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Denny Matthews | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1942-11-14)November 14, 1942 (age 83) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Team | Kansas City Royals (1969–present) |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport | Major League Baseball |
Dennis Ray Matthews (born November 14, 1942[1]) is an Americansportscaster, best known as aplay-by-play announcer forMajor League Baseball'sKansas City Royals since the team's inception in1969.
Matthews grew up inBloomington,Illinois and attendedIllinois Wesleyan University, where he playedbaseball andfootball, and belonged to theSigma Chi fraternity. He worked for local radio and television stations inPeoria andSt. Louis before his hiring by the Royals.
Matthews has broadcast for the Royals since their inception in 1969, when he was the sidekick toBud Blattner. Blattner retired in 1974, and Matthews has been the Royals' top broadcaster since then. From 1974 to 1998 – a stretch that includes the best seasons in the Royals' history – Matthews was paired withFred White. In 1999, the two also teamed up to write a book calledPlay by Play: 25 Years of Royals on Radio, which recounts anecdotes from those seasons. Matthews also called baseball events for the nationalCBS Radio network in the 1980s.
In 1999, the Royals fired White and replaced him with the youngerRyan Lefebvre.[2] Despite a tremendous age difference, Matthews and Lefebvre integrated their styles well and their dry wit and rapport became popular with Royals fans.
In 2008, Matthews cut back on his broadcast schedule, traveling to fewer road games, turning many of those chores over toBob Davis and Steve Stewart (who succeeded Lefebvre in the Royals' radio booth while the latter shifted to television). However, Matthews broadcast the first road trip of that season from Detroit and Minnesota while Davis was broadcasting theKansas Jayhawks' run to the national basketball championship. Matthews handled most of the home schedule and much of the September slate, when Davis turned his attention to broadcastingJayhawks football games.Steve Physioc replaced Davis on the Royals' broadcast team in 2009.
Matthews' broadcasts and longevity have made him a popular figure inKansas City. Baseball historian and statisticianBill James is among his fans, and has written:
His voice has a pleasant timbre which suggests a cheerful occasion. His inflection varies naturally so it's neither falsely enthusiastic nor boring. He has a dry, understated humor that drifts through much of his audience undetected. One cannot learn these things at a microphone; they are given.[3][full citation needed]
Since the retirement of theLos Angeles Dodgers' longtime English-language announcerVin Scully and Spanish-language broadcasterJaime Jarrín (who called that team's games from 1950–2016 and 1959–2022 respectively), Matthews' tenure with the Royals is the longest continuous tenure with one team among active Major League Baseball announcers.[4] In January 2015, Matthews signed a contract extension which kept him calling Royals games through his and the team's 50th season in 2018.[5] He signed a new contract in 2018 and continues to call games as of the 2025 season.[6]
Matthews was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 2004[7] and theMissouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.[8] He was presented with theFord C. Frick Award by theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.[9][10]
On November 15, 2025, Matthews married his longtime partner Amy at Kauffman Stadium. The bride and groom wore Royals jerseys.[11]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Preceded by None | Voice of the Royals 1969 – Present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
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