Former Blue Jays affiliate announcer gets the call to the big leagues

Blue Jays fans, I want to take you back to August of 2014.

Some dingbat was starting a podcast up in his London, Ontario basement. He thought it was a good idea because he wanted to get into “internet radio” and loved the game of baseball. To launch the podcast, he needed the first guest.

After a failed attempt at bringing a big leaguer on, this writer found an upstanding gentleman by the name of Jesse Goldberg-Strassler on Twitter, who broadcasted Lansing Lugnuts Baseball and after we talked about former prospects Mitch Nay, Matt Dean, and Miguel Castro, The Cardy Show was on its way.

Jesse started his broadcasting journey in 2005 with a collegiate summer league team called the Brockton Rox. From there he went to Double-A, calling games for the Rays affiliate Montgomery Biscuits. There he would first meet Blue Jays Manager Charlie Montoyo. When I asked Jesse about him, he was gleaming through the phone with excitement about Charlie getting the job in Toronto.

In 2012, Goldberg-Strassler launched the Around the Nest podcast where he would speak with all of the broadcasters in the Toronto Blue Jays Minor League system. It was a phenomenal concept that allowed die-hard fans to keep tabs on who was having success in the Blue Jays system. It allowed us to follow top prospects and get to know what was going on with the affiliates.

Lansing Lugnuts (former Blue Jays affiliate) play-by-play voice Jesse Goldberg-Strassler has been called up for the Oakland  A’s next series at Fenway Park.

Goldberg-Strassler would get the opportunity to call Spring Training games with Sportsnet 590 The Fan back-to-back years. He always had a presence on social media always telling stories about players on the Lugnuts. Bichette, Biggio, Vladdy, Moreno.. Jesse has seen those guys come through Lansing and so many more. He’s done it while mentoring other young broadcasters and continuing to sharpen his skills. Goldberg-Strassler would be named the 2019 Minor League Broadcaster of the Year. Jesse also curates the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame in Lansing.

The Blue Jays had to make a decision after Major League Baseball realigned the Minor League affiliates for the 2021 season. The Blue Jays would have a choice to make for their High A-level partnership. Do they keep their affiliate in Lansing, which is four and a half hours from the doors of Rogers Centre, or do they keep their partnership with Vancouver?  The Jays made the decision after careful consideration to stick with Vancouver while Oakland would have the Lugnuts as their affiliate. Jesse still follows the Blue Jays system and the team. Tyler Zickel, the Radio voice of the Vancouver Canadians, has picked up Around the Nest hosting duties.

This season, Athletics radio broadcaster Ken Korach decided to take some time away from the booth. His partner Vince Cotroneo pitched the idea of bringing up Minor League Announcers to fill it for Korach, and with that, after a 17-year journey, Jesse Goldberg-Strassler will make his MLB broadcasting debut at Fenway Park in Boston this weekend.

As you can see on social media, everyone is happy for you Jesse! Congrats to you. So well deserved.