Joe Allen Simpson (born December 31, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, and has been a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

broadcaster for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) since 1992.

Career

Playing career

He began his

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

career as an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

at the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. Simpson then played professionally for 11 seasons, beginning in 1973, when he was drafted by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

in the third round. While with the Dodgers in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

, he became the 3,000th strikeout victim of Gaylord Perry. He joined the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

in 1979 before being traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in 1983. An outfielder and first baseman throughout his professional career, he retired from the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

organization after the 1984 season.

Broadcasting career

Simpson worked as an analyst on Seattle Mariners telecasts for five years before joining Turner Sports and the Atlanta Braves Radio Network in 1992. He called Atlanta Braves games on TBS and Turner South until broadcasts ended on those networks. Simpson was named "Georgia Sports Broadcaster of the Year" in 1995. Simpson was paired with

Brian Jordan Brian O'Neal Jordan (born March 29, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and National Football League safety. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, while he played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los An ...

, Ron Gant and Tom Glavine during broadcasts on Peachtree TV. He was paired with

Skip Caray Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. (August 12, 1939 – August 3, 2008) was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. He was the ...

until Caray's death in the summer of 2008. Simpson served as an analyst for '' Major League Baseball on TBS'' coverage of the 2007 MLB Division Series with play-by-play commentator Don Orsillo during the series between the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The team called the one-game playoff between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres. He has served as the color analyst for the coverage of the 2009

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Division Series between the

and the

with play-by-play commentator Brian Anderson. In January 2018, Simpson was inducted into the Braves’ Hall of Fame. Simpson called Braves games on

Fox Sports South Bally Sports South (BSSO) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports Networks. The network carries regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events from across ...

and

Fox Sports Southeast Bally Sports Southeast (BSSE) (originally named SportSouth from its inception until October 4, 2015, and Fox Sports Southeast (FSSE) until March 31, 2021) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture betw ...

with

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

announcer Chip Caray through the 2018 season. Beginning in 2019, Simpson became the regular color commentator for the Atlanta Braves Radio Network alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Powell. As of 2021, Simpson is usually paired with Ben Ingram.

References

External links

*, o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota

Atlanta Braves Broadcasters on Atlanta Braves website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Joe 1951 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves announcers Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players from Oklahoma California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Oklahoma Sooners baseball players People from Purcell, Oklahoma Seattle Mariners announcers Seattle Mariners players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela University of Oklahoma alumni Waterbury Dodgers players