Jenny Cavnar breaks barriers by calling play-by-play on Monday's Rockies broadcast
Jenny Cavnar is no stranger to the game of baseball -- she's been working in MLB for 12 years. And on Monday night, she became the first woman since 1993 to do play-by-play on a big league telecast.
"I am very excited about tonight," Cavnar told MLB.com's Thomas Harding. "I'm really honored on the historical context of it, but I'm more so excited for the team effort. We have such a great team of broadcasters, producers, directors -- so it'll be really fun to collaborate with them and do the game tonight."
Five-year MLB veteran pitcher turned analyst Dallas Braden has known Cavnar for a long time and has no doubts about her abilities in the game.
"She knows her stuff," Braden told MLB.com. "I believe that by the third inning after all of the pleasantries have been exchanged, you will forget who is on the microphone, you will be learning about the game of baseball, you will be enjoying the stories being told to you -- and that's all a credit to her knowledge."
Cavnar's matchup on Monday night was special -- one close to home. The Rockies hosted the Padres, the two MLB teams she has worked for. Her usual role is doing the Rockies' pre- and postgame shows on TV, and she has filled in doing color commentary on TV and radio. Prior to joining the Rockies' crew in 2012, she spent four years as a reporter for the Padres.
Here's her home run call on the
She joins a prestigious group of women that includes Gayle Gardner -- Gardner was the first female play-by-play announcer on a telecast for a Major League team when she called a Rockies-Reds game in '93. Suzyn Waldman does occasional play-by-play for the Yankees on the radio, and Jessica Mendoza joined the ESPN team for color commentary during Sunday Night Baseball.
Congratulations on making history, Jenny, and paving the way for women in baseball.
