Orioles Talent
Gary Thorne, Play-by-Play
Gary Thorne is one of the most recognizable voices in sports broadcasting having covered Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the Olympics, NCAA basketball and NCAA hockey throughout over 30 years in broadcasting.
Thorne spent seven years at ABC Sports, as a play-by-play commentator for the network's coverage of the National Hockey League. Since 1992 he has provided commentary for ESPN's "National Hockey Night" telecasts. In 1998, Thorne worked for CBS as a reporter during the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
Thorne's first appearance on ESPN was in July 1988 for the inaugural Triple-A All-Star Game. He served as the original host and moderator in 1988 for "The Sports Reporters," the network's Sunday morning roundtable program.
From 1985-1988, Thorne covered the New York Mets as a radio broadcaster and returned to the Mets television booth in 1994.
In 1989,Thorne served as the voice of the Chicago White Sox on WFLD-TV and was a back up play-by-play announcer (behind Al Michaels) on ABC's Thursday night MLB telecasts. From 1990 to 1993 he called two primary MLB games per week. Thorne also served as an on-the-field reporter for the World Series and covered the World Series Trophy presentation for ABC.
Thorne has also done play-by-play on SportsChannel America's National Hockey League telecasts (1988-92) and New Jersey Devils telecasts on SportsChannel New York (1987-92). Prior to that, he was the play-by-play commentator and director of broadcasting for the Maine Guides (1984), a Triple-A ball club which he co-owned from 1984-88. He also covered University of Maine hockey games for WBGW-AM and WABI-TV and radio from 1977-86.
Thorne is a 1970 graduate of the University of Maine with a bachelor of science degree in business. He graduated from the University of Maine School of Law in 1973 and received a doctorate in law in 1976 from the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a former assistant district attorney in Bangor, Maine, and was admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court in March 1977.
Jim Palmer, Color Analyst
A Baltimore Orioles pitching legend and Hall-of-Famer, Jim Palmer has served as an analyst for Orioles Television for 16 seasons. He has worked as an analyst on ABC-TV for 13 years and also spent time with ESPN, where he was nominated for a CableACE award after one season.
Without doubt the finest pitcher in Orioles history, Palmer is one of the six players to have his uniform number (22) retired. In the 20 years (1965-'84) he spent with the Orioles, Palmer put his name atop the record books for wins (268), losses (152), games (558), innings pitched (3,948), shutouts (53), complete games (211), strikeouts (2,212), and walks (1,311).
He earned three Cy Young Awards (1973, 1975, 1976). Palmer also started and went the distance to win pennant clinching games four times (1966, 1969, 1970, 1971) and was 8-3 in postseason play.
In 1966, at 20 years old, Palmer became the youngest pitcher ever to throw a World Series shutout, and in 1983 he became the only hurler to win a World Series game in each of three decades.
Rick Dempsey, Color Analyst/ Co-Host of O's Xtra
Dempsey has spent 34 seasons in professional baseball as a player, scout and manager. In 2002 Rick became first base coach and catching instructor for the Baltimore Orioles. Previously, he was the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen coach.
After his playing days in Baltimore, Rick signed as a free agent with Cleveland in 1987. He left the Orioles having caught more games than anyone in club history. A reserve role with the Dodgers came after Cleveland and after a year in Milwaukee, Rick returned to Baltimore to finish his memorable career in 1992.
Many standout moments come from appearances in 11 league championship series and 14 World Series games, including 2 championships. As 1983's World Series MVP, Dempsey batted .385 with the game-winning RBI in Game Two. He added a home run and double in the Game Five clincher to beat the Phillies for the title.
This past decade he has managed minor league teams for the Dodgers, Mets and in the International League in addition to serving as advance scout for the Rockies. Dempsey was previously as a television analyst for Comcast SportsNet.
Jim Hunter, Play-by-Play / Host of O's Xtra
Veteran broadcaster Jim Hunter is in his 13th year as a member of the Orioles broadcast team. Jim enters his 6th season in the TV Booth on MASN. He is the host of "O's Xtra," MASN's Orioles pre-game and post game shows, paired in the studio with Orioles Hall of Famer Rick Dempsey. Jim will also call play by play of O's games on MASN with Buck Martinez or Hall Of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer. He also has called play by play of MASN's extensive coverage of college football and college basketball. Hunter was originally named as the Orioles' radio announcer on February 5, 1997 and brings to the booth 31 years of diversified broadcasting experience that ranges from Major League Baseball to the NFL to the Olympic Games.
