Tom Hamilton (born August 19, 1954) is an American sportscaster, primarily known as the chief radio play-by-play announcer for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

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 (AL), ...

team. Hamilton joined the Guardians Radio Network for the 1990 season, after spending three years in the booth for the then

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

affiliate of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, the Columbus Clippers. He was paired with Indians legend

Herb Score Herbert Jude Score (June 7, 1933 – November 11, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and announcer. Score pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1955 through 1959 and the Chicago White Sox from 1960 through 1962. He was ...

until 1997, when Score retired after 30 seasons. Hamilton became chief play by play announcer in the 1998 season, a position he still holds today. Because of his longevity and popularity, he is now considered to be the "voice of the Tribe". After the Indians were renamed to the Guardians, he has also been referred to as the "voice of the Guardians". Until recently, Hamilton called college basketball games in the offseason (usually

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

games) for

ESPN Plus ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, in partnership with ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Com ...

, and Big Ten Network.

Broadcasting associates with the Indians/Guardians

, 1990–1997 *

Mike Hegan James Michael Hegan (July 21, 1942 – December 25, 2013) was an American professional baseball player, who later worked as a sports commentator. In Major League Baseball (MLB) he was a first baseman and outfielder, and played for three different ...

, 1998–2011 *

Dave Nelson David Earl Nelson (June 20, 1944 – April 22, 2018) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals from 1968 through 19 ...

, 1998-1999* * Matt Underwood, 2000-2006* *

Jim Rosenhaus Jim Rosenhaus is a radio broadcaster for the Cleveland Guardians Major League Baseball team. Rosenhaus also hosts ''Guardians Warm Up'' and ''Guardians Weekly'' on WTAM. Rosenhaus joined the Guardians (known as the Indians at the time of joining) i ...

, 2010–present* (*) - Nelson, and later Underwood joined Hamilton and Hegan in a three-man booth from 1998 to 2007, when the Indians then went to a two-man booth. Rosenhaus, Hamilton and Hegan formed a three-man team for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Broadcasting credits

(all pre-Indians/Guardians)Broadcasters - Cleveland Guardians
/ref> *

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

—football games * ABC Radio *

Appleton Foxes Appleton may refer to: People *Appleton (surname) Places Australia * Appleton Dock Canada * Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador * Appleton, Ontario United Kingdom * Appleton, a deserted medieval village site in the parish of Flitcham wi ...

—minor league baseball games *

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

—basketball games * Columbus Clippers—minor league baseball games

Signature calls

* "And we're underway at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario!" - after the first pitch of a Guardians home game (during away games, Hamilton will usually say "And we're underway at pposing team's ballpark or city) * "Juuust a bit utside/inside - when a close pitch by a pitcher is called for a ball * "The string is out." - for a full count * "STRIKE THREE CALLED!" - after a Guardians pitcher strikes out an opposing batter looking * "Swing and a drive, waaaay back, and gone!!" or "Swung on and belted, to deep ______ (left/center/right), awaaaay back, and outta here!!" - for a Guardians home run * "And a mobbing at home plate!" or "He's about to get mobbed!" - after a Guardians walk-off home run * "Swiiiing and a miss, he tried to hit that one to Euclid / into Lake Erie." - when a batter swings really hard but misses (for away games, Hamilton will use the name of a nearby suburb or neighborhood in the home city) * "And atter's namehas left a small village on base tonight." - when a lot of runners have been stranded on-base * "Oh, what a job by ame of Guardians pitcher" - when a Guardians pitcher dominates the opposing lineup or gets out of a jam * "A SWING and a miss!" - for a swinging strikeout by a Guardians pitcher * "Mm mm mm" - after a Guardians error * "Oh, for the love of Pete!" - in exasperation * "How about that!" - after something unusual or exciting happens * "Ballgame!" - after the final out of a Guardians win * "So long, everybody" - signature sign-off

Personal life

Hamilton resides in Avon Lake, Ohio, with his wife and four children. One son (Nick) was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

in the 35th round in the

2012 MLB Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto ...

out of

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

. Another son - Brad - works as a reporter for Cleveland

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

affiliate

WJW-TV WJW (channel 8) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, WJW maintains studios on Dick Goddard Way (named for the station's late longtime weatherman—previousl ...

Books

*''Glory Days in Tribe Town: The Cleveland Indians and Jacobs Field 1994–1997'', (Co-Written with Terry Pluto),

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Awards and honors

*Seven-time NSSA Ohio Sportscaster of the Year (1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2017) *2009 inductee - Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame * 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award - Greater Cleveland Sports AwardsLIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - Greater Cleveland Sports Awards
/ref> *Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2022)Browns legend, Olympic gold medalist, champion volleyball coach and longtime broadcaster inducted into Hall of Fame - Fox 8.com
(

)

References

External links

Cleveland Guardians: Broadcasters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Tom American radio sports announcers American television sports announcers Cleveland Guardians announcers College basketball announcers in the United States Living people Major League Baseball broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters People from Avon Lake, Ohio Wisconsin Badgers football announcers 1954 births