Barrett Media produces over 20 stories per day on the music, news, and sports media industries. Stay updated on the latest happenings by signing up to receive our newsletters straight to your inbox.
In a column in the LA Times, Bill Plaschke revealed Dodgers radio broadcaster Charley Steiner has been battling multiple myeloma blood cancer for about a year. The good news is that Steiner told Plaschke he found out recently he is in remission.
Steiner has been the radio voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers since leaving the New York Yankees broadcasting team after a few seasons in the early 2000’2. He started with the Dodgers in 2005. Prior to that he was well known as one of the more popular SportsCenter anchors on ESPN for many years. He had started at ESPN in 1988.
In March Steiner announced he would have to miss some games due to an injury. The Dodgers released a statement from Steiner which said:
“Over the winter, I landed on the Injured List with three compound fractures in my back. (I don’t recommend it.) With the start of the baseball season upon us, the Dodgers are ready to go – but I’m not. This will be the first Opening Day that I will have missed since 1976, when I wore a younger man’s clothes. I look forward to returning to the mic later this season. In the meantime, go Dodgers!”
Steiner, 75, has not been able to return. Plaschke said Steiner had debilitating back pain, lost 50 pounds and was bound to a wheelchair. “He’s gone through hell,” is how his radio partner and former LA Dodger Rick Monday put it to the paper.
Having spent time with both teams in the broadcast booth and growing up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan before they moved away who became a Yankees fan, it is tough for Steiner not to be a part of this world series featuring both of those teams.
Steiner told Plaschke his plan is to continue to heal and be able to return to the team and the broadcasts next season.
“I’m making wonderful progress,” Steiner told Plaschke. “I’m not ready to dance, but it’s getting better.”
