Taking the place of Charley Steiner (who has moved to radio only), Eric Collins will join Steve Lyons in the booth for 38 Dodgers road games this year (covering when Vin Scully does not travel with the team).
The Dodgers.com article is here. But I kid you not, the press release squeezed an extra paragraph in between the second and third graphs that was conveniently left off the website news item:
Collins, 39, was the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC in its baseball coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. For the past five years, he has called ESPN’s College Baseball Super Regionals, and also performed radio and television play by play for the Chicago White Sox on occasions in 2004 and 2008.
One of the nation’s preeminent voices for women’s softball, the Cleveland native has called the sport’s World Cup for ESPN in each of the past three seasons and served as a play-by-play announcer at the Women’s College World Series in 2007 and 2008.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the broadcasting team of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a legendary franchise with a legacy of pioneering and innovation,” said Collins. “I cherish this opportunity. I’m humbled to join an organization with such class, professionalism, and tradition.”
I know Steiner can't discern a high infield fly ball from a home run. But does replacing him with one of the nation's preeminent women's softball voices really represent an upgrade? I suppose we'll find out soon enough.