Over the weekend, Angels play by play broadcaster Victor Rojas somewhat surprisingly resigned from his role, and one of the reasons he mentioned was “to prepare for my next venture.”
Well, that next venture was announced on Monday. Rojas (seen on the left above with long-time broadcast partner Mark Gubicza) will be the new GM and president of the Frisco RoughRiders, the AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers in the Texas League.
Please join us in welcoming @VictorRojas as the next President/GM of the Frisco RoughRiders. We are excited to have Victor join the team and look forward to having an even greater impact on the DFW Metroplex!https://t.co/flv3ijcgQI pic.twitter.com/GFZgybzxqM
— Frisco RoughRiders (@RidersBaseball) January 11, 2021
Baseball America’s JJ Cooper reported the news on Monday before it was announced by the team.
The career pivot isn’t a huge surprise. This offseason, Rojas interviewed for the Angels GM job that eventually went to Braves exec Perry Misanian. He also served as the assistant GM and GM of the Atlantic League’s Newark Bears, and held front office jobs with the Anaheim Piranhas, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, and Florida Panthers.
Rojas also has history with the Rangers – he called games on both TV and radio for the team from 2004 through 2008.
The transition from the broadcast booth to the front office isn’t unprecedented, but we’ve seen it far more with the NFL in recent years, with John Lynch and Mike Mayock both getting GM jobs and Louis Riddick interviewing for several over the years. Former White Sox analyst Hawk Harrelson had a spell as the team’s GM for a season, but left the role after less than a year to return to the broadcasting world.
While this is one hell of an opportunity for Rojas, as a fan, I’m bummed. Him and Gubicza were a great combination for years in the Angels booth, and I’ll miss hearing them call games during the dog days of summer when there are only a couple of west coast games on the slate. Whoever replaces him behind the mic has quite large shoes to fill.
