Jared Sandler

edit

Jared Sandler (born May 1, 1989) is a radio and television sports broadcaster, primarily for the Texas Rangers.[1][2]

Biography

edit

Sandler grew up in Dallas, Texas as the youngest of Alan and Sheryl Sandler’s three sons. Both of Jared’s parents, as well as his oldest brother, were born in South Africa. Jared’s father, Alan, was an accomplished athlete in South Africa as was Jared’s paternal grandfather, Dave, who won Gold Medals in the Maccabiah Games.[3] His family’s sports interest greatly influenced Sandler, who quickly developed a strong sports passion of his own.

After attending St. Mark's School of Texas, Sandler transferred to Greenhill School in Addison, Texas in fifth grade. On his way to graduating from Greenhill, Sandler received numerous academic and athletic honors as a very accomplished high school athlete playing football, basketball, and baseball.

College

edit

It was as a freshman at the University of Southern California when Sandler first tried his hand at broadcasting, calling football, basketball, and baseball for the student radio station as well and men’s and women’s volleyball and baseball for the school’s website. His very first broadcast was a women’s volleyball game between USC and Duke. Jeff Platt, a senior at the time, was in charge of staffing those games and asked Sandler if he’d want to fill in for a peer who had fallen ill hours before the game and Sandler eagerly obliged, calling the game alongside Kelli Tennant.

In addition to his broadcasting, Sandler was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity and worked for the USC Baseball Program as a student manager. Sandler earned the USC Trojan Award for his contributions to the baseball program over his four years of service.[4]

Broadcasting

edit

Sandler’s first real broadcasting job came prior to graduating when he called games for the Northwoods League’s Brainerd Lakes Area Lunkers in the summer of 2010. Upon graduating from college in the Spring of 2011, Sandler broadcasted for the Great Falls Voyagers, a short-season affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

In the Spring of 2012, Sandler began working for the Great Lakes Loons, the Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He served as the voice of the Loons for two seasons. In addition to his baseball work, Sandler hosted Crunch Time, the highest-rated afternoon drive sports talk show in the Great Lakes Bay Region, as well as broadcasting for Central Michigan University.[5]

In 2014, Sandler accepted a job to broadcast for ESPN Radio in Dallas as a part-time sports talk host and studio host. During this time while making a part-time salary, Sandler supplemented his income as an Uber driver. Nine months after moving back to Dallas for the part-time opportunity, Sandler was hired as the pregame/postgame host for the Texas Rangers, a job that included some play-by-play opportunities.

Sandler currently is a play-by-play broadcaster for the Texas Rangers alongside Eric Nadel and Matt Hicks on the radio as well as alongside Mike Bacsik, David Murphy, and Dave Valle on television. Growing up in Dallas as a die-hard DFW sports fan, Sandler often listened to Eric Nadel broadcasting Rangers games and cites Nadel as his foremost mentor.

Outside of baseball, Sandler has also called college football, college basketball, and G-League basketball on Bally Sports and ESPN.

While in high school, Sandler served as an intern at 1310 The Ticket for the Hall of Famer, Norm Hitzges.

Philanthropy

edit

Sandler founded the Sandlot Children’s Charity in 2017, a charity that provides financial assistance for kids with physical and intellectual disabilities, specifically for those who are in pursuit of athletic opportunities and sport specific experiences. The charity’s goal is to address a major need in the area of health and wellness while promoting the continued development of social and leadership skills for these inspiring youth to not only survive but thrive to the best of their ability in daily life.

The charity has raised more than $1.5 million through the Sandlot Children's Charity Grant Program.

Sandler was presented with the 2021 Mary Henry Humanitarian Award for his efforts in the community.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "List of Texas Rangers (baseball) broadcasters". Wikipedia.
  2. ^ "List of current Major League Baseball broadcasters". Wikipedia.
  3. ^ "Sandler Coaching Maccabiah Futsal Team". TJP News.
  4. ^ "MLB Texas Rangers Broadcasters". MLB.com.
  5. ^ "MLB Texas Rangers Broadcasters". MLB.com.
  6. ^ "Mary Henry Humanitarian Award". DreamFund.