Chicago Cubs broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies receive new contracts

The reigning world champions of baseball have made a little bit of news on the broadcasting side of sports. The Chicago Cubs announced yesterday that broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies will receive new three year contracts taking the pair through the 2019 season.

.@LenKasper and @JimDeshaies have renewed contracts through 2019 season! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/2aakC5v5jA

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) January 10, 2017

Kasper began as the Cubs play by play man in 2005 and Deshaies joined the broadcast team moving over from the Houston Astros in 2013. The pair are well-respected across baseball and especially by Cubs fans. Scrolling through the replies to the Cubs’ tweet announcing the new contracts, you’ll see something you rarely see when talking about sports announcers on Twitter – compliments! Sure there are skeptics everywhere, but Kasper and Deshaies hit it off from the beginning and have been one of the top teams around baseball since being paired together.

The Cubs team ranked 6th in our annual poll of all the MLB local broadcasters with 43% of respondents giving them an “A” grade.

Both Kasper and Deshaies were obviously happy to stay together and remain as the broadcast team for the World Series winning Chicago Cubs. (That’s still a surreal thing to type.) Via MLB.com:

“I am thrilled to formalize an extension of what has been the greatest job in the world,” Kasper said. “Calling Cubs games with Jim Deshaies for the most passionate fans in baseball is something I cherish and hope to do for the rest of my career. I am incredibly thankful to the Cubs, the Ricketts family, WGN, CSN and ABC 7 and all the fans with whom we watch and cheer on the Cubs every season.”

“I am excited to continue my relationship with the Cubs and the entire organization,” Deshaies said. “It has been a joy to share Cubs baseball with our great fans, and I hope to do so for a long time. It is a special privilege to call Wrigley Field your home office, and working with a top-notch partner in Len Kasper and all our broadcast partners makes coming to the ballpark that much more enjoyable.”

It’s a deserved contract extension for the pair, who should remain as the Cubs broadcasters for a long, long time. Kasper and Deshaies bring a great balance of traditional baseball knowledge and also reaching into some more advanced statistics to inform viewers. Now the question is just how many more championships they might get to witness in Chicago.