Jaime Jarrín was the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcaster for 64 years until retiring after the 2022 season. Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, Jarrín called three perfect games, nearly two-dozen no-hitters, 26 All-Star Games and 29 World Series.
Jarrín became just the second Spanish-language broadcaster to earn the the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. He also was inducted into the California Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and honored in the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum.
For more than six decades, Jarrín was an essential voice to thousands of Spanish-speaking baseball fans in Los Angeles county, which has a Hispanic population of 49.1%.
While the Dodgers routinely invest in their Spanish-language broadcast team, the Los Angeles Angels have been cutting back over the past few years. José Tolentino, the organization’s longtime Spanish radio voice, was demoted to a part-time employee.
Jarrín spoke about the unfortunate situation and believes the Angels need to become a bigger presence in the Latino community, via Sam Blum of The Athletic:
“I was always very disappointed with the Angels coverage of the games,” Jarrín told The Athletic. “I was very disappointed because you have to understand, they are in the heart of the Latino community. I never understood why they didn’t pay attention to the Latino market.”
Tolentino has been the Angels’ Spanish-language announcer for over two decades and used to call every home game from an Angel Stadium booth before seeing his workload drastically reduced. Tolentino is now considered a freelancer and hasn’t announced a game in three years.
The Angels are the only MLB team in Southern California without full-time Spanish-language broadcasts. Tolentino has aired his frustrations with Angels president John Carpino and hopes he can create meaningful change.
Jaime Jarrín grateful for Latino baseball fans
The Dodgers closed out the 2022 regular season with a special ceremony that honored Jarrín’s legendary career. “Gratitude for my part,” he said when asked to dedicate one word to Latino baseball fans.
“Gratitude. Because they have followed my career, they are the ones that have put the bread and butter on the table for my family. The fanbase has been great. I think we have done a good job spreading the word about baseball. When I started, 8% of the attendance was Latinos.
“Now it’s 46% at Dodger Stadium. When I take my break in the fifth inning, I take a walk and I hear so much Spanish around. It’s fantastic. And before, the Latinos used to be in the bleachers or up on the top level. Now they are everywhere, including in the most expensive suites.”
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