Jenny Cavnar just started her role in the Oakland Athletics’ TV booth, and she’s already being honored in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Cavnar this season becomes the first woman to serve as the primary play-by-play announcer for an MLB team. The NBC Sports California broadcaster called her first regular season game on Opening Day.
The Hall of Fame announced Friday that Cavnar’s A’s credential, headset and NBCS talk box from that game are headed to Cooperstown.
Jenny Cavnar made history as the first woman to serve as an @MLB team's primary play-by-play announcer.
Her @Athletics credential, headset and @NBCSAthletics talk box from Opening Day are being donated to the Museum's permanent collection. #WomensHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/2IkLXqZu04
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) March 29, 2024
Cavnar has plenty of experience in the booth, having served as the backup play-by-play announcer, reporter and host for Colorado Rockies broadcasts for 12 seasons. In 2018, she became the first woman to call play-by-play for an MLB game in 25 years.
Still, Cavnar knows that many fans, especially older ones, aren’t used to hearing a woman’s voice on broadcasts.
“At the end of the day, you have to trust the process and trust yourself,” Cavnar told MLB Network. “So there’s going to be a lot of outside noise. Because I do have a different voice. We’ve been hearing a man’s voice call a baseball game for a very long time. There are certain people out there who are not transitioning to a woman’s voice calling the game. That’s OK. It’s not my problem. It’s someone else who has to adjust to the way that the game is changing.”
Cavnar was inspired to pursue a broadcasting career after watching Melissa Stark on Monday Night Football. She’s ready to take the next step in that career this season.
“For me, I know who I am, I know my baseball knowledge, I know my relationships in this game, and I have to trust that when I go in,” she said.
[MLB.com; Photo Credit: National Baseball Hall of Fame]
