Jon "Boog" Sciambi () (born April 11, 1970) is an American
sportscaster for
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and the
Marquee Sports Network
Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Chicago Cubs, launched on February 22, 2020. It replaced a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chicago and broadcast partners WLS-TV and WGN S ...
, and has been the everyday
play-by-play announcer for the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
TV broadcasts on Marquee since 2021. He has worked extensively as a
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
play-by-play announcer, calling games for ESPN television and on
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
. Sciambi's nickname, "Boog," was given to him by
Hank Goldberg because of his physical resemblance to former major league player
Boog Powell.
Early life
Born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Sciambi grew up on
Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He is a graduate of
Regis High School in New York City and
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
.
Career
As Sciambi attended Boston College, he began his sportscasting experience on
WZBC, the school's 1000-watt FM radio station broadcasting to the Greater Boston area. Classmates and fellow broadcasters at WZBC included
Joe Tessitore and
Bob Wischusen, both of whom also went on to become successful sports announcers.
Sciambi was an announcer with the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
from
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
to
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
.
Sciambi was the play-by-play announcer 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
on
SportSouth and
FSN South from to . He was paired with
Joe Simpson.
Late in the
2009 season, it was announced that Sciambi would be leaving the Braves and joining ESPN's
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
and
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
coverage full-time.
He formerly worked in South Florida sports radio on
790 The Ticket. Sciambi left the radio show on April 4, 2008, to focus on broadcasting for the Atlanta Braves. Prior to being on 790, Sciambi was a talk show host on
WQAM
WQAM (560 AM broadcasting, AM, "AM 560 Sports") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Miami, Florida. It broadcasts a sports radio radio format, format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios are in Audacy's Miami office on Nort ...
for several years.
On January 4, 2021,
Marquee Sports Network
Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Chicago Cubs, launched on February 22, 2020. It replaced a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chicago and broadcast partners WLS-TV and WGN S ...
named Sciambi as play-by-play announcer for its
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
telecasts following the resignation of the former play-by-play announcer,
Len Kasper.
[ He also continues to call regular-season and postseason games on ]ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
; in October 2022, it was announced that Sciambi will take over as the lead announcer for ESPN Radio's postseason coverage in the 2023 season, replacing Dan Shulman
Daniel Shulman (born February 9, 1967) is a Canadian sportscaster with Sportsnet as well as the American network ESPN.
Shulman serves as the play-by-play announcer and the moderator for the Toronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet. Durin ...
.
Sciambi succeeded Matt Vasgersian
Matt Vasgersian (né Vasgerdsian; '; September 28, 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is the alternative play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and Major Leagu ...
and took over the main play-by-play calls for the '' MLB: The Show'' video game series starting with '' MLB The Show 22''. He did play-by-play calls for ''MLB The Show 23'' along with former MLB player Chris Singleton.
Philanthropy
Sciambi has been involved in funding research of and direct care for victims of ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...
, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. In 2006, Sciambi founded Project Main St. with Tim Sheehy, a friend who later died from the disease.
References
External links
Baseball Prospectus Chat with Jon Sciambi
ESPN bio
*https://projectmainst.org/about-us/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sciambi, Jon
Living people
American people of Italian descent
American radio sports announcers
American television sports announcers
Atlanta Braves announcers
Boston College alumni
Chicago Cubs announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
ESPN people
Florida Marlins announcers
Major League Baseball broadcasters
People from Roosevelt Island
Regis High School (New York City) alumni
Sportspeople from New York City
Sportspeople from Philadelphia
Women's college basketball announcers in the United States
Year of birth missing (living people)