March 27, 2018

Official Sportsnet Press Release

TORONTO - As announced on Baseball Central moments ago, former Buffalo Bisons announcer Ben Wagner has been called up from triple-A to become the new radio voice of the Toronto Blue Jays on the Sportsnet Radio Network.

Award-winning broadcaster Dan Shulman also steps into the radio broadcast booth for a collection of regular season games, while Sportsnet veteran Mike Wilner continues to be a part of the broadcast team and host Blue Jays Talk throughout the 2018 campaign.

After 11 seasons as the voice of the Blue Jays’ triple-A affiliate, Wagner makes his Major League debut calling the Blue Jays’ season opener on Thursday, March 29.

“It is a dream come true, and a lot of years in the making,” said Wagner. “To follow in the footsteps of legends like Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth, and to work alongside Mike Wilner and Dan Shulman, I am honoured to have the opportunity to provide the soundtrack of summer to Canadian baseball fans.”

“Ben Wagner has a unique and descriptive way of calling a ball game,” said Dave Cadeau, National Format Director of Sports, Rogers Radio. “He’s an extremely talented broadcaster and I’m looking forward to hearing him across the Sportsnet Radio Network for the next generation. Dan Shulman is simply one of the greatest play-by-play voices in the world, and to have him returning to where his career first started is a thrill for all of us.”

In addition to joining the radio booth, Shulman also anchors Sportsnet’s newest weekly baseball podcast. Debuting on Thursday, April 5, Shulman will host A Swing and a Belt with Dan Shulman. The podcast takes a deeper dive into the world of baseball with players, managers, executives and analysts from around the Majors. Weekly installments of A Swing and a Belt will be available for download through sportsnet.ca, via Apple Podcasts or Google Play. Shulman also returns to the TV broadcast booth this season to call select games alongside Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler.

“I’m very excited to be getting the chance to do a baseball podcast for Sportsnet,” said Shulman. “The title of the podcast comes from some of Tom Cheek’s home run calls, including Joe Carter’s World Series winning homer. We’ll be talking baseball, with a Blue Jay focus, and I’m hoping we can take listeners behind the scenes with the people who make baseball such a great sport, and show them a side of the game they haven’t seen that much of before.”

Working alongside Wagner and Shulman throughout the season will be a rotating roster of analysts. More details will be released in the coming weeks.