Kevin Frandsen returns to Washington as MASN color commentator

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Washington Nationals today named former player Kevin Frandsen as the network's color commentator for Nationals television coverage. Frandsen joins the MASN booth after four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies radio broadcast. He was a member of Washington's 2014 National League East Division championship team during his Major League playing career, which also included stops in San Francisco (2006-09, 2015), Los Angeles (AL) (2010) and Philadelphia (2012-13).

"Thrilled is an understatement to describe the way I feel right now," said Frandsen. "I'd like to thank MASN and the Lerner family for this tremendous opportunity. I'd also like to thank my team of Amanda, Tenley and Daylen for their love and support. Being able to learn from and work alongside Scott Franzke, Larry Anderson, Rob Brooks and everyone in Philadelphia the last four seasons has been a blessing, but I'm so excited to work with Bob Carpenter and bring games to the incredibly knowledgeable and passionate Nationals fan base. I cannot wait to get started."

This season, the Nationals welcome back four other on-air broadcasters for coverage on MASN and 106.7 The Fan. Bob Carpenter returns as television play-by-play commentator and Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler continue to call Nationals games on radio via 106.7 The Fan. Dan Kolko also returns in the Nationals Broadcaster role he began prior to the 2021 season.

"On behalf of my family and the entire Washington Nationals organization, we would like to welcome Kevin Frandsen back to Washington, D.C.," said Mark D. Lerner, managing principal owner of the Nationals. "Our fans are going to appreciate Kevin's knowledge, energy and enthusiasm in the booth - all traits that mirror how he played the game, especially as a key member of our 2014 NL East championship club. We are thrilled to have Kevin join an excellent group of returning broadcasters, as we are happy to welcome back Bob, Charlie, Dave and Dan on television and radio."

"MASN is excited to welcome Kevin back to Washington," said MASN Senior Vice President John McGuinness. "He was a high-energy, well-prepared gamer when he played here. Nats fans can expect Kevin to bring those very same qualities and add his unique insights to the broadcast booth. Paired with Hall of Fame shoe-in Bob Carpenter, MASN will continue to deliver best in class game coverage production. Watching Bob draw on Kevin's in-depth knowledge gained from his years as a player and analyst, in the highly competitive NL East, will keep fans engaged and clamoring for more."

More information about the Nationals 2022 broadcasters can be found below:

BOB CARPENTER - TELEVISION PLAY-BY-PLAY

Bob Carpenter is in his 17th season with MASN and the Nationals, and his 39th in Major League Baseball. After earning a Radio-TV-Film degree with honors from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1975, Carpenter began his broadcasting career in 1976 on radio baseball play-by-play with the Tulsa Oilers. Carpenter came to Washington in 2006 after 10 years on TV and radio with the St. Louis Cardinals and 16 seasons of MLB on ESPN. During the spring of 2017, Carpenter retired from calling college basketball games after 40 years, the last 15 with the University of Oklahoma, and many with ESPN and USA Network. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in March 2017. A St. Louis native, Carpenter's MLB debut came in 1984 with Cardinals baseball on Sportstime Cable Network, and he returned in 1995 on KPLR-TV and KMOX Radio. Carpenter was nominated for four St. Louis/Mid-America Emmys, winning twice (1996 and 1997), and a National Capital/Chesapeake Bay Emmy in 2008 for his Nationals play-by-play. Carpenter was also named co-D.C. Sportscaster of the Year in 2014 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Carpenter appeared on TV in the 1980s and 1990s, calling MLB games with the Rangers, Mets and Twins. He announced MLB, college basketball, and college football during 18 seasons of play-by-play with ESPN from 1988-2005, and, as a reporter, was in Denver and Phoenix for two MLB Expansion Drafts. Carpenter has broadcast baseball playoffs, five Triple-A All-Star Games, NCAA/NIT Basketball Tournaments and college football bowl games. His studio work includes "College Gameday" and "College Football Scoreboard" shows. Carpenter announced the 2005 NCAA Basketball Final Four in his hometown of St. Louis for NCAA International TV, one of the seven NCAA tournaments he has called. Before joining ESPN, Carpenter handled a variety of sports for USA Network, including professional soccer, college basketball and football, PGA Golf (including The Masters) and professional tennis (including the U.S. Open). Carpenter announced numerous soccer matches at RFK Stadium, starting as the TV voice of U.S. Soccer Team America in 1983, and worked several matches in D.C. during the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Bob and his wife of 42 years, Debbie, have two daughters, a son-in-law and grandson: Katie, Allison and Ryan, and James.

