Padres News: Padres Sign Don Orsillo, Dump Scanlan
The San Diego Padres shook up their broadcasting department for the 2016 season, and brought in veteran broadcaster Don Orsillo who formerly worked for the Boston Red Sox. Orsillo spent the past 15 seasons in Boston and was beloved by the Red Sox fans.
The surprise move by the Red Sox allowed the Padres to sign Orsillo and actually give him a raise. That is exactly what insiders are saying the Padres did in bringing in Orsillo on a six year deal.
Orsillo’s new deal probably does include a raise as the Padres hope this is the beginning of a long relationship. Orsillo is widely regarded as a solid announcer with a great voice and knowledge of the game. The Red Sox faithful were distraught after the team announced it was moving on from him.
Don Orsillo is excited for his new start and was ready for a new chapter in his life. His relationship with team president Mike Dee was probably his deciding factor in choosing the Padres. It was reported that many teams had reached out to Orsillo after the Red Sox decided to let him go. He chose to come to sunny San Diego.
Orsillo will split time in the radio booth and television booth before taking over full-time for Dick Enberg who is retiring after the 2016 season. Jesse Agler will work full-time on radio for the time being. An excellent announcing staff will be rounded out by long time announcer and fan favorite Mark Grant.
With Orsillo’s hiring the Padres had to make room and sadly enough Bob Scanlan was let go by the team. He had worked for the Padres on the Radio since Jerry Coleman‘s passing in January of 2014. Many Padres fans are up in arms over the loss of Scanlan but somebody had to go with the addition of Orsillo. Scanlan was responsible for “hanging the star”. A long time Padres tradition started by Jerry Coleman. The team will need a new member to carry on that tradition.
A new era of Padres baseball is upon Padres fans. The team is attempting to transform themselves into a team of relevancy. Kudos to the front office for their hard work. Bringing in a new announcer and shaking things up a bit is a sign that this off-season will also have some drama in it.
The Padres roster will have a certain amount of turn around again this season. Probably not to the extent of last season but there will be changes made to this roster. With the impending free agency of Justin Upton and Ian Kennedy, the team has some big decisions to make. We welcome Don Orsillo to the team and hope that he will soon be broadcasting some Padres playoff games. Go Padres!
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.