| Dan Shulman | |
|---|---|
 Shulman in 2022 | |
| Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Broadcaster | |
| Born:Daniel Shulman (1967-02-09)February 9, 1967 (age 58) Toronto,Ontario, Canada | |
| Teams | |
As Broadcaster
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Daniel Shulman (born February 9, 1967) is aCanadiansportscaster withSportsnet as well as theAmerican networkESPN.
Shulman serves as theplay-by-play announcer and the moderator for theToronto Blue Jays telecasts on Sportsnet. During 2018 and 2020, he hosted the baseball-themed podcast,Swing and a Belt with Dan Shulman. He also serves as the lead announcer for ESPN's men'scollege basketball coverage (teaming withJay Bilas), and previously called regular-season and postseason Major League Baseball onESPN andESPN Radio.
Previously, Shulman served as the play-by-play announcer for ESPN'sSunday Night Baseball (withAaron Boone andJessica Mendoza), a position he resigned from at the conclusion of the 2017 season.[1]
Born inToronto,Ontario, Shulman graduated from theUniversity of Western Ontario inactuarial science but moved into a career in sports broadcasting.[2]
Shulman began his broadcasting career at theUniversity of Western Ontario, becoming a main voice of university football and basketball for theWestern Mustangs onCHRW radio inLondon, Ontario, and later at radio station CKBB inBarrie, where he volunteered for the local community television station.[3] During the early 1990s, he was hired by theFan 1430 (asports radio station inToronto now known as Sportsnet 590 The Fan) and would go on to hostPrime Time Sports.[4] He worked forCTV in its coverage of the1994 Winter Olympics fromLillehammer, Norway, covering hockey, and the 1994 World Championships of Basketball.[5]
In 1995, he became theplay-by-play voice onTSN for their broadcasts ofToronto Blue Jays baseball games alongside former Blue Jays catcherBuck Martinez.[6] Shulman remained with the network for seven years, during which time he also worked as the network's secondary play-by-play voice forNHL hockey and secondary announcer forNBA basketball. He also coveredCHL hockey games and backed up hostDave Hodge onTSN Inside Sports. Until 2007, Shulman continued to work withBuck Martinez for TSN during theWorld Series, filing daily reports. In 2011, he returned to TSN as an analyst and contributor.[7]
Shulman began working part-time for ESPN while still employed by TSN. In 2001, he moved to ESPN full-time to cover sporting events likebaseball andcollege basketball.[8] ESPN signed Shulman to a five-year contract extension in 2007 and assigned him to call NBA games for the network.[9] Shulman remains the network's lead announcer for NCAA basketball.
On July 27, 2007, Shulman calledBarry Bonds's 754th home run for ESPN.[10]
From 2002 to 2007, he served as the lead play-by-play announcer for ESPN Radio's MLB coverage, teaming withDave Campbell to call the network'sSunday Night Baseball broadcasts as well as theAll-Star Game,Home Run Derby, and select postseason games. In 2008,Gary Thorne succeeded Shulman as the leadSunday Night Baseball voice; however, Shulman once again teamed with Campbell to call that year's All-Star and postseason events and continued to fill in on occasional regular season broadcasts. Shulman also teamed withOrel Hershiser to callMonday Night Baseball for ESPN television from 2008 to 2010 and withHubie Brown to call ESPNNBA coverage from 2007 to 2012.
On December 1, 2010, ESPN announced that Shulman, Hershiser, andBobby Valentine would be on the network's newSunday Night Baseball crew for the2011 MLB season.[11] During theSunday Night Baseball telecast between theNew York Mets andPhiladelphia Phillies on May 1, 2011, Shulman announced live to the ESPN audience thatOsama bin Laden had died, a moment that has been compared toHoward Cosell's report ofJohn Lennon's assassination onMonday Night Football in1980.[12][13] Shulman toldUSA Today that he had learned of bin Laden's death from Valentine, who himself received the news via text. "I talked to the producer in the truck and asked if they knew what was going on. Or maybe they asked me," said Shulman. "I couldn't just say something on-air because of a text, I needed corroboration. It all happened in about 30 seconds."[14]
Shulman also teamed withOrel Hershiser andBobby Valentine for theESPN Radio broadcast of the2011 World Series won in 7 games by theSt. Louis Cardinals over theTexas Rangers.[15]
That same year, he teamed with Dick Vitale for the broadcast of theIndiana–Kentucky rivalry on December 10, 2011. His call for the game-winning three-pointer byChristian Watford was "Jones... Watford for the win… YES! YES!" with Vitale screaming "Unbelievable!" shortly after.
Shulman was named 2011 National Sportscaster of the Year by theNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, the first Canadian-born announcer to be so honoured.[citation needed]
One year later, ESPN hiredTerry Francona to join Shulman and Hershiser for the2012 MLB season in exchange forBobby Valentine, who has hired to be theBoston Red Sox manager.[16] Francona stayed with ESPN for only one season before he was hired by theCleveland Indians to be their manager for the2013 season. On December 3, 2012, ESPN announced thatJohn Kruk, who had been part of theBaseball Tonight team since 2004, would replace Francona join Shulman and Hershiser on the network's newSunday Night Baseball crew for the2013 MLB season.[17] At the start of the2014 season, Hershiser left ESPN to become an analyst for the Dodgers onSportsNet LA and was replaced byCurt Schilling; however, Schilling's subsequent diagnosis of and treatment for an undisclosed form ofcancer led to his being unavailable to ESPN for most of the season.[18] Shulman and Kruk worked as a two-man booth until Schilling joined them in September.[19]
On July 3, 2017, Shulman announced in aSports Illustrated interview that he would step down fromSunday Night Baseball at the conclusion of the 2017 season, seeking to adjust his role at ESPN so he could spend more time with his family in Toronto. He continued to participate in ESPN Radio's coverage of the MLB postseason, as well as ESPN's college basketball coverage.[20]
In October 2022, it was announced that Shulman would step down as ESPN's lead radio broadcaster for the MLB postseason beginning in the 2023 season (withJon Sciambi taking over for him), focusing solely on his college basketball role with the network.[21][22]
In addition to his continued work withESPN, on November 19, 2015, Shulman announced he would be joining theSportsnet broadcast team for upwards of 30Toronto Blue Jays games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.[23] In March 2018 it was announced that he would be joining theSportsnet Radio network for select Blue Jays games, in addition to calling up to 50 games on Sportsnet television.[24]
In April 2018, Shulman teamed up withSportsnet to air the podcastSwing and a Belt with Dan Shulman where every week, he covers a different topic related to baseball and interviews different people such asMike Trout andAaron Boone.
In 2020, Shulman begins to expand his role as the Blue Jays play-by-play voice for most games.
He won theCanadian Screen Award for Best Sports Play-by-Play at the10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.[25]
Shulman also provides play-by-play commentary forCanada Basketball onSportsnet and continued in this role during theCBC coverage of the2024 Summer Olympics, on leave from his regular Blue Jays duties.[26]
Shulman isJewish and has participated in theMaccabiah Games.[27] Shulman had three sons with his wife, Sarah; the couple has since divorced.[28] His third son, Ben, is also a sportscaster and the radio play-by-play announcer for the Blue Jays.[29]
| Preceded by | World Series national radio play-by-play announcer 2011–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Sunday Night Baseball play-by-play announcer 2011–2017 | Succeeded by |
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