René Cárdenas | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1930-02-06)February 6, 1930 (age 95) |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team(s) | Los Angeles Dodgers,Houston Astros,Texas Rangers |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | Major League Baseball,Boxing |
René Cárdenas (born February 6, 1930) is aNicaraguan sports journalist and announcer. He became the first Spanish-language announcer to coverMajor League Baseball (MLB) when he joined theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1958. He has also broadcast games for theHouston Astros andTexas Rangers and has announcedboxing matches, as well.
While working for the Astros, Cárdenas developed the first international radio network, which broadcast games toCentral andSouth America. He was the first Spanish-language radio announcer for each of the three MLB baseball teams that he covered.[1]
Cárdenas was born inManagua, Nicaragua. He is the grandson ofAdán Cárdenas, who introduced baseball to Nicaragua in the late 19th century and served as thePresident of Nicaragua. His uncle, Adolfo, played on theNicaraguan national baseball team.[2]
At age 16, Cárdenas began writing about baseball forLa Prensa andLa Estrella de Nicaragua, Nicaraguan newspapers.[2][3] He also called games onRadio Mundial.[2]
In 1958, theLos Angeles Dodgers hired Cárdenas to announce their games on the radio in Spanish, making him the first Spanish-language baseball announcer inMajor League Baseball.[2] He trainedJaime Jarrín, who had little prior experience with baseball. Cárdenas also called a championshipboxing match held betweenSugar Ray Robinson andGene Fullmer.[3]
In 1961, he was hired by the expansionHouston Colt .45s (now the Houston Astros). He created the first international radio network for baseball in 1966 in order to help the Astros recruit talent inSouth andCentral America.[2] He also called other sports that were held at theAstrodome, including the boxing title match won byJimmy Ellis overMuhammad Ali. Cárdenas' signature was stamped onto the last beam used in the Astrodome's construction.[3]
The Astros canceled their Spanish-language broadcasts in 1975, firing Cárdenas.[2] He returned to Nicaragua, where he called games on television and radio, but he returned the United States in 1981 to call games for theTexas Rangers. From 1982 through 1998, he called games for the Dodgers.[4] After that, he entered semi-retirement, as he continued to write forLa Prensa and the Spanish-language website of the Astros.[3]
Cárdenas returned to radio to broadcast Astros games in 2007.[3] The following year, Cárdenas made his American television debut with the Astros, broadcasting 15 games.[4]
In 2002, Cárdenas was inducted into theHispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.[3] He was included in the balloting for theFord C. Frick Award in2011,2012, and2025[5][6][7] but did not win the award.
In 2024, he was inducted into theAstros Hall of Fame.[8]
Cárdenas' first marriage ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Jilma, in 1957. Cárdenas has a daughter from his first marriage and a son from his second.[2]
Cárdenas became a United States citizen in 1963. In 1979, he and his wife fled Nicaragua and lost their home and valuables to theSandinista National Liberation Front. Cárdenas' half-brother, Chester Escobar, had worked with theSomoza family and was executed by the Sandinista government.[2][9] Cárdenas now makes his home in Houston,[4] and he refuses to return to Nicaragua until his belongings are returned to him.[2]
Cárdenas is a survivor ofcolon cancer.[2]
