Jaime Jarrin
| Jaime Jarrin | |
|---|---|
 Jarrin at Game 1 of the 2009 NLDS |
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| Background information | |
| Born | December 10, 1935 Quito, Ecuador |
| Team(s) | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Official site(s) | www.dodgers.com |
| Genre(s) | Play-by-play |
| Sports | Major League Baseball Boxing |
Jaime Jarrin (born December 10, 1935 in Quito, Ecuador) is the Spanish language voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He began broadcasting for the Dodgers in 1959, and was the 1998 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame. One of the most recognizable voices in Hispanic broadcasting, Jarrin, "the Spanish Voice of the Dodgers" is also heard on FSN Prime Ticket's SAP channel. Jarrin's broadcasts are listened to by Spanish speakers both at home and in the ballpark.
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[edit] Career
Born in Cayambe, Ecuador, Jarrin began work as a broadcaster in his home country when he was just 16 years old. He went on to become the announcer for the National Congress of Ecuador. He came to the United States on June 24, 1955. At the time, he had never seen a baseball game.
When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, KWKW, where Jarrin was the news and sports director, picked up the Spanish language rights for the games. For the first six-plus years, the Spanish language announcers did not travel with the team, and would recreate the games on radio while listening to the English-language broadcast in a studio. In 1973, after 14 years with the Dodgers, Jarrin became the club’s No. 1 Spanish-language broadcaster.
From 1962 to 1984, Jarrín never missed a game, calling close to 4,000 games over 22 seasons. The streak was broken only when he took charge of all the Spanish-language radio coverage and production for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
During 1980-81, Jarrin served as interpreter for Fernando Valenzuela. Valenzuela now works as color commentator alongside Jarrin and Pepe Yniguez.
He has called more than 30 world championship boxing title bouts throughout the world for radio and television stations in Latin America, including the Thrilla in Manila between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He has called 19 All-Star Games and 25 World Series, including the 2005 Fall Classic in which he served as the emcee for MLB's Latin Legends ceremony. His broadcasts of the All-Star Game, League Championship Series and World Series on CBS, the Latina Broadcasting Network, Cadena Latina and Caracol and 1989 to 1999 were carried on more than 300 stations. In March 2006, Jarrín served as a play-by-play announcer for the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
In addition to his work calling Dodger games, Jarrin found himself at the center of many international news broadcasts, including the funeral of President John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II's visit to America, and several important meetings between foreign leaders and Presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.
[edit] Honors and awards
In 1998, Jarrín received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the second second Spanish-language broadcaster to that award, joining Mets and Yankees announcer, Buck Canel. The Dodgers are the only team with two Hall of Fame announcers, English language announcer Vin Scully being the other. In February 1998, Jarrin was the first recipient of the Southern California Broadcaster Association's President's Award. Also in 1998, he was honored by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists with their highest award, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2002, Jarrin was inducted into the California Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and in 2003, into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum. He received the 2003 Foreign Language Sports Broadcaster Award from the Southern California Sports Broadcasters inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. Jarrin was honored again by the SCSB with the foreign-language broadcaster of the year award in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008. In 2009, he was honored by the Society of St. Vincent DePaul for his commitment to changing the lives of at-risk youth in the community.
He has also received La Gran Cruz al Merito en El Grado de Comendador (the highest civilian medal) from his native Ecuador in January 1992. In 1990 he was named as one of the top 100 Influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine. In 1970, he was the first Latin American to win the Golden Mike Award, which he received again in 1971. In 2000, he spoke at the MLB Rookie Development seminar, which is designed to prepare top minor league prospects for the Major Leagues.
[edit] Personal
Jarrin studied philosophy, letters, journalism and broadcasting at Central University of Ecuador in Quito. His son, Jorge Jarrin, is a traffic reporter for English and Spanish radio stations in Los Angeles and is employed by the Dodgers in the Partnerships department. Jarrin and his wife, Blanca, reside in Los Angeles.
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Jimmy Dudley |
Ford C. Frick Award 1998 |
Succeeded by Arch McDonald |
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