Rich Waltz


Rich Waltz is an American television play-by-play commentator. A three time Emmy winner, Waltz is best known for calling television broadcasts for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball from 2005 to 2017. In November 2017, Waltz's dismissal by Fox Sports Florida and the Marlins was criticized by fans and media. Currently, Waltz calls baseball for MLB Network and College Football and Basketball for CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports, FS1, Fox Sports, and Turner Sports. This June, Waltz called Kumar Rocker's 19 strikeout no-hitter for Vanderbilt in the NCAA Super Regionals on ESPN.

Broadcasting career

Major League Baseball

From 2012–2015, Waltz called games on Fox's Saturday Baseball package, and he has filled in on MLB Network's Thursday Night Baseball coverage. Waltz has called three World Baseball Classics for MLB Network; in 2013 and 2017 he partnered with Buck Martinez and called two rounds of the WBC in Japan.
Waltz joined FSN Florida from FSN Northwest. He has also called Major League Baseball games for Fox, ESPN, ESPN Radio, and FX nationally along with the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays broadcasts on CBC Television in Canada. Additionally, Waltz has called five no-hitters including Aníbal Sánchez's in September 2006, Roy Halladay's perfect game on May 29, 2010, and Henderson Alvarez's no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers on the final game of the 2013 Major League Baseball season.

Other sports

From 1997–2002, Waltz called college football games for ESPN, ESPN Radio and ABC in the Big Ten, SEC and ACC conferences. Waltz's ESPN assignments included Major League Baseball, NCAA basketball, Arena Football, NCAA college softball World Series, Little League World Series Regional Finals, and Major League Soccer. His football experience also includes NFL Europe for Fox, Pac-12 Football for FSN, and NFL preseason games for the Seattle Seahawks. Waltz has also called both ATP and WTA events on Tennis Channel, including 2015 events from Dubai, Doha, and Buenos Aires.
From 2010 to 2012, Waltz called games on ACC College Football Saturday and SEC Saturday Nights produced and distributed by Fox Sports Net and Raycom Sports. His college basketball work has included games in every major conference for Fox, ESPN, CBS Sports Network, and Raycom. In 2012, he called the Reese's College All-Star Game at the Final Four for TNT.
Since 2015 Waltz' College football analysts have included Adam Archuleta, Aaron Murray, and David Diehl.

Philanthropic work

In 2006, Waltz helped create and organize the FSN Fantasy Auction, which in 12 years raised more than $1.2 million for the Marlins Community Foundation. In 2008, he was honored by the Marlins with their Community Service Award.

Playing career

Waltz played college baseball, first for Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, California, then at the University of California, Davis. He was a starting infielder for the Aggies on two conference championship teams.