Cavnar got her first shot at play-by-play calling spring training games in Arizonarockies
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain's Jenny Cavnar last night called her first game as a Rockies TV play-by-play broadcaster, and Twitter commenters lauded her debut before and after the home game against the Padres. ESPN's Jessica Mendoza: "Congrats @jennycavnar. Just keep doing your thing." Sports writer Molly Knight: "What @jennycavnar is doing is so important. Representation matters! If there had been lady play by play announcer or GM when I was a kid I’d probably be wrecking your favorite team right now." ESPN's Sarah Lang: "Got chills listening to @jennycavnar. ... Thanks for showing women in sports what's possible - like @jessmendoza & others. Representation matters. Let's keep setting examples." CBS Denver's Kelly Werthmann: "Making #HERstory! ... Jenny also hopes to be an inspiration to young girls at home." D-backs broadcaster Mike Ferrin: "@jennycavnar’s story about her husband playing The Show last night so she could practice was awesome. Great job!" Sports writer Jesse Spector: "Looking forward to the day when women doing play-by-play isn't noteworthy, but since we're not there yet, huge ups to @jennycavnar."
VETERAN MOVE: In Denver, Kyle Newman writes Cavnar "didn't just punch a few holes in sports broadcasting’s glass ceiling." Newman: "She smashed through it." The 12-year MLB reporting veteran best known for hosting pre- and post-game shows on AT&T SportsNet in addition to past work as a Rockies radio commentator "demonstrated knowledge and rhythm in the booth in her debut." Cavnar had "no previous play-by-play experience, and the opportunity for her to fill in came about because the Rockies’ usual play-by-play commentator, Drew Goodman, is missing a handful of games this year to be an assistant coach for his son’s team at Arapahoe High School." Cavnar joins Gayle Gardner, Suzyn Waldman and Mendoza as "female baseball broadcasting pioneers" (DENVER POST, 4/24). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said, "If she is good, the fact that she is a woman will be forgotten quickly." ESPN's Michelle Beadle added, "Every woman that is starting to do it now is in the middle of the most heated moment in social media history. It's a different time to be doing it because everything is so immediate, and it is in your face" ("Get Up!," ESPN, 4/24).
SEIZE THE MOMENT: Cavnar said that she got her "first shot at play-by-play calling" during Spring Training. However, Denver-based KCNC-CBS' Kelly Werthmann noted yesterday's matchup was the "real deal -- a regular season game." Rockies game analyst Ryan Spilborghs said, "This was a long time coming. A female broadcast voice in major league baseball is necessary. Jenny has just as much intelligence knowing the game as anybody, probably more so than me, and I hope people realize how passionate she is about this. This is a really big deal for her and it’s a big deal for our broadcast" (DENVER.CBSLOCAL.com, 4/23). In DC, Des Bieler notes when Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado launched a first-inning home run over the left-field fence, Spilborghs and fellow analyst Jeff Huson "sounded like they were more excited for Cavnar’s catchy call -- 'Fire up the fountains! She’s gone!' -- than the home run itself." Cavnar: "If there’s a little girl out there tonight that wants to have that big dream, and it’s because they get to hear a voice that’s different calling a game than they’ve heard before, that’s awesome" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/24). Cavnar's home run call also was praised on Twitter, with MiLB.com's Tyler Maun calling it "already the best in Rockies history." The Denver Post's Newman: "It was a line, and TV play-by-play debut, by Jenny Cavnar that #Rockies fans won't soon forget."
