Jenny Cavner made history Tuesday when she was announced as the lead play-by-play announcer for live Oakland Athletics games on NBC Sports California. She is the first woman to hold such a title in MLB.
The 20-year media industry veteran has deep roots in baseball and spoke to NBC Sports California about her love for the game, her hopes for the 2024 Athletics, and being a trailblazer in the sports broadcast industry.
Keep reading to learn more about Cavnar, the A's newest voice.
NBCSCA: When did you first fall in love with baseball and where has it taken you so far in your career?
Kavner: “I grew up in Colorado and my dad was a high school baseball coach for many years and is in the high school Hall of Fame here in Colorado, so I can't say I fell in love with him at an early age. “Baseball has always been my passion. It was a part of my life, and I think my love for it grew over time. That was my first encounter with baseball and being involved in baseball. Growing up, I realized that I wanted to be a sportscaster. That's how it started.'' “I wasn't always into baseball. When I was in high school, I don't think I ever saw a female announcer on local sports TV. Sports TV was kind of new in that field, so for me,'' because all the women I saw on TV were like that, I was like, “I want to be a college football sideline reporter.''
“I ended up becoming a college football sideline reporter and doing a lot of work related to football, but I was lucky enough to go to San Diego for an interview in 2007 and meet the station's general manager and executive producer. It was a crossroads where the Padres were recruiting. We were just talking about baseball and he asked me if I knew how to keep score. I laughed in the back of my mind. “Doesn’t everyone know how to score a baseball game?” “I didn't realize that my background really influenced my love and passion and growth into this unique field and then into the world of broadcasting. So, in 2007, I took the job with the Padres. During my time there, I began my career as a Major League Baseball announcer. I eventually returned to Colorado in 2012 as a sideline reporter for the Rockies, worked as a pre- and post-host for the Rockies, and in 2018 I got my first opportunity to do commentary, with Colorado.
“It opened up a whole new world that I hadn’t really set my sights on before, and I started having new dreams of what this could be and new career goals.…I’m really excited. I think that led to this opportunity. ”
NBCSCA: You're friends with Dallas Braden and you end up playing games together in the booth. Can you tell us how your fans know each other?
Kavner: “My husband, Steve Spurgeon, and Dallas grew up together in Stockton, played on Little League teams together, and competed in high school when they attended different high schools. My in-laws are also very close to Dallas. To me, it's really like family and having the opportunity to spend time in the booth with people that I consider family, I hope A's fans realize that really quickly. I'm excited to bring that side to the booth and bring out even more of Dallas' bright personality every night.”
NBCSCA: What does it mean to you to be a woman in the world of sports broadcasting?
Kavner: “For me, being a woman in broadcasting is such an honor. I had so many great male role models growing up, including my father. He always encouraged me to get involved in broadcasting. She encouraged me, encouraged me to play sports, to know more about sports.I never felt alone in sports, being around sports, and participating in sports broadcasts. Sometimes it could have been just that, but I always felt like the word sports connected me to other people, whether they were men or women.
“In the early days, it was a lot of men, but as time has gone on, I think it's pretty special to look around and see so many women in not just baseball broadcasts, but baseball broadcasts. I think so at baseball games, but when I see Alyssa Nakken in a San Francisco Giants uniform, when I see different women in front office and public relations roles, and my good friend Melanie Newman, I do play-by-play on the Orioles radio. I'm friends with Sujin Waldman, who is an analyst and covers the Yankees broadcasts. How far has this game grown and what does it really mean for everyone? It's really great to see.
“I am honored to be a part of its leadership and look forward to seeing how this organization continues to grow over the coming decades.”
NBCSCA: As the Athletics look to bounce back from their historically worst 2023 season, what do you expect from the team this season?
Kavner: “I have spent the past 10 years covering the Colorado Rockies, and they have gone through similar growing pains. A spotlight on young, exciting players and their future stories. I think that's what I really enjoy about this show, just being able to guess that.'' Becoming a major league baseball player is truly a lifelong dream, so it's great to be able to make your major league debut, get established on a team, and make a name for yourself. It's about working hard every day to spread the word. , to influence the team, those are the stories I love to follow, and the A-Team has a lot of those stories.
“After a bad season, you hope it doesn't get any worse and there's a way to move up. For Mark Coetzee, this means players don't have to worry about what's going on around them. “I think that's a message for me: What you can control, what you can control, and what happens between the line and the baseball play, to me, that's our job, that's what we do. “I think that's why we're here. There's a lot of distractions, a lot of disappointments.”It can be heartbreaking in the city, but at the end of the day, baseball and our love for it come through every night. So, I sincerely hope that we can share these stories of the players as well. ”
NBCSCA: What advice do you have for women who want to enter the field of sports broadcasting?
Kavner: “My advice to anyone, male or female, who wants to work in sports broadcasting is that you have to have a deep passion for what you're doing. You have to really enjoy every day. You don't have to work long hours. And it's a lot of work.'' It's a lot of work, a lot of nights and weekends, but it's great, it's a sport, it's exciting, it's entertainment, it's about people and their stories with the sport they play. It's about connecting.
“For me, that's the best thing you can do and call it your job for a living. Especially for women, there's a path to our game where you're knocking down doors and making a lot of money.” There are a lot of great pioneers who have pioneered this. It's not just one or two jobs, there's a growing number of jobs that are accessible, but now there are women in uniform, women in front office positions on baseball teams. I started seeing women…women that I really admire are women who took a leap of faith and went into a career path that not many women were doing.
“They have opened so many doors, and we want to continue to do the same so that the next generation of girls understands how many opportunities are available to them. I am.”
NBCSCA: What do you want A's fans to know about you?
“Growing up in Colorado, we didn't have Major League Baseball here, so we often picked players when we had the home run derby, and it was a battle between Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco. I I have vivid memories of these A's growing up with my cousins, and we were all really trying to emulate the '80s teams. And of course, I never missed the 1989 World Series. I don't think I'll ever forget, I didn't grow up there, but when I think about it from a historical perspective, “My in-laws lived in Stockton, and my husband's grandmother was also a big A's fan. I think there's a lot of really fun connections and I'm excited to explore that and hopefully let the fan base know more about me.”