Hunter, 50, came to Baltimore from CBS Radio Sports, where he had been since 1982. He had been a member of the network's MLB "Game of the Week" announcing team since 1986. He broadcast the American League Championship Series, teaming with Hall of Famer Johnny Bench from 1990-92, and with the Orioles' first radio voice, Ernie Harwell, in 1993. In 1995, he called the National League Division Series and the NLCS, teaming with Jerry Coleman. In addition, Hunter hosted "Inside Pitch," the CBS Radio Sunday Night Baseball pre-game show.
During the off-season, Jim makes several appearances in the community on behalf of the ballclub as well as helping various charities. He's been an active part of the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology Friends Committee, which annually raises money for cancer research for children.
When Jim began his career at the CBS Radio Network in '82, he served as the Saturday evening anchor of Sports Central USA. He was later assigned to host SportsBreak, a daily feature heard on CBS Radio from 1984-87. It was in 1987 that Jim was named full weekend anchor of Sports Central USA.
Jim's experience is varied and all-inclusive. In 1992 from Albertville, France and again in 1994 from Lillehammer, Norway, Hunter served as a studio anchor for CBS Radio's network coverage of the Winter Olympic Games. Also, he was the host for the NFL Preview and NFL pre-game and halftime reports. Jim has covered 12 Super Bowls. He began his broadcasting career in 1978 at WJLK Radio in Asbury Park, NJ.
A native of New Jersey, Hunter is a 1973 graduate of St. Benedict School and a 1977 graduate of St. John Vianney High School in Holmdel, NJ. He was inducted into his high school's athletic Hall of Fame for football and baseball in 1994. He attended Brookdale Community College and is a 1982 graduate of Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ with a BA in Communication Arts.
His peers have recognized Hunter for his accomplishments on several occasions. In 2002, he was named Maryland Sportscaster of the Year by The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He also received the prestigious Radio/TV Media Excellence Award from the New Jersey Sportswriters Association in 1998.
Hunter resides in Fallston, MD with his wife Bonnie. They have three children. Jimmy (24) is a graduate of York College, PA and is working in the television field. Jeff (22) is a senior at York College and Allie (18) is a senior at Fallston High School, and a member of the school's back to back state championship field hockey teams. They also have two faithful dogs, Bobby and Sadie.
Amber Theoharis, Orioles Reporter/Studio Host
Amber Theoharis is an Emmy-award-winning sports reporter entering her 4th season on MASN as part of the Orioles' broadcast team. The Baltimore area native provides live in-game reports as well as player interviews and clubhouse updates for MASN's pre and post-game show O's Xtra.
This fall, Amber will enter her 7th season covering the Baltimore Ravens as studio host of MASN's post-game show Ravens Xtra.
In the offseason, Amber finds time for her love of sports talk radio. After recently ending a two year run as host of ESPN Radio and 105.7 The Fan's The A List with Amber Theoharis and Playmakers, Amber can be seen guest co-hosting MASN's simulcast of 105.7 The Fan's Monday Morning Quarterback.
In addition to her MASN duties, Amber is a columnist for the Baltimore-based newspaper Press Box, writing her weekly editorial Like It Is.
Prior to joining MASN, Amber was the weekend sports anchor and reporter at FOX45 in Baltimore, and also hosted Ravens Wired, a weekly NFL magazine show. The former news reporter broke into sports as weekend sports anchor and co-host of Buckeye Football Fever at WSYX-TV in Columbus, OH. Prior to Columbus, Amber worked in the largest television market in the country, New York City, for WNBC-TV. Her experience there includes live coverage of the 2003 blackout from the WNBC helicopter.
Throughout her career Amber has also held on-air positions at News 12 Long Island and WBOC-TV in Salisbury MD. She began her career as a production assistant at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.
Previously named Maryland Sportscaster of the Year by The National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, Amber is the recipient of two Associated Press awards for sports journalism and has been recognized in Forbes Magazine and Baltimore Magazine.
Amber is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park where she earned a B.A. in journalism. She and her husband Todd live in Annapolis, MD.
Tom Davis, Guest Host of O's Xtra
Baltimore native Tom Davis is a 37-year veteran of Charm City sports broadcasting. He hosted Orioles telecasts on HTS from 1984-2002 as well as anchoring the pre-game show.
