Oct 20, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The Toronto Blue Jays celebrate on the podium after defeating the Seattle Mariners in game seven of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Dan Shulman Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
By Michael Grant on

For Dan Shulman, October has been a month to remember.

The longtime play-by-play announcer and Toronto native was on the call for Sportsnet’s broadcast of the Blue Jays’ ALCS Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners to send the franchise to the World Series for the first time since 1993. Shulman’s baseball work isn’t done yet. Because the Blue Jays are in Canada, he’ll continue to broadcast the World Series for Sportsnet.

For the majority of the rest of us, we’ll watch the Blue Jays take on the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Fox. The Series starts on Friday.

We recently caught up with Dan Shulman to discuss calling George Springer’s dramatic home run and a magical night in Toronto.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: Have you ever been a part of that kind of atmosphere at Rogers Centre?

Dan Shulman: “I think I have. I was in the building for Joe Carter’s home run in 1993 and Jose Bautista’s in 2015. I would put it right on par with that. I have a couple of friends who told me they’d never heard it louder, and we’re at a bit of a disadvantage in that we’re wearing headsets while we’re broadcasting the game. Sometimes I can’t pick up the vibe as clearly as if I were sitting in the seats. But the interesting thing was in the fifth inning, the sixth, it felt incredibly tense and quiet, as if people were saying, ‘Maybe it’s just not meant to be.’ We know this team has come back more than any other team in baseball this year, but it started getting late, and they were still down two, and they weren’t generating anything.”

What was it like when George Springer hit the home run?

“As soon as the bottom of the seventh began, Addison Barger walked, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a single, and then a bunt, a pitching change, here comes Springer. George Springer or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. coming up at a big spot, and the place will go bananas. They went bananas, and with good reason, so it changed from an incredible amount of tension and nervousness, and almost pessimism, to the most unbelievable release of joyful emotion that I’ve ever been around.”

Was it difficult to stay in the moment during the seventh inning?

“It’s funny. During the pitching change, I said to our producer and director in the truck, ‘This could be the whole season right here. They’ve got a very narrow window to come back here.’ Our director said, ‘Say it on air.’ As soon as we came out of the break, I said it. Andrés Muñoz is so good. You got the top of the order coming up. Maybe it’s now or never. It had the possibility of being a big moment. Your adrenaline is already pumping like crazy. You’re on high alert to stay in the moment, which is something I tell myself a lot. So, I was locked in. When he put the ball in the air, I had a pretty good feeling right off the bat it was a home run.”

Did you have an idea of what you were going to say for the final out?

“No, I’ve never scripted anything in my life. The only thing I wanted to say is that it’s been 32 years since the World Series. I didn’t write it down or anything. You don’t know when the game starts. Would it be a Blue Jays pitcher retiring a hitter at the top of the ninth? Or, maybe a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth? You have no idea when or what kind of moment the last moment will be. I just thought of the big picture.

“It was important to say 32 years. I don’t think I said anything for about 10 seconds. Players rush on the field, hugging and all that. I said ‘The Toronto Blue Jays are going to the World Series for the first time in 32 years’ or something to that effect.”

What kind of reaction have you seen or heard from Blue Jays fans?

“Yesterday, I was walking my dog. Not everybody knows who I am, but some people know. Obviously, there are a lot of Blue Jay fans around, and for the first time, a car going by me honked and rolled down the window and yelled, ‘Go Blue Jays!’ I have no idea who it was. I don’t know if it was somebody I know. That’s never happened before.

“This morning, I went to get a coffee. As soon as I walked in, a couple of people who worked there and three or four customers started talking to me about it. So, yeah, it’s definitely happening a lot more now than normal.”

Who else have you heard from?

“I’m getting texts from people I went to school with or that I haven’t heard from in a long, long time. I’ve got a ton of my ESPN friends who work in the U.S., and getting some wonderful texts from them about ‘So happy for you that you get to call the games. So, yeah, whether it’s through friends, or strangers, or anything in between, it never ceases to amaze me how popular this team is. I think it might be a little bit hard to grasp for fans of any of the other 29 teams.”

Because the Blue Jays are in Canada, what is it like being the only team TV broadcast partner that gets to call the World Series?

“We feel blessed. We understand the other 29 don’t get to do this. If I ever want a positive reaction on Twitter, not that you go fishing for that, but I tweet out, ‘Hey, friendly reminder. We’ll keep broadcasting the games right through the playoffs.’ That gets a ton of reaction because every team’s fans like their home broadcasters, right? It’s just natural that you like the people that you’ve become comfortable with, and that know your ball club the best. Myself, Buck (Martinez), Hazel (Mae), and everybody on our crew, we feel incredibly lucky. I think I’m the luckiest guy in the industry, because I’m broadcasting games for the team in my hometown and also get to do it in the playoffs.”

Considering no one knew if he would be on the team a year ago, how popular is Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?

“It’s great that they signed him. John Schneider talked a lot about Vladdy. How much he’s matured and understands that he’s the face of the team. Vladdy now understands, yes, there’s a Springer and a (Kevin) Gausman and a (Bo) Bichette, but Vladdy is the one player that I think most people associate with this franchise. I’m glad that he had an enormous part in this because he deserves that. He works hard. He’s a good person. He loves the city. He loves the country. He loves the fans.”

Who is the biggest celebrity fan of the Blue Jays?

“Geddy Lee, the lead singer of Rush, is a super fan. Rush is this incredibly popular Canadian rock band for many, many years, decades, actually. Eugene Levy was at each of the last couple of games. He’s a big fan, and I would say a ton of NHL players, like all the Canadian guys, are Blue Jay fans. You see them walking into arenas all over the place wearing Blue Jay jerseys and caps.”

Do you have a World Series prediction?

“I don’t do predictions much. I totally understand the Blue Jays being significant underdogs, but they are scrappy, resilient, feisty, and they believe in themselves. If they can grab one or maybe grab a second, you never know. The Dodgers have been unbelievable in October. It’s going to be an incredibly challenging series for the Blue Jays, but they’ve already gotten further than I think most people thought they would.”

About Michael Grant

Born in Jamaica. Grew up in New York City. Lives in Louisville, Ky. Sports writer. Not related to Ulysses S. Grant.

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