Dan Shulman recently concluded his 24th, and final season announcing MLB games for ESPN. He also served as the voice of the World Series for ESPN Radio since 2010, but is giving up both roles to focus on his work with the Toronto Blue Jays and college basketball for the worldwide leader.
Shulman is the television voice of the Blue Jays and told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale the allure of call the franchise’s potential playoff games — which would conflict with his national TV duties with ESPN — was too much to pass up.
“It would be tough to be there all year doing the regular-season games and then to not be there if they make a run deep into the playoffs,” Shulman said. “It just made sense to me that if I’m all in on the Blue Jays, I’m all in. That’s my home, and sentimentally, that’s where my heart’s at right now for baseball, and the opportunity to call playoff games across Canada on TV. So now it’s clean. It’s baseball in Toronto. It’s college basketball in the U.S.’’
Shulman continued by saying he hasn’t lost sight of how blessed his to be able to announce professional sports in his hometown.
“These are special jobs, and to have one in your hometown, I feel very, very lucky. But I will say this, after everything I’ve done, if the Blue Jays make it to a World Series, and I’m able to call it for millions of people up in Canada, that just might trump it all.’’
Jon Sciambi will replace Shulman as ESPN Radio’s World Series play-by-play announcer.
