Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez has announced his retirement
Martinez has been the Blue Jays’ commentator since 1987
After calling more than 4,000 Blue Jays games over a remarkable 43-year career, Sportsnet’s Buck Martinez shared today that he has decided to retire.
“Thank you all for embracing me and welcoming my family and me in a way that has made us feel like we are part of yours,” Martinez said in a statement released this morning. “I will miss the selfies, the handshakes and the welcoming smiles. I will never forget any of those, nor the unwavering support and generosity.”
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Martinez joined the Blue Jays in 1981, as a player. He spent his last six seasons with Toronto, later managing the team in 2001 and part of the 2002 season.
After starting his broadcast career in 1982, he became the Blue Jays’ colour commentator in 1987.
“I look forward to continuing to root for the Blue Jays with you,” he said in the statement. He added that while he’d originally hoped to be part of the Jays’ upcoming 50th season, after conversations with his family, he decided “it’s time to pass the torch.”
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
