Giants to be aired on TV in Spanish for 1st time
SAN FRANCISCO -- On Saturday night for the first time ever, Giants fans will have the opportunity to view a live, Spanish-language telecast of their team's game.
Telemundo 48 Area de la Bahia, the official Spanish-language television partner of the San Francisco Giants, has teamed up with NBC Bay Area and CSN Bay Area to air Saturday's 6:05 p.m. PT game between the Giants and Padres at AT&T Park to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month.
"Giants baseball is a passion that is lived by all of our communities, from the first pitch to the final seconds of the last inning and beyond. We look forward to giving our viewers the opportunity to watch, for the first time ever, a live Giants game broadcast in Spanish right here on Telemundo 48," Rich Cerussi, president and general manager of Telemundo 48 Area de la Bahia and NBC Bay Area, said in a press release.
Longtime Giants' Spanish-language radio broadcaster Erwin Higueros and Telemundo 48's sports anchor Gabriel Sotelo are slated to call the game. They will be joined throughout the game by special guests, including Giants Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda and current Giants' Spanish-language broadcaster Tito Fuentes.
"The Giants have had a rich tradition with having many Latin players," Higueros said. "They have had Spanish radio since, I think, 1981, and this TV broadcast is not going to be a simulcast. It's going to be a full-blown production where obviously the play-by-play is going to be in Spanish and all of the graphics are going to be in Spanish. We'll try to make sure to convey a message that is going to be accepted by the Hispanic community."
San Francisco players will don their "Gigantes" jerseys for the game, paying tribute to the team's strong Latin ties. This season marks the 10th anniversary since the Giants first wore these jerseys on May 21, 2005, when the team honored Hall of Famer Juan Marichal during the unveiling of his bronze statue at AT&T Park.
"The Giants are proud of our deep Latino roots," Larry Baer, Giants president and CEO, said in a news release. "The first-ever, Spanish-language broadcast further strengthens our connection to the community."