NESN on Friday announced the talent roster for the 2021 Boston Red Sox season. NESN’s coverage of the 2021 season will include over 150 games plus hour-long pre- and post-game shows.
The broadcast booth will feature returning play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien, as well as Massachusetts native Mike Monaco contributing to play-by-play duties. Color analysts throughout the season in the broadcast booth will include: Dennis Eckersley, Jerry Remy and newcomer Ellis Burks. Jahmai Webster will serve as sideline reporter.
NESN’s pre- and post-game coverage will be hosted by long-time NESN host Tom Caron, who will be joined by a lineup of Red Sox legends including returning analysts Lenny Dinardo, Jim Rice, and Tim Wakefield, plus new additions to the roster Jonathan Papelbon, Mo Vaughn, and Kevin Youkilis. Burks also will contribute to pre- and post-game analysis, and Adam Pellerin will join the broadcast as occasional host.
The full talent roster is as follows, in alphabetical order:
ELLIS BURKS is in his first season as a NESN game analyst and pre-post analyst. His 18-year MLB career featured seven seasons with the Red Sox, including as a member of the 2004 World Series champion club in his final year in the majors. The two-time All-Star compiled a .291 batting average with 352 home runs and 1,206 RBI over 2,000 career games. In 1990 with Boston, Burks earned an All-Star selection and received both the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger as an outfielder. Following his playing career, the Texas native worked for the Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, and San Francisco Giants organizations.
TOM CARON (Twitter: @TomCaron) enters his 20th season as a member of NESN’s Red Sox broadcast team and his 18th season as host of the pre- and post-game shows. The Lewiston, Maine, native joined NESN in 1995 and has served as a Red Sox field reporter, studio host for Boston Bruins hockey, and play-by-play announcer for the Beanpot and Hockey East. Prior to NESN, Caron was the play-by-play voice of the Portland Pirates of the AHL and was inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2014. An eight-time New England Emmy Award winner, Caron has been awarded New England’s Favorite Local TV Sports Personality seven times by Channel Media Sports Research’s New England Sports Survey. Caron is involved in many local and regional charities, including Mass Mentoring; Good Sports, Inc.; the Run to Home Base Program; and the Red Sox Foundation.
LENNY DINARDO (@DinardoLenny) returns to NESN after joining the network in 2017 as a pre- and post-game analyst. DiNardo was a pitcher for the Red Sox and was a member of the 2004 World Series Championship team. He also pitched for Oakland and Kansas City before retiring from baseball in 2013.
DENNIS ECKERSLEY (Twitter: @Eck43) has been with NESN since 2003. He was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2004 after pitching 24 seasons in the major leagues with 5 teams (Cleveland, Boston, Chicago Cubs, Oakland, and St. Louis), including two different stints with the Red Sox (1978-84, 1998). He spent the first 12 years of his career as a starting pitcher before moving to the bullpen to become one of the most dominant closers in the game. During a 5-year stretch beginning in 1988, Eckersley averaged 44 saves, a 1.88 ERA, more than one strikeout per inning, and less than one walk per nine innings. Eckersley in 1992 became only the second relief pitcher to win both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in the same year. The six-time All-Star has served as a post-season studio and former game analyst for TBS since 2008.
MIKE MONACO (Twitter: @MikeMonaco_) joins NESN for his second season for select play-by-play games. The Cohasset, Mass., native spent the last three seasons with the Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A) and also broadcasts college sports for ESPN and the ACC Network. Before joining ESPN, Monaco broadcasted college sports for FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network and has also called college basketball for NBC Sports. Monaco served as a broadcaster in the Cape Cod Baseball League (2013 and 2014 seasons) and for the Chicago Cubs’ (2015) and San Diego Padres’ (2016) Single-A affiliates in the Midwest League. The University of Notre Dame graduate has also served as a play-by-play broadcaster, reporter, and host for his alma mater, including nationally syndicated Notre Dame football shows.
DAVE O’BRIEN enters his 31st year of MLB broadcasting and his sixth in NESN’s play-by-play role after nine years with Red Sox radio network. Dave recently re-joined ESPN and is the ACC Network lead play-by-play announcer for its college football and college basketball coverage. From 2002 to 2017 he served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN, working MLB telecasts and college basketball. He has called the LCS and World Series for MLB’s International broadcasts, as well as select MLB playoff series on ESPN Radio. He worked as both a radio and television announcer for the Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2001 and was the television voice of the New York Mets on WPIX-TV from 200 to 05. O’Brien also did radio play-by-play on Atlanta Braves games in 1990 and 1991 as well as college football and basketball action for the University of Georgia and University of Miami. A Boston native, O’Brien received the Georgia Associated Press “Best Sports Play-by-Play” honor in 1988 and 1991 and the Achievements in Radio (A.I.R.) award for Best Play-by-Play for his call of Mark McGwire’s 59th home run in 1998. O’Brien and his family reside in Rye, N.H.
