BOSTON – NESN on Tuesday announced the talent roster for the 2022 Boston Red Sox season. NESN’s coverage of the 2022 season will include extensive game coverage plus hour-long pregame and postgame 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 and newcomers Tony Massarotti, Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis. Jahmai Webster will serve as sideline reporter.
NESN’s pregame and postgame 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 Ellis Burks, Lenny Dinardo, Jim Rice and Tim Wakefield, plus new addition to the roster Will Middlebrooks. Mo Vaughn will contribute on select days to the pregame coverage from his at-home batting cage. Adam Pellerin will join the broadcast as occasional host.
Throughout the 2022 season, NESN will remember long-time broadcaster Jerry Remy. Fans are encouraged to go to www.NESN.com/RememberingJerry to share their favorite memories of the beloved NESN analyst who brought a sense of humor and knowledge of the game to Red Sox Nation that will leave a lasting impact that will span generations.
ELLIS BURKS is in his second season as a NESN analyst. His 18-year MLB career included 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 in 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 Award 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) joined NESN in 1995 and has been a member of the NESN team for 27 years. For the past 21 seasons he has been a member of NESN’s Red Sox broadcasts, serving as the network’s first baseball sideline reporter before moving into the role of host of the pregame and postgame shows in the championship season of 2004. Caron served as studio host for Boston Bruins hockey between 1997 and 2004 and has been the play-by-play announcer for two of New England college hockey’s biggest tournaments: the Beanpot (for 15 years) and the Hockey East championship (25 seasons). 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 and was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. Caron is involved in many local and regional charities, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Mass Mentoring Partnership and the MetroWest YMCA.
LENNY DINARDO (@DinardoLenny) returns for his sixth season on NESN after joining the network in 2017 as a pregame and postgame analyst. DiNardo was a pitcher for the Red Sox and a member of the 2004 World Series championship team. He also pitched for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals 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 2005 after pitching 24 seasons in the major leagues with five 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 then moved to the bullpen to become one of the most dominant closers in the game. During a five-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 9 innings. In 1992, Eckersley became only the second relief pitcher to win both the AL MVP and Cy Young Award in the same year.
TONY MASSAROTTI (@TonyMassarotti) A Waltham native, Massarotti has been covering the Boston sports scene for over 30 years. Between 1994 and 2008, he was the Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Herald where he covered the 2004 and 2007 World Series championship teams. Massarotti has also worked as a columnist for The Boston Globe. Since forming the “Felger & Mazz” show on 98.5 The Sports Hub in 2009, Michael Felger and Massarotti have achieved unprecedented industry ratings success. The show won the prestigious 2019 Marconi Award and most recently was voted the No. 1 afternoon show in the country by Barrett Sports Media. Tony has written multiple Red Sox related books, including, “Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits,” which he co-authored with David Ortiz, and “Knuckler: My Life with Baseball’s Most Confounding Pitch,” written with Tim Wakefield. He is currently working on a fifth book.
WILL MIDDLEBROOKS (@Middlebrooks) is in his first season as NESN pregame and postgame analyst. Middlebrooks also serves as a baseball analyst for CBS Sports HQ and is a co-host of the “WAKE and RAKE Podcast.” Selected by the Red Sox in the 2007 MLB Draft, Middlebrooks spent eight seasons in the organization, including the first three of his six years in the majors. The Texas native burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2011, batting .288 with 15 home runs and 54 RBI in 75 games. He was a key contributor to the 2013 World Series championship team, serving as the team’s primary third baseman. When the Red Sox returned to play after the Boston Marathon in 2013, Middlebrooks tweeted, “I can’t wait to put on my jersey today… I get to play for the strongest city out there. #BostonStrong,” with the hashtag becoming a rallying cry for the season.
KEVIN MILLAR (@KMillar15) is in his first season as analyst in NESN’s broadcast booth. Millar has co-hosted “Intentional Talk” on MLB Network since the show’s inception in 2011. The 2004 World Series champion spent three of his 12 major league seasons with the Red Sox, batting .282 with 52 home runs and 220 RBI in 432 games for Boston from 2003-05. The former first baseman and outfielder used “Cowboy Up!” as a rallying cry for the 2003 Red Sox team that advanced to the American League Championship Series and had a vocal role in helping the 2004 team overcome an 0-3 series deficit to the New York Yankees in the ALCS, eventually winning their first World Series in 86 years.
MIKE MONACO (Twitter: @MikeMonaco_) joined NESN for the 2020 season for select play-by-play games. The Cohasset, Mass., native spent three seasons between 2017 and 2019 with the Pawtucket Red Sox (Triple-A) and also broadcasts college sports for ESPN and the ACC Network. Before joining ESPN, Monaco broadcast college sports for FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network and has also called college basketball for NBC Sports. Monaco has called select games for NBC Sports Chicago’s coverage of the White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls. Monaco served as a broadcaster in the Cape Cod Baseball League (2013 and 2014) 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 32nd year of Major League Baseball broadcasting and his seventh in NESN’s play-by-play role after nine years with Red Sox radio network. O’Brien recently re-joined ESPN and is the the ACC Network lead play-by-play announcer for its college football and college basketball coverage. Between 2002 and 2017 he served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN, working Major League Baseball telecasts and college basketball. He has called the LCS and World Series for Major League Baseball’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 between 1993 and 2001 and was the television voice of the New York Mets on WPIX-TV between 2003 and 2005. He 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, New Hampshire.
ADAM PELLERIN (Twitter: @AdamPellerin) serves as a host for NESN’s pregame and postgame shows. Adam fills a number of different roles at the network including hosting “NESN Clubhouse” and the “Ultimate Red Sox show.” 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, Maine, at CBS affiliate WGME. Adam is a graduate of Suffolk University, where he was the starting catcher on the baseball team.
JIM RICE is in his 20th year as a pregame and postgame analyst on NESN. In 2009, he became the 32nd member of the Red Sox to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Rice played 16 seasons in the major leagues, all with Boston. The eight-time All-Star finished his career with a .298 batting AVG, 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 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 between 1992 and 1994 before joining the parent club as hitting coach between 1995 and 2000. He currently serves as a special organizational instructor for the team.
MO VAUGHN (Twitter: @MoVaugh_42) is in his second season contributing to NESN pregame coverage with instructionals from his home batting cage and select remote appearances. He spent the first eight seasons of his 13-year MLB career with the Red Sox, earning all three of his All-Star selections (1995, ’96, ’98) in Boston. Vaughn won the BBWAA Most Valuable Player Award in 1995 after batting .300 with 39 home runs and an American League-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 pregame and postgame team in 2012. His 19-year MLB career included 17 years as a member of the Red Sox (between 1995 and 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 American League Comeback Player of the Year in 1995, an All-Star in 2009 and a two-time World Series champion. 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 fifth season as a Red Sox sideline reporter. He joined NESN in October of 2016 and served 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,” which airs on Sundays 90 minutes before game time. 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 (@GreekGodofHops) is in his first season as analyst in NESN’s broadcast booth after one season in 2021 as a weekly contributor to NESN’s pregame and postgame shows. Inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2018, Youkilis spent nine of his 10 MLB seasons in Boston and became a two-time World Series champion (2004, ’07) and three-time All-Star (2008, ’09, ’11). 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-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).
