Padres Broadcasters

Jan 30, 2024

2023 marks Jesse Agler's 10th season as a member of the Padres' broadcast team and his third as the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Padres radio broadcasts on the club's flagship station 97.3 The Fan. Agler also serves as the fill-in announcer on Padres telecasts on Bally Sports San Diego.

Agler joined the Padres front office in February of 2014 as a broadcaster and as director of content, a role in which he oversaw all club digital and social operations.

During the baseball offseason, Agler calls play-by-play of national radio broadcasts on Compass Media Networks for NFL, NCAA football and NCAA basketball games. Having come to San Diego by way of Miami, Agler spent four seasons as the pregame, halftime and postgame host on the Dolphins Radio Network. In 2013, he did television play-by-play for the Dolphins' preseason games on CBS-4.

Agler began his professional career in 2005. His experience includes serving as pregame and postgame radio host for the then-Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers and the University of Miami Hurricanes’ football and basketball teams. Agler has also previously been the fill-in play-by-play announcer for the Marlins.

A graduate of the University of Miami, Agler's first job out of college was calling baseball games for the Elkhart (KS) Dusters of the Jayhawk League. Agler and his wife, Tovah, reside in San Marcos with their son, Jonah, and daughter Ellie.

Tony Gwynn Jr. returns for his seventh season as part of the Padres' broadcast team in 2023 after returning to San Diego prior to the 2017 season. Gwynn Jr. enters his third season as the full-time color analyst role this year.

Son of legendary "Mr. Padre," Gwynn Jr. played for the Padres from 2009-10. Originally selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2nd round of the June 2003 draft out of San Diego State, he played parts of eight Major League seasons with Milwaukee, San Diego, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Gwynn Jr. batted a career .238 (381-for-1,600) with 48 doubles, 23 triples, seven home runs, 98 RBI and 192 runs scored in 685 games played.

Gwynn Jr. began his broadcasting career in 2016 after joining the broadcast team for the Dodgers' postgame show on AM 570 LA Sports Radio. Most recently, he has served as co-host of "Gwynn & Chris" on 97.3 The Fan and resides in San Diego with his wife, Alyse, their son Anthony III, and three daughters, Makayla, Jordan and Leighton.

Don Orsillo made his debut as a member of the Padres' broadcast team in 2016, calling games for both television and radio broadcasts. After assuming the full-time television play-by-play duties in 2017, Orsillo called his 3,000th game in 2022 and returns in 2023 for his eighth season in San Diego.

In addition to his work for the Padres, Orsillo also calls nationally broadcasted MLB games for FOX, FS1 and TBS during the regular season. Orsillo came to San Diego from Boston, where he spent 15 seasons with NESN as the primary play-by-play announcer for the Red Sox. While at NESN, he also hosted the weekly Red Sox Report, as well as the offseason weekly program Hot Stove Live.

In addition to his postseason experience with the Red Sox, Orsillo has called ten MLB post seasons as a broadcaster for TBS. His postseason work includes the National and American League Divisional Series from 2007 to 2013, 2018, 2020 and again in 2021. Orsillo's broadcasting repertoire also includes college basketball and hockey, having called both Boston College basketball games and Hockey East matches on NESN, as well as Providence College basketball games on the Big East Network/ESPN PLUS.

Orsillo's numerous accolades include four Emmy Awards for outstanding play-by-play (2003 and 2004 with Boston, 2018 and 2019 with the Padres) and two New England Sports Best Play-by-Play awards (2014 and 2015). He was named Massachusetts Broadcaster of the year twice in 2005 and 2015. Through his role with the Red Sox, Orsillo has appeared in a number of motion pictures, including 2013's The Heat, 2010's The Town and 2005's Fever Pitch.

A graduate of Northeastern University, Orsillo began his broadcasting career in minor league baseball, calling games for the Pittsfield Mets (1991-92), Binghamton Mets (1993-95), and Pawtucket Red Sox (1996-2000). He also has previously called minor league hockey games for the American Hockey League (Springfield Indians/Falcons 1991-96).Orsillo has two daughters: Sydney, 22, and Madison, 19. He and his wife Kathy reside in Coronado.

Mark "Mud" Grant returns to Bally Sports San Diego in 2023 for his 28th season as color analyst for Padres television broadcasts.

No stranger to San Diego baseball, Grant pitched for the Padres from 1987-90. Originally selected by the San Francisco Giants with the 10th pick in the first round of the 1981 Draft out of Joliet (IL) Catholic High School, he played parts of eight Major League seasons with San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston and Colorado. Grant went 22-32 with eight saves and a 4.31 ERA in 233 games (58 starts). He recorded a career-high eight wins and posted a 3.33 ERA for the Padres in 1989.

Grant began his broadcasting career at KFMB Radio in 1994 as a sports anchor and talk show host. After retiring from baseball in 1995, he provided analysis of Prime Sports’ Padres broadcasts in 1996, then joined Channel 4 San Diego upon its inception in 1997. In 2012, he was part of the on-air team that helped launch the new regional sports network FOX Sports San Diego (now Bally Sports San Diego).

Grant is active in the community, where he works with the Down Syndrome Association of San Diego and has been associated with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of San Diego since 1987. Additionally, he serves as a spokesperson for St. Madeleine Sophie's Center in El Cajon, a vocational and educational center for developmentally disabled adults. Grant and his wife, Mary, reside in Alpine with their daughter, Alexis, and two sons, Andrew and Aidan.

