On The Radio Ep. 5

SERIES FIVE: PADRES VS.OAKLAND A'S

KEN KORACH

The 2018 season marks Ken Korach's 27th year in the American League, his 23rd season with the A's, and his 13th as the team's lead radio announcer. In the long history of the A's in Oakland, only the legendary Bill King, who was selected as the 2017 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, has spent more years doing radio play- by-play for the team.

In what he described as a labor of love, Korach authored his first book in 2013 about his former booth mate. Entitled "Holy Toledo - Lessons from Bill King: Renaissance Man of the Mic," he interviewed dozens of King's closest friends and professional peers in a 267-page book that was the No. 1 best selling baseball book on Amazon for more than a month and a best seller at many Bay Area bookstores.

Korach, who was named 2013 California Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, began his baseball career in 1981 when he worked the first of two seasons with the Redwood Pioneers of the California League. He also spent several full seasons broadcasting in the Pacific Coast League, in 1986-87 for Phoenix and 1989-1991 for Las Vegas. Korach was hired by the Chicago White Sox in 1992 and he spent four years with the Sox, working mostly weekend games.

Korach began his broadcasting career at KTOB Radio in Petaluma in 1980, and he was hired as a sports anchor and voice of San Jose State football by KCBS Radio in San Francisco in 1985. He spent 22 seasons broadcasting college basketball and 14 seasons broadcasting college football for Sonoma State University, San Jose State and UNLV, where he spent 12 seasons as the voice of the Runnin' Rebels on radio and television.

Korach was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2003, was the 2001 Nevada Sportscaster of the Year, and his 1986 KCBS broadcast of the San Jose State-Fresno State football game was voted the top play-by-play performance that year for California and Nevada by the Associated Press Radio and Television Association.

Korach's national work includes broadcasting selected major league games for ESPN Radio in 2009 and several bowl games, including the Peach, Las Vegas and Senior Bowls.

Korach's charitable work includes the establishment of Ken Korach's A's Winning for the Community, which raised over $50,000 for the high school baseball programs in Oakland, including Ken's personal donation of $15,000. Korach was honored with a proclamation by the Oakland School Board in 2009, and he currently serves on the advisory board for the Oakland Tech High School Field of Dreams.

VINCE COTRONEO

Vince Cotroneo begins his 12th season in the A's radio booth, where he again will work with broadcast partners Ken Korach and Ray Fosse in continuing the team's tradition of broadcasting excellence.

Prior to joining the A's, Cotroneo spent six seasons (1998-2003) as an announcer on the Texas Rangers broadcasts, where he partnered with Eric Nadel on the Rangers Radio Network. He also worked a handful of games on the television side during the 2002 season. Cotroneo joined the Rangers broadcast team in 1998 after spending seven seasons (1990-96) with the Houston Astros.

A 28-year broadcasting veteran, Cotroneo began his career with the Single-A Lynchburg Mets in 1984. He spent the next three seasons with the Double-A El Paso Diablos in the Milwaukee system before moving onto the Triple-A Iowa Cubs for the 1988 season. In his only season with Iowa, he was selected as the National Association's Minor League Announcer of the Year. Cotroneo joined the Astros organization the following season and was the radio voice of the Tucson Toros for two seasons (1989- 90) before landing his first Major League job with the Astros in 1991.

RAY FOSSE

Ray Fosse, former two-time major league all-star catcher and Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, celebrates his 32nd consecutive season on radio and his 29th season in the television booth as the A's game analyst.

Fosse, a 12-year major league veteran, played for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland A's, Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers, compiling a .256 batting average with 61 home runs. A native of Marion, Ill., Fosse attended Southern Illinois University, and was Cleveland's No. 1 draft pick in 1965.

He made his major league debut with the Tribe in 1967 and spent the next six seasons in Cleveland. Fosse enjoyed his most productive season in 1970 when he batted .307 with a career-high 18 home runs and 61 RBI. He was named the American League All-Star catcher, received the Rawlings Gold Glove as the best defensive catcher in the American League, and was voted Co-Man of the Year with Sam McDowell that season.

In 1971, Fosse was named starting catcher for the American League All-Star Team and received his second Rawlings Gold Glove. He was traded to the Oakland A's in 1973, and played for the 1973 and 1974 World Champions in Oakland. In 2002, Fosse was voted one of the 100 greatest players in Cleveland Indians' history.