Rich Burk Named "Voice" of the Hops
Hillsboro, OR (March 11, 2013) - The Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) announced today that longtime baseball broadcaster and Hillsboro resident Rich Burk (@RichBurk1) will serve as the broadcast voice for the franchise. The Hops also announced that all 76 of their regular season games plus playoffs will be broadcast on Fox Sports AM620 Portland.
Burk brings more than two decades of broadcast experience to the Hops. From 1995 until 2010, he was the "Voice of Summer" in Portland, when he served as the primary radio and television play-by-play announcer for Portland's baseball teams. He was the lead broadcaster for the Class-A Portland Rockies of the Northwest League for five of their six seasons of existence, beginning with their inaugural season of 1995. And from 2001-2010, he was play-by-play announcer for the Triple-A Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. He has also filled in for three major league baseball teams: the San Diego Padres, Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays. During his career, he has called nearly 1,750 professional baseball games on radio and television.
In 2009, Burk called the ESPN2 telecast of the Triple-A Baseball All-Star Game at PGE Park in Portland.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity," said Burk. "A beautiful, brand-new ballpark in my own back yard. Fox Sports AM620 Portland is a great brand, and the radio station has a very strong signal. And I fully expect that the Hillsboro Hops are going to be a team popular throughout the Portland and Hillsboro area."
Burk has called action in major league baseball, minor league baseball, Pac-12 football and basketball, and more. His voice has been heard on FSN, ROOT Sports, ESPN2, the Pac-12 Network, and on local radio in Portland.
Since 2008, Burk has called more than 100 events on the Northwest's primary regional sports network, ROOT Sports (formerly FSN Northwest). These events include Portland Beavers baseball; Pac-12 basketball, football, baseball and volleyball; and Portland Timbers A-league soccer. During 2012-13, he has also called Pac-12 basketball and Pac-12 wrestling as part of the inaugural year of the Pac-12 Networks.
Along with his Pac-12 basketball and football work on television, Burk has also called college basketball games on radio from venues such as Cameron Indoor Stadium (legendary home of the Duke Blue Devils) and Madison Square Garden. Recently, he has filled in on radio for Oregon State University men's basketball.
The Hillsboro Hops will play their first season in Oregon after moving from Yakima, Washington. The team will begin their 38-game regular season on Friday, June 14th with a three-game series against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in Salem. The Hops will make their home debut in their new state-of-the-art stadium in Hillsboro on Monday, June 17th when they play host to Eugene Emeralds for a three-game series. For a complete 2013 Hillsboro Hops schedule, click here.
Hillsboro Hops season tickets are ON SALE NOW by calling 503.640.0887 or by going online.
About Hillsboro Hops:
The Hillsboro Hops are the Single-A baseball affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball. The team's season runs from mid-June to early September. The franchise relocated to Hillsboro in 2012 and will begin play in 2013 in a new state-of-the-art 4,500 seat stadium. The Hops are part of the 58-year old Northwest League, which includes teams in Boise, Eugene, Salem-Keizer, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Everett and Vancouver BC. Major League stars who rose to prominence via the Northwest League include Ken Griffey Jr., Felix Hernandez, Edgar Martinez, Reggie Jackson, Ozzie Smith, Rickey Henderson and Tony Gwynn. Follow the Hops on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HillsboroHops and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HillsboroHops.