Long before he became the Blackhawks’ TV voice, Chris Vosters was on a path to become a major-league baseball announcer.
His first job after graduating from Wisconsin was hosting a highlight show for the Northwoods League, a summer collegiate wood-bat league. Then he spent a year as the No. 2 radio voice for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate.
He took a big step as the lead radio voice of the Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers’ Single-A affiliate, with whom he spent four seasons and was named Midwest League Broadcaster of the Year in 2016.
“I thought that I would be a baseball guy for the majority of my career,” Vosters said. “I thought that would always be my backbone. But I took a great pivot into hockey, and I’m very thankful for that. My background was really as a baseball broadcaster in the minors.”
On Sunday, Vosters will return to his roots when he calls the Cubs-Marlins game for Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, with Cubs analyst Ryan Sweeney and Marlins analyst Tommy Hutton. He also will call the Angels-Guardians game May 14 before Brendan Burke, the lead voice for “MLB Sunday Leadoff,” takes over.
But this won’t be Vosters’ first major-league broadcast. He filled in for Twins TV voice Dick Bremer on two games last year when Bremer attended the Hall of Fame inductions of Twins greats Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat. Vosters joined former Twins reliever Glen Perkins in the Bally Sports North booth.
So how does a hockey convert stay connected to baseball? By maintaining relationships he developed on his professional path.
While calling minor-league baseball on the radio, Vosters was looking for opportunities in TV. Fox Sports North, the precursor to Bally Sports North, hired him to call – of all things – Hockey Day Minnesota, a mix of high school and college games, in 2018.
“That was one of the first hockey jobs that I had and really was one of the first television jobs that I had,” he said. “That was my foot in the door with the folks at Bally Sports North. Even though they hired me for hockey, they always thought of me as a baseball guy.”
His connection to NBC predates his work on NBC Sports Chicago’s Hawks broadcasts. As a permalancer, he caught on with NBC’s Olympics coverage and has appeared in the last three Games. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the network had him call – wait for it – hockey.
“I had been filling in for [former Hawks announcer] Pat Foley that season, and NBC really liked that,” Vosters said. “They were like, ‘Oh, cool, you’ve done some NHL games. We’ll put you on hockey.’ And then in turn, the Blackhawks were like, ‘Oh, wow, he’s doing hockey at the Olympics.’ It kind of collectively raised my stock in both parties, which was really convenient.”
Though he might continue to dabble in baseball, Vosters has immersed himself in hockey. Despite calling games for a team that finished with the third-worst record in the NHL, Vosters had a strong first full season. He sounded prepared and professional and made marked improvement.
“I did about 70-75 games, and that more than doubled the amount of hockey games that I had called in my career up to that point,” Vosters said. “I see myself in a rapid-growth phase right now with respect to my hockey play-by-play. I could feel myself, especially in the second half of the season, get much more comfortable in the flow of the game.
“It’s the job of a lifetime. I have so much respect for the chair and the organization. Pat has been awesome to me through this whole process. I’ve enjoyed the relationship that I’ve built with him. And the fans have been great.”
Growing up as a Brewers fan in Brookfield, Wisconsin, Vosters always listened to Bob Uecker on the radio. So he can understand what it must be like for Hawks fans acclimating to a new voice.
“As a sports fan myself, I get it,” Vosters said. “I can’t imagine a different announcer calling Milwaukee Brewers games other than Bob Uecker. I understand it’s an adjustment for fans. But they’ve been very patient and understanding, and I’m very appreciative of that.”
Remote Patrol
- Bulls TV voice Adam Amin and former White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski will call the Cubs-Marlins game Saturday on Fox-32.
- The U, WCIU-Channel 26.2, will air six Red Stars games this season, the first of which is at 7 p.m. Saturday against the Washington Spirit. Dan Kelly and analyst Erica Ayala will call it.
- The Score will continue to air the Chicago Marathon as part of a multiyear agreement. The station has carried the marathon since 2006. It’s scheduled for Oct. 8.
