Melanie Newman to make Orioles history as first female game broadcaster

By Doug Miller

Orioles

August 04, 2020, 4:30pm

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Orioles broadcaster Melani Newman will become the first female broadcaster in franchise history to call play-by-play for a regular season game tonight as the club hosts the Miami Marlins at 8:15 p.m. ET. Newman, who will handle play-by-play duties on the 44-station Orioles Radio Network alongside Geoff Arnold, will become the fourth active female game broadcaster in Major League Baseball, joining Suzyn Waldman of the New York Yankees, Jessica Mendoza of ESPN, and Jenny Cavnar of the Colorado Rockies. Additionally, Newman will become the fourth woman to handle play-by-play duties for a Major League Baseball game in 28 years following the debuts of Waldman (1992), Gayle Gardner (1993), and Cavnar (2018).

Newman joined the Orioles from the Carolina League's Salem Red Sox, the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, where she served as the lead broadcaster on baseball's first all-female broadcast team. Newman previously held various roles with the Frisco RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, and the Mobile BayBears, the Double-A affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks, including play-by-play announcer, reporter, and host. She has also covered Liberty University football as the team's sideline reporter, and has reported various sports for the ACC Network, ESPN, GameDay Radio, and Major League Baseball Data Operations.