Dan Shulman remembers when he received a phone call from ESPN informing him that the company wanted him to be the voice of Sunday Night Baseball. Despite previous experience as a national baseball announcer at the network for 16 years, this jump led him to feel the most nervous he had ever been in his career. Shulman had limited fill in roles on broadcasts for longtime play-by-play announcer Jon Miller, and he also had people in his corner who encouraged him not to overdo things and stay genuine.
Shulman had watched the program for many years before beginning his work in the profession, during which he worked alongside analysts such as John Kruk, Jessica Mendoza and Aaron Boone. From the weekly grind of preparing and traveling to calling annual events, such as games from Fort Bragg, N.C. and Williamsport, Pa., he reflected on his seven-year tenure with gratitude despite having to navigate regular alterations to the broadcasts.
“It was a very, very special time for me professionally,” Shulman said. “I loved every minute of it…. I got to work with a lot of people I really enjoyed spending time with and getting to know and still call friends to this day, and it was cool. When I was watching Jon [Miller] and Joe [Morgan], Sunday Night Baseball was it, and to be on a show like that was both intimidating and exciting.”
ESPN and Major League Baseball recently agreed to a mutual opt-out of its existing seven-year media rights deal that will take effect at the conclusion of the 2025 season. The ongoing deal reportedly averaged $550 million per season, and while the network has been open to exploring ways to continue its partnership, the two sides have not announced a new contract at this time. As a result, ESPN is currently slated to cease its MLB broadcasts following the Wild Card Series, which would mark the first time since 1990 it did not carry league games. This is in stark contrast to when Shulman first arrived at ESPN in 1990 when he recalls the network broadcasting six baseball contests per week.
“Times change and nothing lasts forever. Relationships change and the business changes, and it’s just one of many things in the world of sports broadcasting that have changed over the years,” Shulman said. “It’s funny because it’s, I guess, been trending in this direction a little bit over the years, but it was still kind of a ‘Wow’ moment for me when I saw that headline and went, ‘Wow. Like, I can’t believe it’s possible that ESPN is not going to have Major League Baseball anymore.’”
The Play-by-Play Voice Representing Canada’s Baseball Team
Whereas the conversation surrounding the ostensibly ambiguous future of regional sports networks remains prominent, Shulman finds himself in a unique arrangement broadcasting north of the border. As the longtime television voice of the Toronto Blue Jays, the only MLB team located outside of the United States, the fanbase is spread across Canada and thus encompasses the largest home market in the league.
“Every game we do is national, and the Blue Jays have a tremendous number of fans in British Columbia, and they have a tremendous number of fans in Newfoundland and everywhere in-between, so I do think having that connection between fans and their local broadcasters or telecasts is extremely important,” Shulman said. “For better or worse, we’re like part of the family 162 times or close to it, and I do think it’s important and I hope it continues, both for personal selfish reasons and for fans.”
Shulman had previously worked in the role on TSN starting in 1995, arriving in the broadcast booth with one inning of baseball broadcasting experience. Yet he departed seven years later and began doing more work with ESPN. In the preceding years, Shulman had hosted weekend shows for ESPN Radio in the United States while working weekdays as a sports talk host on Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto. Aside from broadcasting baseball, he also became situated behind the microphone for college basketball and select NBA games as well.
“I’m still a baseball-college basketball guy,” Shulman expressed. “The two sports fit together perfectly in the calendar, so back then, I was young enough that you have endless energy.”
Shulman made his return to Blue Jays broadcasts in the 2016 season calling games alongside Buck Martinez on Rogers Sportsnet, and he began to think about becoming more rooted in Toronto. As someone born and raised in the city, he wanted to be around for his family while also continuing to work in sports media, and he subsequently decided to step away from Sunday Night Baseball following the 2017 season.
“Doing Sunday Night Baseball in the summer and then doing college basketball in the winter, and I was still doing ESPN Radio all through October too,” Shulman said. “I was doing the playoffs and the World Series, so I was out of town probably 48 out of 52 weekends. Part of it was just to try to get to be home on weekends a little bit more just to be home. I’m doing more games than I’ve ever done, but I’m home more than I used to be.”
