It’s always cool to see someone’s debut at the Major League Baseball level. And that’s true for announcers as well as players. The latest to get that chance is Jeff Dooley, who’s long called minor league games in Connecticut for the New Britain Rock Cats and Hartford Yard Goats (the team moved from New Britain to Hartford ahead of the 2016 season). The Rock Cats/Yard Goats have been the double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies since 2015, and Dooley will now call two games this weekend on the radio for the Rockies during their trip to Philadelphia to play the Phillies. WTNH (the New Haven/Hartford CBS affiliate) sports director John Pierson has a story on that:
25 years in the minor leagues & @JeffDools has finally gotten the @MLB call! The voice of the @GoYardGoats will call this weekend's @Rockies games in Philly! @WTNH pic.twitter.com/pV2GW43GU8
— John Pierson (@JPPierson) April 20, 2023
One notable part there has Pierson ask Dooley (0:24) if he’s planning a special home run call. Dooley says “Whatever comes naturally, you know me. I try to just describe the action as best as I can, and try to let the listeners know on radio what I’m seeing on the field. We’ll see what happens; I’m sure I’ll be running on adrenaline. I’m just so excited to get to Major League Baseball.”
Dooley also tweeted about his excitement about the opportunity:
Thanks so much! I’m honored. Let’s go @Rockies https://t.co/mcaKncv7uZ
— Jeff Dooley (@JeffDools) April 21, 2023
Back in 2016, Hartford Magazine profiled Dooley ahead of the Rock Cats’ first season as the Yard Goats. He had some good lines in there about how he got started broadcasting:
“In 1998 I put together the first-ever full time radio deal with the New Britain Rock Cats. I was the liaison between the club and the radio station. I created a job for myself.”
Dooley does more than just calling games for the Yard Goats. That 2016 piece spotlights that he also works as the director of media relations, and that that involves everything from doing media interviews to arranging those for players to promoting the team to business groups. So that job he created for himself has kept him busy, but it’s worked out pretty well. And now it’s led to a call to the big leagues, and those are always neat to see.
[John Pierson on Twitter, Hartford Magazine]
