According to Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald, the Miami Marlins have finally found the voice to replace Tommy Hutton’s in the broadcast booth. However, instead of the voice, it will be voices. After letting go of fan favorite Hutton for a myriad of “That’s So Marlins” reasons, it was mostly silent regarding who would be working alongside play-by-play guy Rich Waltz. Today, word came out that Waltz will be sharing his booth with a three-headed announcer made up of former Marlins’ players Al Leiter and Preston Wilson, and former Marlins’ coach Eduardo Perez.
Leiter pitched for the Marlins in 1996 and 1997 and then again in 2005. He was responsible for the first no-hitter in Marlins’ history. Overall, he pitched 19 seasons in the majors, collecting 162 wins and posting a 3.80 ERA. Since retiring from the mound, he has worked for FOX, ESPN, MLB Network, and YES Network.
Wilson played 10 major-league seasons, compiling a .264/.329/.468 line with 189 home runs. He played for the Marlins from 1998 to 2002. He has spent the last few years as part of the Marlin’s broadcast, occasionally in the booth as a color commentator.
Finally, Perez played big-league ball from 1993 to 2006, splitting his time between six different teams. He hit .247/.326/.431 for his career, with 79 home runs. He served as the Marlins’ batting coach for part of the 2011 season and all of 2012. He was then bench coach for the Houston Astros for one season before joining ESPN, where he has been since 2013.
The team has not yet announced how the three will split their time, but while Waltz/Hutton was one of the more enjoyable duos in the game, Waltz/Cerberus may take some time to develop the chemistry that made watching Marlins games fun, despite the team’s struggles.
Leave a Reply