Literally, you can close your eyes and just listen to him and know exactly what was happening on the field. (Thursday), like so many days the last few weeks, was emotional. Jaime Jarrn credits late Dodgers broadcasting legend Vin Scully, left, for being the architect of his career. The Clarity Communications station labels the new format as Kentucky-centric music. The radio was the way to connect with the Mexican community in Los Angeles, Jarrn said. He had 20 family members in a suite on Thursday including his son and his sister. Scully wished his longtime co-worker well as he embarks on a well-deserved farewell tour. hide caption. He attended minor league games around the city and read all the sports columns he could get his hands on. Carlos Jaramillo for NPR He was instrumental in bringing more Latino fans to the game. The wide-ranging work produced other opportunities. The OMalleys had a vision for this ballpark and then the surroundings and the demographics, Dodgers broadcaster Jos Mota said. He remained dignified as he endured personal turmoil and tragedy, from his four-month hospital stay after surviving a near-fatal car accident to the deaths of his wife and middle son. These days, he calls away games from a monitor in an empty Dodger Stadium and jokes that it feels like being in a time machine. The generosity of my wife is immensely rich, and I want to continue the empathy she showed, and I know I can rally honor her memory, Jarrn said after forming the foundation. Jaime Jarrin is retiring as the Spanish-language voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Veteran Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrn displays his 1988 championship ring, a prized possession, July 7 at Dodger Stadium. He received the 2003 Foreign Language Sports Broadcaster Award from the Southern California Sports Broadcasters and was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcaster's Hall of Fame. Jarrn and Crdenas initially rebroadcast games from Scullys calls before the organization, with a push from Scully, sent them on the road. For many Latinos, Jarrn was their gateway into baseball. Jarrn is embraced among the team, including Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. What's next? I will try my best to be very successful, because I know she is in heaven smiling at us. JARRIN: He put me in a corner of a room to read every day about 30 minutes in the newspaper in commercial Quito - said, I am putting you in a corner because you will hear yourself the way that we hear you. Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more. He was concerned about the prospect of not getting mentioned until Saturday. Shortly after I was hired by The Times, the late ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez told me, Dont f this up for us. Jarrn was emphasizing that point, only in more romantic language. I never consider myself a know-it-all. October 2, 2022 / 2:24 PM / KCAL News. Jaime Jarrn, Legendary Dodgers Broadcaster, Will Retire In 2022 [9] At 64 total seasons, all with the Dodgers, he ends his career as the third-longest-tenured individual with one team (behind Scully, 67 years, and Tommy Lasorda, 69 years, both also entirely with the Dodgers). In the end, he is one of the few living links from the organizations early days in Los Angeles, an invaluable connection to the past that covers Dodger Stadiums 60-year existence. He called the World Series home games for his beloved Dodgers from a booth at Los Angeles Coliseum. He worked nearly 4,000 straight from 1962 until 1984 when he ended the streak to lead Spanish-language radio coverage and production for the Olympics in Los Angeles. "I took a job making metal fences in East Los Angeles," he said. Now he's saying goodbye. He finds the piece of jewelry not too gaudy, not too heavy, and treasures his friendship with Hershiser, someone he calls a brother. Jaime Jarrn: the remarkable story of the Latino Vin Scully Jarrn hasnt been with the Dodgers on the road since the start of the pandemic in 2020, but he is scheduled to follow the championship favorites throughout the postseason. Its impossible to put into words what Jaime has meant to the Dodger organization. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. Its been a pleasure to open doors for other organizations that follow the Dodgers path and respect the power of the Latino community, Jarrn said. I am just pleased to be able to serve my community, because when I do a game, I am not relating what's going on the field, Im also giving the audience some type of entertainment, Jarrn said. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Experiencing Chicago without him for the first time, the silence was deafening., I cant tell you how many tweets I received last night about Mel didnt make the mention.. Jarrnand his son, Jorge, shared the booth during the last six seasons, becoming the first father-son duo to share the Spanish broadcasting booth in Major League history. All that, I believe, Jarrn said, comes from me trying to be a responsible person in my job, in my behavior, and identifying with the community.. How the Dodgers' 1958 Move to L.A. Lit Up Announcer Jaime Jarrn's Career . At the time, he had never seen a baseball game. From 1962 to 1984, Jarrn never missed a game, calling close to 4,000 games over 22 seasons. So I said that's the place I have to go," Jarrn said. Jarrn has built a reputation for being one of the classiest people in baseball a reputation founded upon. I keep going until finally, they give me a job on weekends," he said. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Jaime Jarrn has seen every big Dodgers moment in L.A.: Here are his fondest memories, Albert Pujols 700th home run carried a special significance for Latinos, Column: A hearty thank you to Dodgers legend Jaime Jarrn. Now he's saying goodbye. He took Jarrn to the best restaurants in New York and Chicago. The cheers amplified when Jarrn, who started calling Dodgers games in 1959 and became the franchises Spanish-language voice, was announced. Dodgers Thank Jaime Jarrn in Pre-Game Tribute - NBC Los Angeles One time, in the late 1980s, Lasorda brought him to a high-end clothing store in Philadelphia and told him to pick anything he wanted. Los Angeles Dodgers | Jaime was integral in introducing the Dodgers to Los Angeles and in giving a voice to the franchises Latino stars. Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish language broadcaster Jaime Jarrin waves to fans. "And looking at me, said, 'I want you to be one of the two announcers.'". Jaime Jarrin, the Spanish radio voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the past 53 seasons, will return for at least one more, he told ESPNLosAngeles.com on Sunday. He joined KWKW-AM (1330), the only Spanish-language radio station in L.A. at the time, after working as a cafeteria busboy while studying English for a year. Jarrn was so respected by his listeners that when a man hijacked a Frontier Airlines plane to Los Angeles in 1972, he would meet with only Jarrn before releasing the 56 hostages. Jaime Jarrn, the Dodgers' Spanish-language radio broadcaster since 1959, has a signature call. . I was a newsman that learned baseball. It was a difficult job. \n\nJarrn was the director of news and sports at Spanish language radio station KWKW when the Dodgers moved to the West Coast and began broadcasting games on KWKW in 1958. They'd have transistor radios in their hands to listen to Jarrn's broadcast. Not so much. "I never saw a baseball in my life, a bat, or nothing, until I came to this country," Jarrn told me. Dodgers' radio broadcaster Jaime Jarrn to retire after 2022 season The Lexington market remains served by ESPN Sports Radio 1300 and 92.5. Los Angeles Dodgers' Jaime Jarrin, Spanish radio voice, returning As much as Ill miss my baseball family at Dodger Stadium and across the country, Im looking forward to spending more time with my sons Jorge and Mauricio and my grandchildren and nurturing my love of travel.. In 1955, just around 5% of all Major League players were Latino, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. \n\nWhen fellow Dodgers broadcaster and Hall of Famer Vin Scully retired after the 2016 season, Jarrn became the longest-tenured active announcer in baseball. It's something that I've tried to emulate in my own career.". Johnson.[7]. Jarrn estimates he has called between 10,000 and 12,000 Dodgers games. Im 85 now and feeling great, so who knows?. The World Series? Before that, he was the Dodgers beat writer. Think about that, said Padres Spanish broadcaster Eduardo Ortega, who is in his 34th season with San Diego and 40th in baseball. He came to the United States on June 24, 1955. The penultimate employee presented was an usher in his 52nd year working at Dodger Stadium. U.S. Im there to report whats happening. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) Before he was honored by the baseball Hall of Fame, before he earned national recognition as the translator for a teenage Fernando Valenzuela, even before he . They felt that his Ecuadorian Spanish would sound strange to Southern California's large Mexican population. There is a blending of all of these voices in English and Spanish with the same goal of entertaining the audience while also knowing how privileged we are to be broadcast into homes.. Jaime Jarrn is going, going kiss him goodbye! | Iowa Public Radio For decades, you couldn't separate Jarrn from the Dodgers. La pelota se va, se va, se va y despdala con un beso!. He spent four months in a hospital and was back in the booth for the 1991 season. He was inducted into the Dodgers' Ring of Honor in 2018. In 1998, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award and became only the second Spanish-language announcer to achieve the honor, joining Buck Canel. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Don Newcombe, Don Sutton and Tommy Lasorda preceded them over the previous three years. "I think, whether it was intentional or not, he carried himself as a role model," Padilla said. It was a different time. And I started doing one inning first, then two innings, then three innings. The commercials featuring Jarrn became ubiquitous on Spanish-language television in the area; if Latinos didnt know Jarrn for his Dodgers work, they knew him as the man with Los Defensores. Im going to miss the baseball because I now have baseball in my veins, in my blood. And it was also helpful that while Jarrn had a lot of ears listening to him, he was also aware there were a lot of eyes watching him. Last week, before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers honored employees who have worked for the organization for at least 25 years. Jaime Jarrn to retire: 'It's a good time to put an end to my 64-year Jaime Jarrin, Los Angeles . My career is better because of him, and I know there are others who can say the same things. Jarrn shared these thoughts again last week in a conversation with Times reporter Jorge Castillo. . hide caption. The Dodgers were trying to get a new ballpark to replace tiny Ebbets Field, but things didn't work out, and in 1958 they moved to Los Angeles. In 1990 he was named as one of the top 100 Influential Hispanics in the United States by Hispanic Business Magazine. Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images; Carlos Jaramillo for NPR MARTINEZ: The ball is going, it's going - kiss it goodbye. The games are a celebration, and for me, there is nothing like it. Jaime Jarrn has done the same job, at the same company, for the past 64 years. JARRIN: Mr. William Beaton called all the announcers to his office. Jarrn, a native of Ecuador, moved to Los Angeles in 1955 at the age of 19 and wound up working as news and sports director of the city's Spanish-language radio station KWKW. Nearly 40 more friends were in the stands. MARTINEZ: Late in the 1980 season, the Mexican ballplayer Fernando Valenzuela was brought on to pitch for the Dodgers. "I was there 7 o'clock to 11 o'clock in the morning. Jarrn, who will turn 86 in December, has called three perfect games (Koufax in 1965, Tom Browning in 1988 and Dennis Martinez in 1991), 22 no-hitters, 30 World Series and 30 All-Star Games during his career. Then, a couple of years later, he said, Jaime, I think you have a microphone voice. Baseball press boxes of 15 years ago were places where there were still whispers about minority hires. I have no way of proving this, but I imagine how Jarrn and others like him conducted themselves made certain workplaces more welcoming environments for those of us who followed. It wasn't a straight ride from Ecuador to the broadcast booth for Jarrn. Jaime Jarrn is going, going kiss him goodbye! | Georgia Public It was so descriptive. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Dodgers announcer Jaime Jarrn: Chicano Moratorium eyewitness - Yahoo News In many respects, Jarrn's resume speaks for itself. The station featured the FOX Sports Radio lineup since it debuted in August 2021. On Tuesday, Jarrn, the longest-tenured broadcaster in Major League Baseball, announced he will retire after the 2022 season, his 64th with the Dodgers. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. I kept going until, finally, they gave me a job on weekends. Jaime Jarrn is going, going kiss him goodbye! They stop me, say, Mr. Jarrin, thanks to you, I spent more time with my grandfather. The station did offer a local afternoon show when longtime sports radio programmer Terry Ford helped found the station. Jarrn's voice gave Padilla a sense of pride in his Latinidad and in his cultural identity that shaped the adult he later became. All that reading paid off, because within just a few years, Jarrn started to resemble his cousin. "I start reading about Southern California and I start reading about Los Angeles and how many Spanish-speaking people were here. Forty years later, when I was starting my career in LA doing traffic report in Spanish, I too was told my Ecuadorian Spanish would not cut it in LA. "Up to that day, I was very well known only in Southern California. Jarrn did everything he could to get up to speed on the game. All the best to you Jaime.. He brought it up when Kiper called Friday morning. Honestly, I was working just to get paid every other Friday. So, Ive got a lot of pressure on me tonight., Chip Caray Brings The First Family of Baseball Broadcasters Back to St. Louis. En 1955 lleg a Estados, y ya 1958 narraba para los Dodgers, aunque no conoca bien el bisbol. The broadcasters talents extended beyond the baseball diamond. Then there was the time Eric Davis spent $28,000 during one visit. His long list of honors includes awards from the Southern California Sports Broadcasters and Associated Press Television-Radio Association, the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.