Kasper will join analyst Darrin Jackson in the WMVP-AM both to replace Andy MasurGETTY IMAGES
Len Kasper will become the radio play-by-play announcer for the White Sox after 16 years as the primary TV voice for the Cubs, marking a "sizable move across baseball and the media landscape at a time when perceptions of the city’s two ball clubs seem to be ... in flux," according to Phil Rosenthal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Kasper will join analyst Darrin Jackson in the WMVP-AM booth as a replacement for Andy Masur, who was "thrust into the play-by-play job after veteran announcer Ed Farmer died last spring." Marquee Sports Network "appears poised to install Fox Sports' Chris Myers as Kasper's replacement alongside analyst Jim Deshaies." Myers originally was set to be Kasper's "backup on 2020 Cubs games on Marquee until COVID-19 disrupted plans." Kasper's hire "beefs up a Sox announcing corps" that includes NBC Sports Chicago's Jason Benetti and Steve Stone, perhaps the "best local TV announcer and analyst team in baseball" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/4). WMVP's David Kaplan called the move an "awesome, awesome hire by our station and by the White Sox." WMVP's Jonathan Hood: "Even though television is great, you and I know there’s nothing like that radio call. It lasts forever” (“Kap & J. Hood,” WMVP-AM, 12/4).
EXPLAINING HIS DECISION: Kasper on Friday explained the move during an appearance on WMVP, saying that he had been "thinking about moving to radio for a long time." Noting Farmer's passing, Kasper said, “The timing of this was simply there was an opportunity available that I had long thought about. And if you had followed my career at all, there were hints along the way.” He referenced his "daily pregame interviews on Cubs radio broadcasts ... calling the fifth inning during postseason games and reporting from the field after the team won the 2016 World Series." In Chicago, Jeff Agrest notes though Kasper spearheaded the move, his "relationship with Cubs business president Crane Kenney and Marquee Sports Network general manager Mike McCarthy made departing difficult." However, Kasper "called it a 'friction-less' week regarding the cooperation among all parties", including Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts and White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES,12/4).
NOTHING PERSONAL: THE ATHLETIC's Sahadev Sharma notes Kasper has "always been passionate about radio" and "relished his opportunities to sit in on radio broadcasts with Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer during the fifth inning of nationally televised games." But it also is "well known that Kasper has always wanted to call a World Series," and with games on national television come playoff time, this "would be Kasper's best chance." Kasper's departure "obviously comes as a big surprise," and the move is a "stinging blow to fans who had grown fond of his work" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/3).
