For the last six seasons, Tricia Whitaker has served as the sideline reporter of the Tampa Bay Rays on Bally Sports Florida (now called FanDuel Sports Network Florida). But on Wednesday, she announced a major career change that will no longer include her longstanding role with the Rays.
In a post on X, Whitaker announced that she will be stepping away from Rays broadcasts. She’ll be doing that in part to focus more on Apple TV+ broadcasts of Friday Night Baseball, which she has had a role on in each of the last two seasons.
In the announcement, she revealed that she will now be on the Friday Night Baseball broadcasts every Friday throughout the 2025 MLB season.
“Hi, my sweet Rays fans,” wrote Whitaker. “It is bittersweet to write this post. But instead of all of a sudden not seeing me on your TV, I wanted you to hear it from me. I have some very happy life changes happening which means I won’t be back with the Rays next season.
“I will still very much be in baseball & on MLB sidelines for Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV. In fact, I will now be with them every Friday, and being there every Friday night this coming season, will be a joy.
“We have some wonderful things in store on Apple! As deeply as I love the Rays organization & my on-air broadcast crew, I want to prioritize things in life that matter most to me right now. I’ll get to be home in the Midwest more with my family, students & my sweet nephew.”
Hi my sweet Rays fans 💙
It is bittersweet to write this post.
But instead of all of a sudden not seeing me on your TV, I wanted you to hear it from me.
I have some very happy life changes happening which means I won’t be back with the Rays next season❤️
I will still very… pic.twitter.com/96HiaZDipQ
— Tricia Whitaker (@TriciaWhitaker) November 20, 2024
Whitaker would go on to offer some kind words to the remainder of the Rays TV broadcast crew, thanking them for “accepting her” as a young reporter.
“The five of you are the wonderful humans and you are the ones who make the broadcast what it is. You accepted me as a young reporter. You made me feel at home.”
Whitaker spoke to Awful Announcing about her time with the Rays and her future with sports media:
“My time with the Rays changed my life and the course of my broadcasting career,” Whitaker told AA on Thursday. “The team could not have been more welcoming to a young reporter — Kevin Cash, the players, the coaches, the PR staff … They made my life easy and I could not be more grateful.
Covering a team that went to the playoffs in five out of the six seasons I was there, went to the World Series once, crowned AL East champions in back to back seasons … I could sincerely not have asked for more.
The Rays allowed me to tell the player’s stories in a way that, showed their human side, and that’s all I wanted to do from the very beginning.
You get to a certain point in your life where you want to prioritize other things, and I’m at that point.
I love my Apple TV broadcast crew. They are the best crew that I have ever worked with. They are supportive, they are passionate, they are talented, and they include everyone, equally. The concept of equality and togetherness on that crew is nothing short of amazing and anyone in this industry knows that that is very rare to find. You sincerely do not find that everywhere.
I’m so looking forward to being there every single Friday as opposed to having to miss some Fridays.
I’m thrilled to be staying in baseball with Apple TV while still teaching my students at Indiana University. There are more things on the horizon and I can’t wait to share.”
On top of her increased responsibilities on Friday Night Baseball, Whitaker also works at her alma mater, Indiana University, as a part-time instructor in the IU Media School. So even without the Rays broadcasts on her plate anymore, she will surely have her hands full by the time baseball season comes around.
