Radio voice gets call; Aguilar set to bounce back
After nearly three decades broadcasting minor-league games, Johnny Doskow, the longtime radio voice of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, is getting called up to the majors.
The Oakland Athletics are adding Doskow to their broadcast team for the 2023 season, they announced Friday. Doskow will be part of pregame, play-by-play and postgame radio coverage of at least 65 games in spring training and the regular season.
Ken Korach, entering his 18th season as the A’s lead radio announcer, and Vince Cotroneo both return to the booth for the upcoming season.
“I’m elated,” Doskow, 56, said by phone Friday. “At a certain point, when I got into my 50s, I said, ‘You know what, this may not happen.’ And I kind of asked myself, are you OK with it if it doesn’t happen? And the answer really was yes because I love calling games. So for this to happen now, I’m so fired up to get started and I’m just grateful.”
Doskow has worked since 2000 as radio voice of the River Cats, who were the A’s Triple-A affiliate for 15 seasons before becoming the Giants’ top affiliate in 2015. He also worked games for the Fresno Grizzlies from 1998-2000 and the High Desert Mavericks from 1996-98.
In 2012, Doskow filled in with the A’s for a stint while Korach recovered from knee replacement surgery. Korach scaled back on travel in 2022; if that happens again, Doskow could help man the booth for road games. He’ll also contribute to the A’s daily streaming show, “A’s Cast,” the team said.
“Even though I’m older, I am the rookie, so whatever they tell me to do, I’m happy to,” Doskow said.
Who’s on first: The signing of free agent Jesús Aguilar to a one-year deal, which the A’s made official on Friday, gives Oakland a veteran option at first base, where they used 12 men last season.
General manager David Forst said the A’s have “talked about Jesús playing most days at either first base or DH.” One factor in a possible platoon would be if Ryan Noda, a left-handed hitter selected in the Rule 5 draft, can win a roster spot in spring training.
Seth Brown is another left-handed hitting option, but Forst said that with Aguilar, Noda and Dermis Garcia as firstbase candidates it’s likely Brown “spends the bulk of his time in the outfield,” at least initially.
Aguilar, 32, is coming off a season in which his offense declined, falling from a .261/.329/.459 line with 22 home runs in 2021 to .235/.281/.379 last season. He also rated minus-5 defensive runs saved at first base in 2022, but other, older defensive metrics reflect a more neutral impact in the field.
Aguilar had arthroscopic knee surgery late in 2021 but said Friday that was “no excuse” for his decline, chalking it up to a “down year.” On a call with media, Aguilar said he has made tweaks to his stance, including lowering his hands to be more direct to the ball.
In signing with the A’s, Aguilar said, “The most important thing for me was I’m going to play almost every day. I’m going to have the at-bats to put up numbers, I’m going to have time to do my job. So hopefully I can stay healthy the whole year, help the young guys develop in a good way and put up good numbers.”
Forst said the A’s have “looked at some of his swing decisions, swinging both in and out of the zone, and we’ll … talk with him when he gets to camp. But this is a guy with a pretty impressive track record.”