Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez to return to the booth next week

After a temporary hiatus, Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez is set to return to the booth next week on Friday, May 12th, when the Jays take on the Atlanta Braves at the Rogers Centre. People were starting to wonder near the end of April why all of a sudden he wasn’t part of the Sportsnet broadcasting team for a couple of weeks, and many of them began to get worried about his health and well being. 

At last, the silence had been broken. Apparently, Martinez had been on a planned break from Sportsnet, as he is still scheduled to cover 100 regular season games this year for the Blue Jays. In the meantime, Joe Siddall, who usually operates the desk on Blue Jays Central, had been filling in for Martinez during his break alongside Dan Shulman and had been praised for his fine work in doing so.

Martinez explained his absence in an interview with the Toronto Sun, saying that “it was the right thing to do, when I got home after a series or two (last season) I was tired. This way, I can pace myself. I don’t get stale and I don’t get overloaded with baseball.”

Martinez has been part of multiple Blue Jays broadcasting teams, ever since the former Blue Jay retired after the 1986 season, for over parts of 28 seasons. In the middle of his long run as the Jays’ broadcaster, he had a stint as the Jays manager from 2001 to 2002, finishing with a record of 100 wins and 115 losses. In addition, after his dismissal from his managing duties in 2002, he became part of the Baltimore Orioles broadcast team, serving as a color commentator from 2003 to 2009. His current run as the Jays’ broadcaster on Sportsnet then began from 2010 up until now.

Last season, in April of 2022, Martinez announced that he was stepping away from the booth for a while due to his cancer diagnosis, but successfully returned in late July following the completion of his cancer treatments.

For the Jays’ fans and viewers who have sincerely missed Martinez will definitely be all excited to welcome him back as he returns to our TV screens and be able to enjoy his in-depth analyses and colourful commentaries once again.