Brenly, Berthiaume join D-backs' broadcast team
Bob Brenly will return to the site of his greatest baseball accomplishment when he joins the Arizona Diamondbacks' broadcast team next season.
Brenly, 58, was the Diamondbacks' manager in 2001 when the franchise won its only World Series championship. He will be the team's television analyst next year, working alongside Steve Berthiaume, who is leaving ESPN's "Baseball Tonight" to take over as Arizona's play-by-play man, according to multiple media reports.
Berthiaume will remain with ESPN through the World Series.
On Wednesday, Brenly announced that he was leaving WGN-Ch. 9 in Chicago, where he worked for eight seasons as an analyst on Cubs games. He replaces Mark Grace on Diamondbacks broadcasts. Grace, a former star first baseman, was off the air for the latter part of the season after an arrest on suspicion of DUI, the second time he's faced that charge.
Brenly played 871 games in the majors leagues from 1981-89, almost all of the time spent with the San Francisco Giants. He also had a stint with the Toronto Blue Jays in his final season. A catcher, Brenly was a career .247 batter, and he hit 91 homers and drove in 333 runs.
Brenly managed Arizona from 2001 through the first half of the 2004 season, compiling a 303-262 record. In addition to winning the 2001 championship, the Diamondbacks won the National League West title in 2002 but were swept in the NL Division Series by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Berthiaume has been with ESPN since 2000, and he's worked as an anchor on ESPNEWS and "SportsCenter" in addition to his hosting duties on "Baseball Tonight." He also worked for SportsNet New York in 2006-07.
Berthiaume will take the place of Daron Sutton as the Diamondbacks' play-by-play man. Sutton last called an Arizona game in June, and Diamondbacks chief executive officer Derrick Hall said in early October that the team had "philosophical differences" with Sutton, according to the Arizona Republic.
Greg Schulte, who had subbed for Sutton in the second half of this season, will resume his normal role on the team's radio broadcast team, the Republic reported.
