Blue Jays TV announcers receive new five-year deals

TORONTO -- Buck Martinez and Pat Tabler have signed five-year contracts to remain in their roles as television broadcasters for the Blue Jays.

Sportsnet, which owns the rights to all of Toronto's regular-season games, announced the deals on Thursday afternoon. Martinez will continue his play-by-play responsibilities, while Tabler will remain in his role as a color analyst.

Martinez and Tabler are former Blue Jays who have been calling games together on Sportsnet since 2010. Tabler started his broadcasting career in 2001, while Martinez's experience dates back to the late 1980s and includes a couple of different stints with the Blue Jays.

"When I started broadcasting in Toronto in 1987 I never would have anticipated I would be here as long as I have, but when I was brought back as the play-by-play analyst in 2010 it was a tremendous feeling to return," Martinez said in a statement.

"At that time, I stepped into the unknown as the play-by-play guy but now, looking ahead to the next five years I couldn't be happier. When I look at the team we work with -- the team we have in the truck, the team in the booth and working alongside Pat Tabler -- it has been nothing but a joy."

Tabler was a member of Toronto's 1992 World Series team. He was an All-Star in 1987, had a career average of .282 and received particular notoriety for his .489 average with the bases loaded.

"It's a pleasure to bring the fans Blue Jays baseball," Tabler said. "I am happy to be coming back. I played on great teams as a player and now we have a great team here. It's awesome to come to work every single day and hang around these guys. We have the best jobs in the world, because we get to watch baseball, be around the team, and we get to talk baseball for three hours every night. You can't beat that."