Dewayne Staats

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Dewayne Staats (born ca. 1952) is the play-by-play commentator for the Tampa Bay Rays television broadcasts. He is teamed with color commentary announcer Joe Magrane.

Dewayne worked for the Houston Astros, the Chicago Cubs, and the New York Yankees prior to joining the Rays in their inaugural season of 1998.

As a promotion in 2006, dual talking bobblehead dolls of Staats and Magrane were given away at a home game against the Seattle Mariners.

Staats celebrated his 30th season as a major league baseball announcer in 2006. He has broadcast over 4,000 major league games.

Staats and Magrane are signed to be the Rays' television team through the 2008 season. [1]

The Dewayne Staats Award for Broadcast Journalism was established in 2008 by the Mass Communications Department at his alma mater, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

[edit] Trivia

• Dan Wheeler, a relief pitcher for the Rays, is Staats' son-in-law
• Dewayne has two daughters, Stephanie and Alexandra, and grandson, Gabriel Michael. His wife, Dee, died in 2005 after a long battle with cancer, and has since remarried the former Carla Berry.

[edit] External links

• For Staats, the voice never gets tired
• Tampa Bay Rays : Roster : Broadcasters