Rick Rizzs, the radio voice of the Seattle Mariners on its radio network, will be off the air for the remainder of the team’s homestand after suffering an injury in an all-terrain vehicle accident. The mishap took place during the Major League Baseball All-Star break, in which Rizzs did not suffer any serious injuries. The Seattle Mariners say he will be back in the broadcast booth soon as he recovers from the setbacks.
Over the weekend series against the Detroit Tigers, Dave Sims and Gary Hill Jr. called games on Seattle Sports across the Seattle Mariners Radio Network. Filling in for Sims on the television side was Aaron Goldsmith, who also calls games for Pac-12 basketball on FOX Sports 1 and interviewed for the St. Louis Cardinals broadcast job over the offseason.
Rizzs, 69, who has been with the team for 38 seasons, was diagnosed with Grade 1 prostate cancer earlier this year. At the moment, the disease does not require any chemotherapy or surgery, and Rizzs has no tumor.
Rizzs first started calling Mariners games in 1983 with Dave Niehaus, who was with the team for 35 years himself. After some time calling games for the Detroit Tigers, Rizzs made his return to the Pacific Northwest and worked in radio and television for the team. Upon Niehaus’ passing in 2010, he became the lead radio voice for the club and is now its longest-tenured broadcaster.
Throughout the 2023 regular season, Mariners broadcasts have been bereft of Mike Blowers, the team’s color commentator on Root Sports Northwest. Earlier in the year, Blowers had a severe bout with bronchitis, along with a sinus infection and the flu. Additionally, he suffered a concussion and fell one day while running, resulting in three stress fractures in his face.
Blowers called one game for the team in early May, but has been out for every other game this season. In an effort to return to the broadcast booth as soon as possible, he has been in physical therapy and resting.
