Signature baseball voice for decades for Spanish- speaking fans
MIAMI — Rafael “Felo” Ramirez, a Hall of Fame baseball radio broadcaster who was the signature voice for millions of Spanishspeaking sports fans over three decades, has died. He was 94.
The Miami Marlins announced Mr. Ramirez’s death in a statement on Tuesday morning. The organization said he died Monday night.
“The entire Marlins organization is deeply saddened by the loss of a great friend, Hall- of- Fame broadcaster and community icon, Felo Ramirez,” the Marlins said in the statement. “Since our inaugural season, he brought home practically every magical moment in franchise history to generations of fans. A true broadcast legend, Felo lent his voice to over 30 World Series and All- Star Games and his extensive contributions to our game will never be forgotten.”
Mr. Ramirez fell and struck his head while getting off the Marlins’ team bus April 26, during a series in Philadelphia. He spent two months in a Delaware hospital before he was brought to Miami where he continued his recovery.
He began his broadcasting career in Cuba in 1945 before calling 31 All- Star games and World Series in Spanish. He had been the Florida Marlins’ Spanish- language announcer since 1993 and was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2001.
Mr. Ramirez was not the tallest of men, but his size belied his strong voice and stature in the broadcasting community. He was known for an expressive, yet low- key style and his signature strike call of “Essstrike.”
Several Spanish- language broadcasters, including Amury Pi- Gonzalez of the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants, have admitted to emulating his style.
Cookie Rojas, a former player and manager in Cuba and the major leagues, once said Mr. Ramirez was admired by sports fans who listened to Spanish- language broadcasts. “When you hear Felo Ramirez announce a game, you instantly know its Felo Ramirez,” said Rojas, a former Spanish- language television announcer for the Marlins. “His voice is one of the most acceptable and distinguishable around. Felo’s influence on Latin Americans in the United States is undoubtable.”
Mr. Ramirez’s big break came when he landed a job in 1950 with the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, which introduced him to major league baseball.
Mr. Ramirez left Cuba in the early 1960s, after Fidel Castro’s revolution.