Jim Price (baseball)

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Jimmie William Price (born October 13, 1941, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Detroit Tigers from 1967 to 1973. He is also the current radio analyst for the Tigers.

1 Playing career
2 Broadcasting career
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Playing career

Originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960, Price's best year came in his debut with the Tigers in 1967, when he hit .261 in 44 games. He also played on the 1968 Tigers, who won the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

[edit] Broadcasting career

Price began his broadcasting career with PASS Sports (now known as FSN Detroit) in 1993. Currently, Price serves as an analyst and play-by-play announcer (during the fourth and fifth innings of games) for the Tigers' Radio Network, AM 1270 WXYT-AM, alongside play-by-play announcer Dan Dickerson. As a former catcher, Price offers insight into baseball strategy, especially into pitching strategy. Since he handled pitchers in his major league career, Price informs fans about approaches to various hitters. He often refers to the Tigers as "we".^[1] Price often announces that a player "will touch 'em all" after hitting a home run.

While a good analyst, Price is not generally known by fans to be a great play-by-play announcer, as he frequently forgets to update listeners with the score or inning of games, and also allows inordinate amounts of dead air to be broadcast. Price is also criticized by some Tigers fans for being overly enthusiastic when the opposing team scores, and for his frequent use of the word "youngsters" in reference to players in their late 30s or early 40s.{{fact}

Price has also been criticized by at least one former colleague. In an October 2006 interview, former teammate and broadcast partner Jim Northrup stated that Price was to blame for his 1994 firing. Northrup said, "Price was totally worthless and he still is. He got us fired."^[2]

Price also was instrumental in the formation of Jack's Place For Autism, a non-profit orgnization designed to assist families affected by autism.

He was inducted in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.

[edit] References

^ Rubin, Neal. (October 10, 2006) "Jim Price doesn't hide his stripes during broadcasts." Detroit News.
^ Mott, Geoff (October 1, 2006) "Northrup shares his memories, opinions." Saginaw News.