Eduardo Ortega, the Spanish-language voice of the Padres, will be calling Padres games for his 37th season in 2023, his 43rd year in the broadcasting business. Ortega does play-by-play for both Spanish radio (XEMO) and Spanish television (FOX Deportes) broadcasts.

One of the most highly regarded Spanish-language sports broadcasters in the business, Ortega has broadcast postseason baseball since 1993 for various outlets, including CBS Hispanic Radio Network, Cadena Caracol, LBC Radio Network and ESPN Deportes radio.

He has called 20 MLB All-Star Games, 25 World Series and 10 no-hitters including Joe Musgrove's first no-hitter in club history. Other milestones Ortega has called include Tony Gwynn's and Ricky Henderson's 3,000th hits, Randy Johnson's 4,000th strikeout, Mark McGwire's 500th homerun, Barry Bonds' 700th and 755th home runs, Max Scherzer's 3,000th strikeout, Trevor Hoffman's breaking of the all-time saves record, Hoffman's 500th career save, Greg Maddux's 350th victory, all three cycles in Padres history and four of San Diego's five division titles.

Ortega has handled the play-by-play worldwide telecasts of 17 Caribbean Series for different radio and television outlets, including Sky TV in 2023 for what was the largest in the event's history with 8 participating countries. He also was the lead Spanish play-by-play voice for the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017. He has broadcast official Padres games from 50 different venues and 73 total different venues when including Spring Training and other exhibition games.

In addition to his time with the Padres, Ortega served one season (1991) as the voice of the San Francisco Giants, four years as play-by-play announcer for the Tijuana Potros of the Mexican-Pacific Winter League, two seasons broadcasting for Tijuana's team in the northern Sonora Double-A Summer League, and one year as the voice of the Cotton Growers of Torreon, in the Mexican Summer League. Since 2005, he has been the radio voice of the Mexicali Aguilas in the Liga Mexicana del Pacífico and starting in 2015, on the national cable television network Megacable. Ortega celebrated his 23rd anniversary broadcasting on television and radio for the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico after the SKY Sports networked debuted winter ball broadcasts throughout eight Latin American countries in 2020.

In 2015, Ortega was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame. Prior to that, in 2012, he was inducted into the Tijuana Sports Hall of Fame. He also was honored in 2004 by the Tijuana sports media with a Career Achievement Award, and the Mexican Federation of Sportscasters celebrated his 25th anniversary in broadcasting and his multiple contributions to the industry.

In addition, Ortega was named Sportscaster of the Year by the Sportswriters Association of Tijuana in 1997, Sports Ambassador of Tijuana by the city's mayor in 1998, the Broadcasting Award by ACDN (National Sports Writers of Nicaragua) in 2012 and more recently, the 2017 Abelardo Raidi Career Achievement Award, named after the pioneer and founder of AIPS American, a worldwide sports media organization.

Ortega is a Tijuana native and a long-time San Diego resident.

In 2023, Carlos Hernandez enters his 12th season as the main Padres color analyst on FOX Deportes, following a Major League playing career that spanned 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-96), San Diego Padres (1997-2000) and St. Louis Cardinals (2000).

Signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1984, Hernandez became the second Venezuelan catcher in MLB history, following Bo Díaz. He made his Major League debut in 1990 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. A highly skilled defensive player, he spent his Dodgers career (1990-96) mainly as a back-up catcher to Mike Scioscia and Mike Piazza, appearing in 230 games, with 133 starts. He signed with the Padres as a free agent and in his first full season as a regular catch for the organization, Hernandez batted .262 with 9 home runs and 52 RBI in 129 games played.

Hernandez finished his career batting .253 (315-1244) with 24 home runs, 141 RBI, 102 runs, 51 doubles, one triple and one stolen base in 488 games played. In 22 postseason games, he hit .299 (20-67) with one home run and two RBI.

In 2004, Hernandez led the Toros de Tijuana to the playoffs as manager of the Mexican Summer League team. Hernandez returned to the Padres organization in 2005, serving as the club's catching coordinator until 2007. He served as manager of the prestigious Leones del Caracas Venezuelan Winter League club from 2006-08 and was the catching coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2010-13.

Pedro Gutiérrez enters his 10th season as a Spanish Broadcaster for the Padres in 2023. Gutiérrez hosts the Padres' Spanish pregame and postgame show for the entire 162 game schedule, as well as handles fill-in play-by-play duties on both Spanish radio (XEMO) and Spanish television (FOX Deportes) broadcasts.

During his career, Gutiérrez has spent eight seasons in the Mexican Winter League, where he has called three Championship Series and playoff games during seven seasons while doing play-byplay for Megacable, the largest cable network provider in the country. He worked for the Aguilas de Mexicali for five seasons, the Charros de Jalisco for two seasons and spent the past winter with the Yaquis de Obregón for their SKY Sports TV broadcasts. Previously, he served as producer for the Padres Spanish radio broadcasts from 2006 to 2012.

Prior to joining the Padres, Gutiérrez served for two years as the director of media relations for the Mexican Pacific League, coordinating all aspects of the league's communication platforms. In his two years there, he was part of two Caribbean Series championships won by Mexico's representing team.

Gutiérrez and his wife Ericka reside in Tijuana with their daughter, Natalia, and son, Ricardo.