JONATHAN PAPELBON is in his first season contributing to NESN’s pre- and post-game coverage with a weekly appearance. The 12-year MLB veteran spent his first seven MLB seasons with the Red Sox, earning four of his six All-Star selections with Boston. A member of the 2007 World Series championship team, Papelbon recorded a save in all four games of the Sox’s Fall Classic series sweep against the Colorado Rockies. His 219 saves in a Red Sox uniform are a franchise record, with his 368 career saves ranking 9th all-time. The Florida native also pitched for the Phillies (2012 to 2015) and Nationals (2015 to 2016) following his time in Boston.
ADAM PELLERIN (Twitter: @AdamPellerin) serves as a host for NESN’s pre- and post-game shows. He is one of the lead anchors for NESN’s sports news programs. The Massachusetts native joined NESN in 2012 after serving as general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor at FOX 25 for five years. His television reporting career began in Portland, ME at CBS affiliate WGME.
JERRY REMY (Twitter: @Jerry_Remy) has served as a Red Sox color analyst on NESN since 1988. Remy was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006 for his playing and broadcasting accomplishments and has now logged over 40 years of service to the organization. A native of Somerset, Mass., Remy was an infielder for 10 years in the majors with the Angels (1975-77) and Red Sox (1978-84), posting a career .275 batting average and 208 stolen bases in 1,154 games. During his career, he played with seven Baseball Hall of Famers and 12 Red Sox Hall of Famers. Remy was elected President of Red Sox Nation through online voting in September 2007. He also received the Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year award in 2004, has been inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame and was a 2019 New Englander of the Year. Remy was awarded the Judge Emil Fuchs Memorial Award for long and meritorious service to baseball by the Boston Baseball Writers Association this year.
JIM RICE is in his 19th year as a pre- and post-game analyst on NESN. He became the 32nd member of the Red Sox to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Rice played 16 seasons in the major leagues, all with Boston. The eight-time All-Star finished his career with a .298 batting average, 382 home runs, and 1,451 RBI. Rice was voted the AL MVP in 1978 and helped lead the Red Sox to two AL pennants (1975 and 1986). He ranks third behind only Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski on the Red Sox all-time leaders list in hits and total bases, and is fourth in home runs and RBI. Since retiring after the 1989 season, Rice has remained active in the Red Sox organization, serving as a minor league hitting instructor from 1992 to1994 before joining the parent club as a hitting coach from 1995 to 2000. He currently serves as a special organizational instructor for the team.
MO VAUGHN is in his first season contributing to NESN’s pre-game and post-game coverage with a weekly appearance. He spent the first eight seasons of his 13-year career with the Red Sox, earning all three of his All-Star selections (1995, ‘96, ‘98) in Boston. Vaughn is one of 10 Red Sox to win the BBWAA MVP Award, doing so in 1995 after batting .300 with 39 home runs and an AL-leading 126 RBI. He also earned a Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award at first base in 1995. He was a frequent visitor to the Jimmy Fund Clinic during his playing days in Boston.
TIM WAKEFIELD (Twitter: @TimWakefield49) joined NESN’s pre- and post-game team in 2012. His 19-year MLB career included 17 years as a member of the Red Sox (1995-2011). He ended his career with 200 wins, 186 of them with Boston, which ranks third behind only Cy Young and Roger Clemens on the Red Sox all-time career win list. He was the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 1995, an All-Star in 2009 and a two-time World Series Champion (2004 and 2007). He was also honored as a champion off the field as one of the most charitable players in the league, winning the Roberto Clemente Award in 2010 after being nominated eight times during his career. He currently serves as a special assignment instructor as well as honorary chairman of the Red Sox Foundation and was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2016.
JAHMAI WEBSTER (Twitter: @WebsterOnTV) returns to the broadcast team for his third season, which will be his first year as the full-time Red Sox sideline reporter. He joined NESN in October of 2016 and serves as an anchor/reporter on NESN’s sports news programs. He has also served as host of NESN’s award-winning and commercial-free Red Sox pre-game show for kids, “NESN Clubhouse.” Before joining NESN, Webster worked at Denver’s ABC affiliate KMGH Denver7 and KITV 4 News in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Cal State Northridge graduate got his start in sports broadcasting at two ABC affiliates in central Texas, KRHD-TV 40 in College Station and KXXV-TV 25 in Waco.
KEVIN YOUKILIS is in his first season contributing to NESN’s pre- and post-game analyst with a weekly appearance. Inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2018, Youkilis spent nine of his 10 MLB seasons in Boston and is a two-time World Series champion (2004, 2007) and three-time All-Star (2008, 2009, 2011). The Red Sox franchise leader in fielding percentage at first base (.997), he holds the AL record at first base for consecutive games without an error in a season (135 in 2007) and career (238 from July 2006 to June 2008) and was rewarded for his defensive prowess with the 2007 Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Following his playing career, Youkilis spent time as a scout and development consultant for the Chicago Cubs (2015).
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