PawSox Radio Broadcasts

The Pawtucket Red Sox Radio Network, one of the largest in all of minor league baseball, will once again be led by 920 AM WHJJ talk radio which will serve as the flagship station for the sixth year in a row. WHJJ heads a list of at least 15 stations that will carry PawSox baseball throughout the 2012 season.

WHJJ, along with other members of the network, will broadcast all 144 PawSox regular-season games along with any potential playoff games as well as the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 11 and the Triple-A National Championship Game on September 18.

Newcomer Aaron Goldsmith will join Steve Hyder, who returns for his ninth season, in the PawSox radio booth in 2012 calling all games both home and away. In addition, Aaron and Steve will host "PawSox Insider", a one-hour radio magazine show that will air every Saturday on WHJJ from 2:00 - 3:00 pm through September 22.

Aaron Goldsmith was hired last December after being chosen from among more than 150 nationwide applicants to replace Dan Hoard who accepted a radio job with the Cincinnati Bengals prior to the 2011 NFL season.

Goldsmith, 28, had spent the past two seasons as the radio broadcaster for the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers in Frisco, TX. He was also the teams Manager of Broadcasting/Media Development. Prior to joining Frisco, Aaron spent the 2009 season as a broadcaster/studio host for the Portland Sea Dogs, the Red Sox Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League. Along with his play-by-play responsibilities, he hosted the Sea Dogs' 30-minute pre and post-game shows.

"It is an immense honor to be chosen as the next broadcaster for the Pawtucket Red Sox," said Goldsmith. "This is one of the finest minor league broadcasting jobs in the country and with that comes great responsibility and expectations. I'm thrilled to be returning to the Red Sox organization and look forward to contributing to the PawSox both on and off the air."

Aaron is a native of St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from Principia College in Elsah, IL where he majored in History. Following college he attended the Broadcast Center in St. Louis where he earned a certificate in Radio Broadcasting and Production. His professional broadcast career began in 2007 doing play-by-play for the Gateway Grizzlies of the Independent Frontier League followed by a summer on the Cape in 2008 as the lead broadcaster for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

As mentioned, Goldsmith replaces Dan Hoard who spent six seasons in the PawSox radio booth before earning the call to the National Football League (Cincinnati) last fall.

Hoard joins an illustrious group of former PawSox broadcasters in the "big leagues" - all of whom have gone directly from Pawtucket to the major leagues. Gary Cohen (PawSox radio in 1987 & '88) has been with the New York Mets ever since leaving the PawSox, Don Orsillo (1997-2000) is in his 12th season with the Boston Red Sox on NESN this season, Dave Flemming (2001-2003) has been a radio voice of the San Francisco Giants for nine years, Andy Freed (2001-2004) has called Tampa Bay Rays games since leaving Pawtucket, and Dave Jageler (2005) who was with the PawSox for just one season before he took over as the Washington Nationals radio voice where he has remained ever since.

Prior to coming to Pawtucket in 2006, Steve Hyder was the voice of the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League from 1997-99. Hyder, 50, who co-hosted a mid-day sports talk show on the former 790 The Score in 2004 & 2005, has concentrated solely on his PawSox duties the last seven seasons.

Hyder has an extensive radio background. He was a radio play-by-play and color commentator for Syracuse University football and basketball for ten years during much of the 1990's. He also had his own national sports talk show on Sporting News Radio, and has filled in on both Providence College and Brown University basketball.

Steve is a five-time winner of the prestigious Rhode Island Sportscaster of the Year award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012. He has accepted that award at the Annual National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association (NSSA) awards dinner in North Carolina along with a host of other national and state winners in attendance.

Steve is a 1979 graduate of Rogers High School in Newport, RI where he was an All-State shotputter. He went on to a record-setting career as a weight man in track and field at the University of Massachusetts. His sports career actually began as a sales representative for the PawSox back in 1987. Hyder, who has two daughters named Carly and Eva, lives in Newport.

The PawSox are also pleased that all 144 games will be broadcast live online and archived on the internet. Those online broadcasts can be accessed by visiting www.pawsox.com.