The Tampa Bay broadcasting team consists of 11 members, 6 for television broadcasting, and 5 for radio broadcasting. Among the 5 radio broadcasters, 3 are for Spanish broadcasting. Below is their names and all you need to know about them.
Tampa Bay Rays TV Broadcasters 2022
Dewayne Staats
This is Dewayne’s 46th season broadcasting MLB and his 24th with the Rays. Dewayne has also provided national baseball coverage for FOX Sports. He’s covered almost 6,000 MLB games, including nine no-hitters. He worked with ESPN for three years before joining the Rays. From 1977-84, he was the Astros’ radio and TV voice, then the Cubs’ from 1985-89. He called games for the Yankees from 1990-94 and The Baseball Network (ABC/NBC) from 1994-95. Dewayne began his baseball career as the 89ers’ radio announcer (1973-74).
In 1975-76, he was nominated for an Emmy for his work at KPLR TV in St. Louis. Dewayne was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 1987 and inducted into the SIU-Edwardsville Alumni Hall of Fame in 2010. Dewayne was a finalist for the Ford C. Frick Award in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019. NSSA recognized him as Florida Sportscaster of the Year for 2013. Dewayne wrote Position to Win: A Look at Baseball and Life From the Best Seat in the House in 2015. Dewayne was honored by the Tampa Bay Sports Club in 2018. His and Carla’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit W.A.R. (Warriors at Rest). Gabriel, 16, Zachary, 13, and Evie, 10 years old, are his grandchildren.
Brian Anderson
His 11th season as a full-time TV color analyst on Bally Sports Sun and 13th as a Rays broadcaster. Brian was an assistant on Jim Hickey’s pitching staff from March 2008 through March 2009. While recuperating from an injury in 2007, he presented a weekly highlights program on Sports Time Ohio. Brian pitched in the majors with the Angels, Indians, Royals, and Diamondbacks, winning the World Series in 2001.
The Angels drafted him third overall in the 1993 Amateur Draft, and he earned the Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year. The Diamondbacks drafted him first overall in the 1997 Expansion Draft. Brian was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame on September 30, 2015, during the Rays broadcast. He lives in Tampa with Jessica Marie. Rylyn Mae is 16, Jackson James is 14, Harper Marie is 5, and Baker James is 2.
Orestes Destrade
A pre-and postgame host for Bally Sports Sun, Orestes also serves as a sideline commentator for certain Rays home games. “Demo Day,” a one-off feature televised before a Rays home game, earned a Suncoast Sports Emmy in 2017. Orestes worked for ESPN for five years as a host on Baseball Tonight and an analyst for the Little League World Series. He also hosted daily sports discussion shows on XM Radio and ESPN Radio and appeared on various ESPN Deportes TV and radio broadcasts. Orestes was the principal studio commentator for Univision Deportes in 2014 and 2015.
Orestes played 15 seasons of professional baseball with the Yankees, Pirates, Seibu Lions of the Japanese Pacific League, and the Marlins. He topped the NPB in home runs for three seasons (1990-92) and won the 1990 Japan Series MVP. He led the Marlins with 20 HR and 87 RBI in their rookie season in 1993. Orestes was six years old when his family moved from Santiago de Cuba to Miami. He lives in Tampa with Drisana. Danielle, 33, Devin, 29, Armando, 16, and Bella, 13 years old.
Rich Hollenberg
Rich joins his eighth season with the Bally Sports Sun broadcast crew. he hosted the “Salute to the Troops” pregame special in 2020. From 1995-97, he was the sports director for Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum Sports) in Clearwater, where he won a CableACE award for the best local sports show. Rich was also the in-arena announcer for the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Storm from 1999–2002, and a host for many regional programs.
He also worked for NFL Network as a national correspondent. Rich does college basketball play-by-play on ESPN Networks during the off-season. Rich graduated from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism in 1993. Rich, from New Jersey, has lived in Tampa for 26 years. Jason, 17, Lindsey, 15, and Bryan, 11 live in St. Petersburg with their mother, Jill.
Tricia Whitaker
The Bally Sports Sun telecast’s in-game reporter and host of certain special programs. She won two Emmys for hosting the 2020 “Salute to the Troops” pregame special and a 2018 production on Peyton Manning’s legacy. His previous work experience includes the Indiana Pacers, IndyCar racing, collegiate basketball, and the Indianapolis Colts.
An ABC affiliate in Green Bay hired her to cover professional and collegiate teams, including the Brewers. Starting as a web reporter for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. Tricia earned a communications degree from Indiana University. She has been an adjunct lecturer at IU’s media school for four years.
Doug Waechter
Doug returns to Bally Sports Sun for his seventh season of in-depth pitching analysis. And Doug and his Bally Sports Sun crew received a Suncoast Sports Emmy for “Demo Day” in 2017. Doug grew up in St. Petersburg and attended Northeast High School. A letter of intent to play football at the University of South Florida had been signed prior to his selection in the third round of the 1999 Amateur Draft.
