Toronto Radio: MLB Blue Jays Radio Team Will Not Be Traveling

Sportsnet's Ben Wagner

MLB Blue Jays radio broadcaster Ben Wagner has been on-site at the team's player development complex for spring training to conduct interviews, gather information and prepare for the upcoming campaign.

The pre-season will be the only time he's on the road this year, according to the CBC.

Sportsnet, the team's radio rightsholder, will not resume on-site radio broadcasts for road games this season and will instead provide remote coverage from its downtown Toronto studio.

"I'm very disappointed in the network for making that decision," said longtime Blue Jays radio voice Jerry Howarth, who retired in 2018.

Sportsnet confirmed its radio plans in a news release this month that outlined its television, audio and streaming coverage details for 2023. Television crews will cover all 162 regular-season games in person while Wagner will only be on site for the 81 home games at Rogers Centre.

Requests to speak with Wagner and network executives Rob Corte and Greg Sansone were declined by Sportsnet's senior manager of communications.

COVID-19 concerns and travel restrictions meant remote broadcasting was the reality for many TV and radio crews when sports returned in the pandemic's early days. The difference was usually noticeable but viewers and listeners had to accept it given the unusual circumstances.

Almost all big-league baseball radio crews have resumed regular travel. Toronto is one of the few MLB markets that has not.

Wagner, who is sometimes joined by Sportsnet analysts and insiders for his radio calls, started last season by calling road games remotely. He resumed regular travel around the midway point of the campaign.

Howarth, who called home and away games over three-plus decades in the Blue Jays' radio booth, said it's simply "essential" to be on site when a team is on the road.

"You're at the batting cage and you're visiting with players. You're getting a glimpse of what happened the day before and what might happen in this game," Howarth said in a recent interview from Toronto. "Then you go to the umpires' quarters and have a visit with them or maybe [discuss] a call that happened the day before.

It's also much more difficult to provide a natural call of the game when your eyes are bouncing between screens in a studio rather than staring out at the diamond.