KEVIN FRANDSEN - TELEVISION COLOR COMMENTARY

A member of Washington's 2014 National League East Division championship team, Kevin Frandsen joined MASN and the Nationals in 2022 after four seasons as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies radio broadcast team. He was hired by Philadelphia in 2018 and worked select road games on the Phillies Radio Network before his role expanded in 2019 to include the majority of the road schedule along with several home broadcasts. Since 2019, Frandsen has also hosted shows on MLB Network Radio, and from 2016 to 2019, worked on AM radio in the San Francisco Bay area. He co-hosted "KNBR Tonight" on KNBR 680 AM and, prior to that, spent one year as co-host for KNBR 1050 AM's morning drive show, "The Audible." Frandsen played nine Major League seasons with the San Francisco Giants (2006-09, 2015), Los Angeles Angels (2010), Philadelphia Phillies (2012-13) and Washington Nationals (2014). A versatile defender and utility player, he saw action at second base, third base, first base, outfield, shortstop and designated hitter during his Major League career. Frandsen is a native of San Jose, Calif. and was selected in the 12th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft out of San Jose State University where he set the program's all-time record for career hits (246). Following the passing of his brother DJ in 2004, the Frandsen family started the 19 For Life Foundation, created to celebrate the gift that DJ Frandsen was to his family, friends and community. The 19 For Life Foundation is a lasting legacy to DJ's beliefs in giving back, making a difference, being a man for others and never giving up. Kevin and his wife Amanda live in Haddon Heights, N.J., with their daughter Tenley and son Daylen Jon ("DJ").

CHARLIE SLOWES - RADIO PLAY-BY-PLAY

Charlie Slowes has been behind the microphone for every season of Nationals baseball, from the call of the first pitch in club history on April 4, 2005 through Daniel Hudson's historic strikeout of Michael Brantley to end Game 7 of the 2019 World Series. That moment sits atop Slowes' Nationals highlights, a list that includes Jayson Werth's memorable walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2012 National League Division series, Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout game, three no-hitters, Bryce Harper's three-homer game, Washington's four consecutive home runs in San Diego and Kurt Suzuki's walk-off, three-run homer that capped a seven-run bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Mets. Slowes' call "and if you walked out of this ball park when the Mets scored five runs in the top of the 9th inning, you BLEW IT!" with partner Dave Jageler, became a tv/radio/internet/social media phenomenon. Slowes became the original voice of the Nationals on February 24, 2005, in time for the team's inaugural Spring Training. His trademark taglines--"BANG, ZOOM go the fireworks!" and "A Curly W is in the books!"--after Nationals victories soon became part of the Beltway baseball lexicon. Joined by long-time partner Jageler in 2006, the 2022 season marks Slowes' 18th with the Nationals, his 25th consecutive year calling Major League Baseball, and 30th overall. Slowes called his 2,500th Nationals broadcast in 2020 (9/4), and enters 2022 having called 3,848 Major League regular season and Postseason games, including 2,685 with the Nationals. Baseball's return to our nation's capital in 2005 also marked a return for Slowes, who was named the radio voice of the NBA's Washington Bullets in 1986 at just 25 years of age. Slowes called Bullets games for 11 seasons, through 1996-97, including two years of radio/TV simulcasts. Slowes made the switch to Major League Baseball full-time in 1998 as an original radio voice of the Tampa Bay Rays, calling their first seven seasons. Slowes had previously called games for the New York Mets (1988 & 1991) on WFAN-AM, the Baltimore Orioles (1989-90) on WBAL-AM, and nationally for NBC-TV and CBS Radio. Slowes also called Triple-A baseball for the Tidewater Tides on radio and TV in 1986, 1988, 1991 and 1992. Slowes is among those (starting with legendary Ford Frick Award-winner and Hall of Famer Vin Scully) to have entered sports broadcasting after graduating from Fordham University in his native New York City and having honed his skills on Fordham's 50,000-watt blowtorch, WFUV 90.7 FM. Slowes' first career break came not long after graduation, in the spring of 1984 at KMOX Radio in St. Louis, where for three years he was exposed Ford Frick Award winners like the late Jack Buck and Bob Costas. In his three years in St. Louis, Slowes was involved in broadcasts of Cardinals baseball, Cardinals football, Blues hockey and play-by-play for St. Louis University basketball. In three-plus decades as a play-by-play broadcaster, Slowes has also called boxing for ESPN, MISL soccer for the New York Arrows (1983) and college basketball at the University of South Florida. Slowes called play-by-play for his third Washington pro sports team when he filled in for John Walton on Washington Capitals radio during the Caps run to their first Stanley Cup Championship in February of 2018. Charlie and his wife, Tina, have two adult sons, Jim and Alex, and the family splits time between homes in Alexandria, Va. and Palm Harbor, Fla.

