John Vittas, Max Tanzer To Broadcast 102 Mussels Games in 2023

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 5, 2023) – The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels will broadcast 102 games live online during the 2022 season and can be heard for free on Minor League Baseball’s platforms.

John Vittas returns for his third season as the team’s lead broadcaster and eighth year in professional baseball. Max Tanzer will join Vittas throughout the season, giving the Fort Myers’ franchise their first two-man booth since 2018.

Vittas and Tanzer will broadcast all 66 home games at Hammond Stadium and over half of the road slate. The Mighty Mussels Baseball Network will carry the first 15 consecutive games, with the duo set to hit the air waves for the first time on Thursday, April 6 at 6:40 p.m.

“I couldn’t be more excited to welcome Max to the booth this season,” Vittas said. “Having a consistent, second voice on the broadcast will only enhance the listening experience for the fans tuning in. Max has a wealth of experience at the college level and I know he will add a lot to Mussels broadcasts this year.”

Fans can tune in throughout the season on mightymussels.com. Broadcasts will also be carried on the MiLB First Pitch App by clicking the headphones link in the top right corner. Audio can also be accessed on MiLB.com.

Mighty Mussels Pre-Game Live will begin 15 minutes before the first pitch and will include in-depth player and coach interviews. The Mussels intend to transition to a video broadcast in 2024.

Vittas began his Minor League Baseball tenure with High-A Myrtle Beach (Cubs) in 2016 before becoming the lead broadcast voice of the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays) in 2017. He called Stone Crabs games for three seasons before MiLB’s realignment forced the organization out of affiliated baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, Vittas joined the Mussels as the team’s broadcaster, media relations manager, corporate sales associate and Twins’ Spring Training Public Address voice.

He also broadcasts various sporting events at Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida SouthWestern State College. He was also the lead play-by-play voice for the Gulf Coast Showcase and City of Palms Classic basketball tournaments in Fort Myers. He’s also worked with the Florida Everblades and Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Tanzer will begin his first professional season calling baseball this spring. He graduated from Ithaca College in December 2022 where he worked with the school’s television and radio stations ICTV and WICB. Last summer, he called over 50 games for the Cape Cod League Champion Bourne Braves. He got his start in play-by-play broadcasting with the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs, a summer collegiate team in Minot, North Dakota, during the summers of 2020 and 2021. Tanzer was named Expedition League Broadcaster of the Year two seasons in a row.

“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to cover professional baseball and the opportunity to do so straight out of college is very special to me,” said Tanzer. “I cannot wait to share my passion for the game with Mussels and Twins fans across the country as well as this amazing Fort Myers community. The chance to work with and learn from John will be an incredible opportunity for me as well. April 6^th can’t come soon enough!”

The team’s live audio feed can be heard here.

The full road broadcast schedule is below.

Road Broadcast Schedule (Subject to Change)

April 11-16 in Clearwater

June 20-25 in Tampa

July 4-9 in Jupiter

July 18-23 in Bradenton

August 1-6 in Dunedin

August 29-September 3 in Clearwater