BOSTON -- NESN today announced the studio talent roster for the 2023 Boston Red Sox season.
The studio team will feature returning primary studio host Tom Caron with Adam Pellerin contributing to host duties. Analysts in the studio will include returning personalities and World Series Champions with the Red Sox, Lenny DiNardo and Will Middlebrooks. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee and Red Sox alumnus Jim Rice will be returning for his 21st year. Six-time MLB All-Star and former Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon will be returning for a regular in-person cadence throughout the season. Newcomer and former Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald will be joining NESN's studio coverage team for his first season.
NESN's coverage of the 2023 season will include hour-long pregame and postgame shows. Game recaps, highlights, and exclusive content will also be available on the NESN 360 app.
NESN's coverage of the 2023 Red Sox season will begin with Spring Training on February 24. Further details on NESN's full 2023 Red Sox Spring Training coverage will be released at a later date.
TOM CARON (@TomCaron) joined NESN in 1995 and has been a member of the NESN team for 28 years. For the past 22 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 seventh 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.
DARNELL MCDONALD (@MacDime54) is in his first season as a NESN pre and postgame analyst. McDonald had a 16-year career in professional baseball (1998-2013), including three years with the Boston Red Sox (2010-2012). In 2010, McDonald was named the recipient of the Jackie Jensen Spirit Award (for extraordinary spirit and determination) as voted on by the Boston chapter of The Baseball Writers Association of America. He was drafted in the first round, 26th overall, by the Baltimore Orioles in the 1997 MLB First-Year Player Draft and chose to sign with the team instead of attending the University of Texas at Austin on a baseball/football scholarship. The Colorado native also spent time playing for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs throughout his career. After retiring in 2014, McDonald spent several years coaching for the Chicago Cubs and was on the staff when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. McDonald was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.
WILL MIDDLEBROOKS (@Middlebrooks) is in his first season in the NESN broadcast booth and second 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.
JONATHAN PAPELBON will serve as an analyst for select pre and postgame coverage in Boston throughout the season, after serving as a weekly contributor in 2021 remotely. 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 (@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 21st 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.
