VICTORIA, B.C. – A familiar voice and face to Victoria sports fans is joining the HarbourCats broadcast team this season.

Jonathan Hodgson returns in 2017 as play-by-play voice of HarbourCats broadcasts and will be joined by veteran Victoria sports media personality, Steve Duffy for the Shaw TV Game of the Week. 

Duffy will join Hodgson in the booth to form the broadcast team for Shaw TV broadcasts.

Sports fans in Victoria will be familiar with Duffy as a popular radio personality and commentator throughout his storied 44-year career covering the Victoria sports landscape.

Duffy began in Victoria as a sports reporter on 1220 CKDA in the 1970’s. In 1995, the station became 100.3 The Q, where Duffy remained until 2003. 

Duffy spent the last 14 years at CFAX 1070 where he most notably co-hosted the morning show with Al Ferraby.

Duffy became well known for his commentary, notably ‘Steve Duffy’s Sports Comment’, which after the team’s inception in 2013, would frequently highlight the HarbourCats.

This will be Hodgson’s second season as voice of the HarbourCats. In addition to leading the team’s broadcasts, Hodgson is the HarbourCats communications director as well as a baseball advisor.  He is currently the Online Communications Coordinator for the West Coast League and a featured writer with the Canadian Baseball Network, founded and led by 2012 J.G. Taylor Spink Award Winner Bob Elliott.

Hodgson has contributed stories to the Toronto Blue Jays, and prior to Victoria, spent eight seasons as broadcast voice of the Okotoks Dawgs.

The HarbourCats have once again partnered with Go LIVE Broadcasts to provide coverage of all home games during the 2017 West Coast League season.

All 27 regular season games plus exhibition and possible home playoff games will be carried live on the team website, www.harbourcats.com. Broadcasts are produced by Go LIVE Broadcasts, led by Chris Jaycox, and provide a top quality production with four high definition cameras, offered on a pay-per-view basis.

An exciting new feature in 2017 is the introduction of HarbourCats in Five.  Go LIVE Broadcasts will produce a five-minute highlight compilation following every home game, using clips from that day’s broadcast. It will be distributed daily through the HarbourCats website and social media platforms.

"Adding Steve Duffy to the broadcast team for the Shaw TV broadcasts is a real bonus for the HarbourCats, and he and Jonathan will form an entertaining duo," said Managing Partner Jim Swanson.

"Few know the Victoria sports landscape like Steve, and fewer yet understand the background of collegiate baseball and the West Coast League like Jonathan, with his history. It will be a treat for our viewers, through Shaw and our streaming platform."

The third member of the HarbourCats broadcast crew in 2017 is Mike Edwards.  Edwards is a native of Victoria currently attending the Sports Media program and Ryerson University in Toronto.  

Edwards will assist the HarbourCats media and broadcast teams in a variety of roles throughout the season.  He will become familiar to broadcast viewers as leader of ‘Around the WCL’, a daily feature focusing on news and updates from the West Coast League.

Edwards will contribute to the team’s social media platforms throughout the season and lead gameday and in-game social media coverage. He will also provide assistance as needed in the production of HarbourCats in Five.

“I am extremely excited about the upcoming season of HarbourCats’ broadcasts,” says HarbourCats broadcaster Jonathan Hodgson. “I look forward to working with Steve Duffy, who will be a tremendous addition to our Shaw TV broadcasts. He is a true professional who brings unmatched knowledge and experience with the Victoria sports landscape that will take our broadcasts to the next level.”

“Mike Edwards is an ambitious, aspiring broadcaster who will complement our team very well, and help us in a variety of ways,” says Hodgson.

The first edition of HarbourCats broadcasts is June 5 when the Wenatchee AppleSox visit Victoria for Opening Night at Royal Athletic Park. First pitch flies at 6:35pm.

The final schedule for Shaw TV broadcasts will be announced in the near future.