said in the news release.
Mulder was a part-time color commentator for the A’s during the last two seasons, but the field analyst position that Braden will also fill during 54 games is the “newly created role” Kaval is referring to.
“Thank you for all the support [and] well wishes. I am EXTREMELY excited for 2018 [and] can’t wait to catch some A’s baseball with you folks,” Braden posted on Twitter
Brandon Contes is a freelance writer for BSM. He can be found on Twitter @BrandonContes. To reach him by email click here.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
