MEET THE TEAM

Jeff Brantley is in his 18th season as a member of the Reds Radio and Reds Television Network broadcast teams. He was hired in October 2006. After he retired as a player following the 2001 season, Brantley joined ESPN as an in-game analyst and also as a studio analyst on the network’s popular Baseball Tonight show. In March 2006, he broadcast several telecasts of the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Brantley spent 14 seasons in the Major Leagues and enjoyed some of his best years while pitching for the Reds from 1994-1997, when he posted a 2.64 ERA and 88 saves. He is tied for sixth on the club’s all-time saves list. In 1996 he earned the Rolaids Relief Man Award after leading the National League with 44 saves. His 44 saves that season remains the Reds’ single-season record. Brantley also pitched for the Giants, Cardinals, Phillies and Rangers. He was an All-Star for San Francisco in 1990 and finished his career with 172 saves and a 3.39 ERA in 615 games. He is enshrined on the Giants’ Wall of Fame at AT&T Park. Brantley is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he led the Bulldogs to a third-place finish at the College World Series. He was a 4-year letterwinner for MSU and was named first-team All-American in 1985. A member of the Mississippi State Hall of Fame, Brantley’s uniform number 8 was retired in 2000. In 2010 he was inducted into the State of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and in February 2019 was a member of the inaugural class of the prestigious Ron Polk Ring of Honor along with Will Clark, the late David “Boo” Ferriss, the late C.R. “Dudy” Noble and Rafael Palmeiro. He has been involved in several youth baseball groups like Garth Brooks’ “Teammates for Kids” and an inner-city baseball program in Jackson, Mississippi. Jeff and wife Ashley have 2 children, Elizabeth and Mason. He has two other children, Emily and Murphy.

Tommy Thrall is in his sixth full season broadcasting for the Reds, his fifth as the full-time play-by-play announcer on rights holder 700 WLW Radio. The 19-year broadcasting veteran in 2018 called 3 Reds games in spring training and then 3 games near the end of the regular season. He broadcast 66 games on radio in 2019 and all 60 games of the 2020 season. Before joining the organization full-time in 2019, Thrall spent 7 years broadcasting radio and TV games for Class AA Pensacola. While in Pensacola, he also served as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball for the University of West Florida. Thrall began working in professional baseball as an intern for the Kansas City T-Bones while earning his degree from Northwest Missouri State University. He went on to work for Class A Myrtle Beach and Quad Cities before making the move to Pensacola. Thrall has filled various roles in broadcasting, including TV sports anchor and reporter on WEAR-TV in Pensacola, sports talk host on ESPN Pensacola and host of UWF’s weekly television coach’s show.

Chris Welsh is in his 32nd season as Reds TV analyst following a 5-year Major League career with the Padres, Expos, Rangers and Reds. Welsh was named the 2022 Ohio Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Chris went 21-31 with a 4.45 ERA, 8 complete games and 3 shutouts in 122 career appearances, including 75 starts. From 1993-2009 Chris and partner George Grande worked together for the 17 seasons as the longest-running TV duo in Reds history. He is a graduate of Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida, where his baseball coach was Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. In addition to his television work, Chris is active in several local charities. He serves on the Board of the Powell Crosley Jr. Amateur Baseball Fund, which oversees the Kid Glove Games. He is a partner in Champions Baseball Academy and a featured speaker at many local venues.Chris created and operates baseballrulesacademy.com, an interactive website designed to teach the rules of baseball by use of video lessons and quizzes.