In 2003, he became the Rays’ first native St. Petersburgan. Along with Casey Kotchman and Ryan Weber, he is one of three Rays born in St. Petersburg. On Sep 3, 2003, he pitched a 2-hit shutout against the Mariners at Tropicana Field. He played six seasons in the majors with the Devil Rays, Marlins, and Royals. Doug is a realtor in Tampa Bay and trains his two kids, Kaden (13) and Karsyn (11). Mayor Rick Baker gave him a key to the city in 2004. Doug lives in St. Petersburg with Kristin and their kids.
Tampa Bay Rays Radio Broadcasters 2022
Andy Freed
His 17th season with the Rays broadcast team, which was selected best in the American League by The Athletic subscribers in 2020. He joined the Rays after four seasons as the voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Andy was the voice of the Trenton Thunder (Red Sox) from 1996 to 2000 and was inducted into the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. In 1994-95, he began calling games for the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League.
Andy began his baseball radio career in 1990 as a postgame interviewer for the Orioles flagship station WBAL. Sportscaster for ESPN Regional (2004–present), Providence College (2003-05), and Rider University (2003-05) (1996-2001). He also does football and soccer for the College of New Jersey. Freed attended Towson State University in Maryland, where he called basketball, football, and lacrosse. NSSA recognized Andy Florida Sportscaster of the Year for 2015.
He supports the ALS Association. He emcees several local events, including the yearly “Ride to Defeat ALS.” His family includes Sarah, 18, Casey and Maddie, 11, and Charlie, a rescue dog.
Dave Wills
Last season, The Athletic subscribers voted Dave the best radio broadcaster in the American League. With the Chicago White Sox radio broadcast crew for 11 seasons, he hosted the pre-and postgame shows. From 1991-95, he worked as the team’s first radio announcer for the Midwest League’s Class-A Kane County Cougars.
Dave was the radio voice of UI-Chicago men’s basketball from 1997-2005 and has also called games for the Flames on television. He co-hosted the Kevin White Show on ESPN Radio 1000 and hosted the pre-and post-game broadcasts for Notre Dame football and basketball (Chicago). Dave worked on Comcast’s Sports Weekly high school highlight show from 2000-05.
In 1989, Dave was the pitching coach/recruiting coordinator at Elmhurst College, and in 1990, he was the interim head coach at Chicago. A three-year baseball player at Elmhurst, he earned bachelor’s degrees in voice communication and urban studies. The Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame was established in 2016 inside New York’s Foley’s Pub and Restaurant. He participates in the Hillsborough County Great American Teach-In and the Rays’ Buddy Baseball League. Alex and Michelle are his son and daughter, respectively. In Lutz.
Neil Solondz
His 10th season with the Rays Baseball Network includes hosting the pre-and postgame shows, This Week in Rays Baseball, and studio analyst duties. Neil was the radio voice of the Triple-A Durham Bulls from 2004 to 2011, and the Rays pre-and postgame broadcast from 2010 to 2011. He aired the Triple-A All-Star Game and the Triple-A National Championship Game for Durham.
Neil formerly worked for the Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) and Quad City River Bandits (Bandits) (Twins). He has done freelance work for regional and collegiate TV and radio networks, as well as the 2019 Olympic baseball qualification Premier12 in South Korea. Neil studied English at Rutgers University. His wife Sari and their kids Emily, 14, and Abby, 13, live in Palm Harbor.
Tampa Bay Rays Spanish Radio Broadcasters 2022
Enrique Oliu
Enrique returns for his 23rd season as a Rays color analyst. For his achievements in sports during the 2016 season, he got the Alexis Arguello Award and the Nicaraguan Sportswriters Association Award. Enrique was recognized in the Florida College Sports Hall of Fame in February 2009. Henry O!, a 2009 documentary by Boston-based Rosemont Productions, is about him.
Enrique arrived in America at the age of ten to attend St. Augustine School for the Blind. He worked as a color commentator for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball League until joining the Jacksonville Expos in 1989. Prior to that, he worked for Florida College baseball in Tampa for seven years. He has been a guest analyst on USF Spanish broadcasts and baseball broadcasts and chat shows in Managua, Nicaragua.
He also worked as the Spanish voice for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002-03. Enrique studied communications at USF. In May 2014, he spoke at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind’s 100th graduation. Debbie, his wife, aids him on the broadcasts. Both live in St. Petersburg.
Ricardo Taveras
Ricardo is on his 19th season with the Rays Spanish broadcast. Taveras has worked in radio for almost 30 years. He has also worked for Mira TV Tampa as a sportscaster. The former program director for HIVG 870 AM and HIVP 970 AM in the Dominican Republic during 1990-92. A sales executive for Telemundo Tampa from 2011 to 2013, he was previously assistant program director at WRIV in Providence, R.I.
