A unique opportunity has come my way, and as you can read below, I will be making my broadcast debut on FSN Detroit as part of their special Spanish-language telecast of the Tigers August 9th game versus the Oakland Athletics. For those in the FSN coverage area, tune in.
FSN PLUS TO OFFER SPANISH-LANGUAGE PRESENTATION
OF AUG. 9 TIGERS-A’S GAME
¡Fiesta Tigres! Night to be First-Ever Tigers Local Telecast en Español
Accomplished Spanish Broadcaster Clemson Smith Muñiz to provide Play-by-Play,
Noted Latino Baseball Historian Adrian Burgos, Jr. Serves as Analyst
Saturday, August 9 is the Detroit Tigers annual ¡Fiesta Tigres! Night at Comerica Park and FSN Detroit will join in the celebration by providing a Spanish-language description of the Tigers-Oakland Athletics game on its auxiliary service FSN PLUS.
The Spanish-language presentation – the first ever for a Tigers local television production – will be available to most cable and satellite households throughout the FSN Detroit regional footprint (a list of FSN PLUS channel numbers is provided at the bottom of this release, or at FoxSports.com/Detroit).
The Spanish-language coverage begins at 7:00 PM with play-by-play announcer Clemson Smith Muñiz and analyst Adrian Burgos, Jr. The English-language telecast of that night’s Tigers-A’s game with Mario Impemba and Rod Allen airs as usual on FSN Detroit and FSN HD.
¡Fiesta Tigres! is the Tigers annual salute to the contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to the game of baseball. The team’s 2008 roster includes Magglio Ordoñez, Carlos Guillen, Miguel Cabrera and Armando Galarraga (Venezuela); Placido Polanco, Fernando Rodney, Ramon Santiago, Freddy Dolsi, Aquilino Lopez and infield coach Rafael Belliard (Dominican Republic); Edgar Renteria (Colombia); and Joel Zumaya (Mexico).
“This is the perfect opportunity for FSN Detroit and the ballclub to reach out to an important segment of the Tigers fan base, while honoring the heritage of many fans’ favorite players,” said Greg Hammaren, Senior Vice President/General Manager, FSN Detroit. “We are proud to provide this important piece of programming to our cable and satellite providers in conjunction with the ¡Fiesta Tigres! celebration that night at Comerica Park.”
"This is a historic telecast for the Tigers, and for our ¡Fiesta Tigres! celebration," said Duane McLean, Tigers' Senior Vice President of Business Operations. " We're thrilled FSN Detroit is offering the game in Spanish-language, and joining us in honoring the contributions of Hispanic players past and present."
Smith Muñiz, a native of Puerto Rico, has an extensive Spanish-language broadcasting résumé, including TV play-by-play and pre- and post-game hosting for the New York Mets, Yankees and MLB International. The longtime Spanish play-by-play voice for the New York Knicks, Smith Muñiz also serves in that capacity for the New York Jets, Monday Night Football for Univision Radio, as well as Army football. Other national duties have included working as color commentator for Super Bowl XLI and XLII, as both the English- and Spanish-language sideline reporter for Westwood One during the broadcast of the first NFL regular-season game in Mexico City in 2005, and as color commentator during the 1997 and 1998 NBA Playoffs. A former sportswriter for the Hartford Courant, the New York Daily News and Spain’s largest newspaper, El País, Smith Muñiz started his Spanish-language broadcast career in 1991 with ESPN International calling Australian Rules Football before graduating to major events such as the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals and World Series. He is president of Smith Muñiz Productions, a New York-based company that helps diverse clients such as MSG, HBO (Real Sports and Hard Knocks) and Major League Baseball reach the Hispanic market.
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FSN PLUS DELIVERS AUG. 9 TIGERS GAME IN SPANISH – page 2
Burgos, a noted educator and author, brings a unique perspective to the Tigers Spanish-language telecast. He is an associate history professor at the University of Illinois specializing in U.S. Latino history, African-American studies, sport history and urban history. In 2007, Burgos published his award-winning book, Playing America’s Game(s): Baseball, Latinos and the Color Line, that examines the impact of the incorporation of Latinos in U.S. professional baseball had on baseball’s color line and racial understandings. The Latin American Studies Association selected the book for its inaugural Latino Book Award, and the Society of American Baseball Researchers named it a finalist for the best baseball history or biography in 2007. Burgos, who earned his doctorate from the University of Michigan, also was a contributing author to the 2006 book Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African American Baseball. He served on the screening and voting committees for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s 2006 special election on the Negro Leagues, and consulted on the Hall’s ¡Béisbol- Baseball!: The Shared Pastime project.
FSN Detroit and FSN PLUS coverage of the Tigers is available in 3.2 million cable and satellite households throughout Michigan and portions of Northwest Ohio and Northern Indiana.
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