DAVE JAGELER - RADIO PLAY-BY-PLAY

Dave Jageler enters his 17th season with the Nationals, teaming with Charlie Slowes since 2006 to form the longest-running radio play-by-play duo in the District. Jageler has been at the mic for the Nationals' historic run to the 2019 World Series championship, plus four NL East championships, three no-hitters and Max Scherzer's MLB record-tying 20-strikeout performance. In 2020, he was honored by the National Sports Media Association as Washington D.C.'s co-Sportscaster of the year. Jageler joined the Nationals after spending the 2005 campaign as the radio and TV voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League. Prior to joining Pawtucket, he worked in Boston co-hosting an afternoon talk show and serving in various capacities with the Boston Celtics radio network, including fill-in play-by-play. Jageler spent six years in Charlotte, N.C. as the voice of UNC-Charlotte basketball and co-hosting a morning drive talk show. While in Charlotte, he built his baseball resume with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in the 1995, 1996 and 2001 seasons doing play-by-play. Jageler's voice was also heard in D.C., as he served as a host on the Virginia Tech Sports Network during the 1993-94 basketball season. He has also served as the studio host for Westwood One's NHL Game of the Week, the Florida State and Texas Longhorns football networks, and has done fill-in play-by-play for both the Seminoles and Longhorns. The Windsor, Conn. native is a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he began his play-by-play career broadcasting Syracuse football and basketball games on WAER, and baseball for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on Time Warner Cable and the Empire Sports Network. Dave and his wife, Jennifer, have two children: Jared (22) and Sarah (18).

DAN KOLKO - NATIONALS BROADCASTER

Dan Kolko returns for his 11th season covering the Nationals, having joined the organization after nine years as part of MASN's team coverage. Most recently, Kolko served as the host for the network's "Nats Xtra" pre- and post-game shows, working alongside analyst Bo Porter for two years, including the Nationals' World Series Championship season in 2019. Kolko served as on-field reporter on MASN's game broadcasts from 2014-18, and as the team's beat writer for MASNsports.com from 2012-14. Kolko spent part of the lead-up to the abbreviated 2020 season hosting various social media recaps of the Nationals' 2019 Postseason run along with General Manager Mike Rizzo and Ryan Zimmerman. Kolko and Zimmerman then teamed up to co-host a Game 7 Reunion on Zoom, with nearly two-dozen members of the World Series Championship team joining to re-watch the decisive game and raise money for Zimmerman's "Pros for Heroes" Covid-19 relief fund. In 2022, Kolko will again host the weekly "Nats Insider" radio show on 106.7 The Fan, airing on Saturdays. Kolko is also a contributor to MLB Network as a Nationals correspondent, and he earned experience working in television commercials when he served as the "host" in Toyota's 2013 regional commercial spots involving Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Kolko previously covered the Baltimore Ravens for MASN from 2008-11, writing for the network's website and providing on-air analysis for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Report. Prior to joining MASN, Kolko worked with Comcast SportsNet in a production role. A native of Silver Spring, Md., Kolko earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Delaware.