Longtime Toronto Blue television operator Jace Buck Martinez has retired from the broadcast booth after being diagnosed with cancer.
In a statement published by Sportsnet, Martinez said Sunday’s game against the Auckland Athletics would be his last in “a short time” as he began weeks of cancer treatment.
The 73-year-old Martinez said he hopes to rejoin his longtime Sportsnet teammates on a long trip to Jace later this season.
The veteran’s association with the Blue Jays dates back to 1981, when he began a five-year career as one of the team’s hunters. Martinez enjoyed a 17-year career in Major League Baseball as a player that included stops with the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers.
He was hired as Blue Jace’s manager in 2001, but was fired in the middle of his second season with the team after setting a 100-115 record.
Blessed with a silky voice and a smooth delivery, Martinez first stepped behind the microphone in 1987 as a color commentator for the TSN Jays Games.
He also helped call games for ESPN, TBS and the Baltimore Orioles before joining the Sportsnet Blue Jays TV crew in 2010.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 17, 2022.
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