Former Blue Jays broadcaster Pat Tabler lands new on-air gig

Former Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Pat Tabler has found a new gig.

According to The Athletic‘s Zack Meisel, Tabler is one of three former Cleveland players — along with Ellis Burks and Chris Gimenez — to join the Guardians’ broadcast this season, as he’ll be joining the Bally Sports Great Lakes television team.

The Guardians are adding former players Pat Tabler, Ellis Burks and Chris Gimenez to their broadcast lineup this season. Tabler will join the booth for certain games and Burks and Gimenez will join the pre- and postgame shows. The broadcast regulars will also return.

— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) March 23, 2023

Tabler’s departure from Blue Jays broadcasts was announced less than two months after Toronto’s season concluded last fall. He started as a Blue Jays broadcaster in 1993 for TSN and joined Sportsnet in a regular role in 2005 before being let go last December.

“After 17 seasons as a celebrated contributor to the network’s Blue Jays broadcasts, today Sportsnet and Pat Tabler are parting ways,” Sportsnet said in the announcement on December 2. “Tabler endeared himself to Canadian viewers for more than three decades by bringing his love and passion for the game of baseball to every broadcast. Whether due to his work on the field as a player or behind the mic in the broadcast booth, Tabler will forever be synonymous with the legacy of the Toronto Blue Jays.”

One of Tabler’s longest colleagues, Buck Martinez, said he and Tabler were “blindsided” by the network’s decision to let him go.

“Pat may have been the best partner I ever had. Worked hard, prepared, humble. Wanted to bring the best to the broadcast every single night, and he was blindsided. As was I,” Martinez said in an appearance on The Bob McCown Podcast in December. “We didn’t see it coming. We both were at the end of a contract, and his wasn’t picked up, and it’s very sad.”

Tabler had a .294 batting average with 729 hits, 39 homers, 343 RBIs and 312 runs scored in 707 games for Cleveland in his career from 1983-1988, the franchise he spent the majority of his career with.

Despite winning the World Series in Toronto and being a staple on their broadcasts for three decades, Tabler actually only played two seasons with the Blue Jays, in 1991 and 1992.

Toronto’s first appearance against Cleveland this season comes from August 7-10, so keep your eyes peeled on social media for a reunion picture with his old broadcast pals.

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