Ben Wagner
Benjamin L. "Ben" Wagner (born August 7, 1980) is an American sportscaster. Since March 2018, he has worked as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Ben Wagner | |
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Born | Benjamin L. Wagner August 7, 1980 |
Sports commentary career | |
Team(s) | Toronto Blue Jays (2018–present) |
Genre(s) | Play-by-play |
Sports | Major League Baseball |
Early life
Wagner was born in New Paris, Indiana. As a child, he was a fan of the Chicago Cubs.[1] He was hired for his first on-air role in November 1997, with WAWC-FM in Syracuse, Indiana.[2] Wagner attended Indiana State University, where he worked for WISU-FM calling both men's and women's college baseball games, and graduated in December 2003 with a bachelor's degree in radio-TV/film.[3] While attending the university, he met his wife, Megan.[1]
Career
In 2004, Wagner began working as the play-by-play announcer and director of media and public relations for the Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws.[3] In the offseason, he worked in the radio booth for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, calling the Hawks basketball games.[4] On March 19, 2007, Wagner was hired as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.[3] He remained in that role with the Bisons until March 27, 2018, when it was announced that he would replace the retiring Jerry Howarth as the lead radio play-by-play announcer for the Bisons' parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays.[5][6]
References
- "Radio-TV/Film grad aspires to big-league announcing career". indstate.edu. November 5, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- Clark, Dennis (April 10, 2007). "Major league dreams: ISU grad working his way up baseball's broadcasting ladder". tribstar.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- "Ben Wagner is new "Voice of the Bisons"". MiLB.com. March 19, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- "Ben Wagner, voice of the Hawks, gets called up to Triple-A Buffalo". easternshorehawks.com. March 20, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- "Ben Wagner & Dan Shulman join Sportsnet's Blue Jays radio broadcast team". Sportsnet. March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
- Harrington, Mike (March 27, 2018). "Bisons radio announcer Ben Wagner promoted to Blue Jays' booth; Pat Malacaro named replacement". buffalonews.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018.