Unique Challenges Calling Baseball Across the Border
There are challenges associated with calling Blue Jays games, specifically regarding traveling with the team. Because of the 162-game schedule that takes the franchise everywhere from San Diego to Houston, there are instances where the team plane departs well after dusk and lands before dawn. In order to maintain his energy, Shulman will occasionally take naps during the day and values maintaining a healthy regimen.
“It’s about trying to do the things that we should all do no matter what,” Shulman explained, “but because I have some crazy hours, I really have to prioritize rest and eating and exercise and make sure I do the right things.”
Ahead of a typical Blue Jays broadcast, Shulman completes extensive preparation through research and conversations with players, coaches and other personnel. Following the team on a daily basis helps streamline the process, and he spends time before a new series gathering details and information related to the opponent.
Even though he views preparation as a fundamental part of the job, Shulman wants to bring a conversational style to the airwaves as well. Through 16 seasons working with Martinez, the duo has fostered strong rapport evident to the audience. Whenever Shulman is calling a Blue Jays game, he aims to render the broadcast similar to how it would sound if the viewer was speaking with them at a sports bar. Naturally blending elements of education and entertainment, he feels fortunate to be in the arrangement and also possess the ability to recognize what Martinez is thinking.
“He can finish my thoughts, I can finish his,” Shulman said. “Something can happen on the field and we’ll just look at each other and we’re both thinking the same thing, and I might nod at him or he might nod at me, like, ‘You want it? I can take it.”
Working in television, Shulman is cognizant of punctuating the moment and then letting his colleagues effectively tell the story through their own visual and aural compositions. Unlike other sports, signature moments can transpire at any time in baseball, he explained, and it is critical not to lose sight of what is taking place in real time.
“Give them what they need, but don’t give them more than they need,” Shulman articulated. “Baseball – you can’t script this stuff. It’s live TV, and that’s the challenge of it and that’s the adrenaline you get from it because you don’t know if it’s going to be a home run or a strikeout.”
Being a Mentor and a Father Simultaneously
When broadcaster Jim Hughson opted to give up his role calling Blue Jays games and focus on hockey instead prior to the 1994-95 season, Shulman auditioned for the job opening. Although he was not originally selected, he received a call in February 1995 asking if he was still interested and suddenly found himself on the air. Shulman considers landing the job to be the biggest break of his career, but in recent years, there has been another aspect of what makes the role special.
For the last four seasons, Shulman has worked in the Rogers Centre press box with his son, Ben, located nearby calling games on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. Ben first started broadcasting Blue Jays games on radio in 2022, and he was named the full-time radio voice last season after Sportsnet decided not to renew Ben Wagner’s contract. Shulman frequently communicates with his son about the team, and they also share their results from the popular Immaculate Grid game trying to fulfill various combinations of teams and statistics.
“If he’s talking to Bo Bichette, the last thing he wants is for dad to wander into the conversation, so one of the boundaries I placed on myself is if Ben’s talking to a player, I don’t go over,” Shulman said. “I give him all the space in the world, but it’s fun, just as a father and son.”
Shulman sometimes does not review his previous broadcasts and arrives home feeling good about his performance. There are other days, however, where he will watch several innings of the game back to analyze aspects of his delivery and how he tracked the game. He believes in self evaluation and safeguards against becoming complacent in his job. In the end though, he hopes people are satisfied with him calling Blue Jays games and remains motivated to keep arriving at the ballpark as the team competes for its first World Series championship in 32 years.
“It’s live and it’s unpredictable, and I don’t know who’s going to win, and I still get a bit of a jolt out of that, so eventually, that changes for all of us,” Shulman remarked. “I’m not going to work until I’m 80 years old or anything like that – I don’t see me being that person – but it’s still fun for me to do, it’s fun for me to share this with people in my life.”
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Derek Futterman is a former associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. Find him on X @derekfutterman.