Tom was sports director for WQSR (105.7FM) throughout the 1990s, doing updates and commentary on the station's "Rouse & Company" morning show. He also produced and hosted the popular TV show "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" (during the baseball season) and "Touchdown Baltimore" with Johnny Unitas (during football season).
A 5-time winner of the Maryland Sportscaster of the Year Award, Tom began his career as a weekend sportscaster for WBAL-TV in the early 1970s and twice worked at WCBM-AM.
Tom also has worked for NBC-TV, where he did play-by-play for NFL games in 1986. On NBC Radio, he did play-by-play for the 1987 Gator Bowl and the 1987 AFC playoff game between the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. He also served as host for NBC Radio's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, as well as doing play-by-play for men's basketball and boxing. He has done play-by-play on a number of college football games for the Mutual Radio Network and was a sideline reporter for ABC-TV's coverage of the USFL in 1983-1984.
Tom also served as a play-by-play announcer for the first game played at Baltimore's PSINet (now M&T Bank) Stadium on August 8, 1998, an exhibition between the Ravens and Chicago Bears. He lists one of his greatest thrills as calling Cal Ripken's 400th career home run in 1999.
A graduate of Calvert Hall College High School, Davis received a BS degree in Marketing from the University of Baltimore in 1971. He lives in Baltimore County with his wife Bonnie and is the father of two adult children, Malinda and Tad. He also has a stepdaughter, Mandi, and a grandson, Hunter.
Dave Johnson, Color Analyst
Former major league pitcher and Baltimore native Dave Johnson serves as co-host of the Orioles' Radio Network pre- and post-game shows on WHFS-FM, as well as serving as a color analyst for MASN's Orioles coverage.
Dave spent all or parts of five seasons in the majors, including three seasons with the Orioles, 1989-91. In his second week with the O's, he earned American League "Player of the Week" honors with a pair of complete-game victories in early August. After helping the '89 "Why Not?" club stay in the pennant race to the final weekend of the season, Johnson led the 1990 Orioles with 13 wins and O's starters with a 4.10 ERA, while finishing second on the staff in starts and innings pitched.
He went 21-24 with a 4.84 ERA and 7 complete games in 66 appearances for the Orioles.
After graduating from Overlea High School in eastern Baltimore County, Johnson drove a tractor-trailer for several years before enrolling at Baltimore Community College, leading the school to the 1982 Junior College World Series. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by Pittsburgh in 1982 and made his big league debut with the Pirates in 1987. He finished his playing career in 1993 with Detroit after compiling a Major League record of 22-25.
His first experience in broadcasting came in 1996, when he served as color analyst for Home Team Sports' production of the 16-to-18 year old Babe Ruth World Series. He also spent two years as a post-game analyst for Comcast SportsNet before joining the Orioles' flagship stations last year.
Dave also currently serves as the co-host of The Tom Davis Show live on ESPN-1300 and MASN each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. He currently runs Dave Johnson's Baseball Academy, providing baseball instruction to individuals and groups. He lives in Kingsville, MD with his wife, Tera. Their oldest son, Steve, is a pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization, and their youngest, Daniel, is currently enrolled at the Sheffield Institute for the Recording Arts.
Roch Kubatko, Orioles Guest Host, MASNsports.com Blogger
Roch Kubatko joined MASN in August of 2008 as the author of MASN's popular and exclusive "School of Roch" blog. He covers the Orioles and the Ravens, co-hosts MASN's Hot Stove Show, makes frequent guest appearances during Orioles broadcasts and appears on 105.7 The Fan.
In twenty-one years with the Baltimore Sun, Kubatko became one of the region's most talented sportswriters, having won the 2004 Maryland Sports Writer of the Year award from the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. During his tenure at the Sun he covered nearly every major sporting event in North America, including the NBA, the NFL, NCAA lacrosse, boxing, the World Series, the CFL Grey Cup and the MLB All-Star games. This is his thirteenth season covering the Orioles.
In November 2005, Kubatko began writing Roch Around the Clock, a blog which quickly became a central internet destination for sports fans in Baltimore and nationally. Attracting more than 100,000 page views every week, Kubatko's blog rapidly became the most highly trafficked blog at the Baltimore Sun and was often the most visited sports blog within the Tribune Company of newspapers.
Born in Annapolis and raised in Severn, MD, Roch is a graduate of the University of Maryland.
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