Dave Sims

David Sims

• School Bethany College (WV)

• Born February 14, 1953 in Philadelphia, PA USA

Biographical Information

Dave Sims was the television play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Mariners from 2007 to 2024, then was named the radio voice of the New York Yankees for 2025, replacing the recently retired John Sterling.

With the Mariners, he worked for regional cable sports network Root Sports. During his first four years, he would call the first three innings on radio with Dave Niehaus announcing on the television side, after which they would swap posts. After Niehaus' passing, Sims exclusively worked on television. He is one of a very small number of African-Americans working full-time as a baseball announcer; only former player Bill White had preceded him in such a prominent role.

Sims grew up in south Philadelphia. He attended Bethany College and played catcher on the baseball team while majoring in mass communications. His career started with the New York Daily News as a sportswriter. He also worked a couple of years for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sims' first radio job was with WNBC in New York as the host of the radio call-in show SportsNight in the mid-1980s. He later moved to Sports Radio 66 WFAN as co-host (along with Ed Coleman) of a midday show called Coleman and the Soul Man. He also was a weekend sports anchor at WCBS TV.

Beginning in 1991, he worked as an announcer for ESPN. While he only occasionally called baseball games, he also announced college basketball and college football. He has also been a sports writer, a college basketball announcer and a college football announcer for ESPN. He still calls Sunday Night Football on Westwood One radio, which he's done since 2006. (M's radio announcer Rick Rizzs fills in when Sims is away during football season on Sundays.) He won the Washington Sportscaster of the Year award three straight years from 2018 to 2020.

Further Reading

• Bryan Hoch: "Dave Sims will follow Sterling as Yanks radio voice", mlb.com, November 15, 2024. [1]
• Bryan Hoch: "Sims thanks pioneer for 'paving the path' for Black broadcasters", mlb.com, January 31, 2025. [2]
• Daniel Kramer: "Call after viral call, Sims builds legacy in the booth", mlb.com, February 13, 2023. [3]
• Bill Ladson: "Sims 'living the dream' as voice of Mariners", mlb.com, February 13, 2017. [4]

Related Sites

• Official site