Sports stats



Tucson Padres Announce 2013 Spanish Radio Plans

March 29, 2013 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Tucson Padres News Release


The Tucson Padres plan to reach more Spanish-speaking listeners than ever before with a new broadcast agreement with ESPN Deportes 990 AM. Most Thursday through Sunday home games will be carried live on ESPN Deportes 990 with well-known local sportscaster Jaime Cardenas doing the play-by-play and Tucson Padres Director of Hispanic Marketing Francisco Gamez providing analysis. (The games not broadcast are 4/25-4/28 and 6/7.)

Cardenas called Tucson Padres games last season and also worked Tucson Sidewinders games in the early 2000s. Gamez is a former professional pitcher in the Brewers organization who now works for the Tucson Padres full-time. ESPN Deportes' daytime programming includes national and local sports shows, as well as live coverage of soccer matches around the world.

"This is one of the strongest radio signals in our market," said Tucson Padres General Manager Mike Feder. "ESPN Deportes has a loyal following from local sports fans and we're very excited to have our games on their airwaves."

Triple-A Tucson Spanish broadcasts have been a pipeline to the Major Leagues over the years. Francisco Ernesto Ruiz (Houston Astros), Ivan Lara (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Rolando Nichols (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Eddie Almada (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Francisco Romero (Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros) have all gone on to broadcast games in the Major Leagues after their time on the air calling Tucson Triple-A games for the Toros or Sidewinders.

The first 2013 Spanish broadcast will be on Opening Night, Friday, April 12 at 7:05 pm when the Tucson Padres take on the Fresno Grizzlies. All broadcasts will have a ten-minute pre-game show.

• Discuss this story on the Pacific Coast League message board...

Pacific Coast League Stories from March 29, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central