On Thursday the Cleveland Guardians and Bally Sports Great Lakes announced broadcast plans for the 2023 season, and a new face will be in the booth for several games this season.
Pat Tabler, who was let go by Sportsnet in December after 17 years on Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts, will call select games this season alongside long-time play by play announcer Matt Underwood.
The Guardians are adding former players Pat Tabler, Ellis Burks and Chris Gimenez to their broadcast lineup this season. Tabler will join the booth for certain games and Burks and Gimenez will join the pre- and postgame shows. The broadcast regulars will also return.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 23, 2023
Tabler spent parts of six seasons in Cleveland during his playing career in the 1980s, making his lone All-Star team in 1987 with the franchise.
Fun fact: that 1987 team lost 101 games and Tabler was their only All-Star. Teammates Cory Snyder and Joe Carter were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1987 MLB preview edition. It did not age well.
Underwood and partner Rick Manning will also be back in 2023, as will Guardians Live hosts Jensen Lewis and Al Pawlowski.
Two more new faces are joining the team’s broadcasts as studio analysts. Ellis Burks and Chris Gimenez, who both played for the organization. Burks was there from 2001-2003, while Gimenez had three different stints in Cleveland (2009-10, 2014, 2016).
The Guardians were one of four MLB teams rumored to be dropped by the Bally Sports RSNs during the Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy proceedings. On Thursday, Bally Sports also announced broadcasting plans for a second of those four teams, the Cincinnati Reds.
