Mario Thomas Zapiáin (c. 1924 – August 8, 2009), nicknamed "Don Mario", was a Mexican Spanish language baseball announcer who worked San Diego Padres games for 28 seasons, from 1969 to 1997.[1]
Mario Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1924 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico |
| Died | August 28, 2009 (aged 85) Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico |
| Occupation | Baseball play-by-play announcer |
| Years active | 1969–1997 |
| Employer | San Diego Padres |
Born in Tijuana, Thomas began working for the Padres as their play-by-play announcer in 1969, alongside color commentator Gustavo López Moreno. Other than the 1970 season, he called Padres games until his retirement in 1997. Additionally, he also worked games for the Aguilas de Mexicali of the Mexican League in the offseason and called the Caribbean Series in 1986.[2]
Eduardo Ortega, Thomas' partner for the last eleven years of his tenure, would recall later that he imitated Thomas' style of calling games when he started his broadcasting career.[3]
As a sign of respect, Thomas was nicknamed "Don Mario". During the 25th anniversary of his tenure, Thomas was presented with a plaque by fellow Padre's broadcaster Jerry Coleman. During the ceremony, Coleman joked: "I didn't know your first name was Donald." The plaque read: "In recognition of DON MARIO THOMAS".[1]
Thomas died in August 2009, aged 85, and was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2010.[2]
References
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- ^ a b Smith, Curt (2011). A Talk in the Park: Nine Decades of Baseball Tales from the Broadcast Booth. Potomac Books. pp. 228–229. ISBN 978-1597976701.
- ^ a b "Mario Thomas". Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum.
- ^ "Eduardo Ortega (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research.
Ultimately, he would scamper up a tree and "broadcast" the action before him, imitating the stylings of Mario Thomas Zapiáin (known as "Don Mario"), the first Spanish-language voice of the Padres (starting when the team became a major-league franchise in 1969), and his sidekick, Gustavo López Moreno. He quickly earned a local reputation for his aptitude in describing athletic contests.