After more than six decades of broadcasting for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jamie Jarrín officially retired. The Ecuadorian native, loved by many Dodger fans, broadcasted his last Dodger game on October 5, 2022, at Dodger Stadium against the Colorado Rockies. To fans, he is known as “The Spanish voice of the Dodgers.”

Jarrín started his career working with KWKW, a radio station that officially partnered with the Dodgers in 1958 to broadcast the games in Spanish. He was approached to be a Spanish broadcaster but Jarrín refused the offer due to the minimal knowledge he knew of baseball. He was given one year to learn about the sport in which he grasped every detail of baseball. In 1959, Jarrín, twenty years of age, was hired to be a broadcaster for the Dodgers where he worked with René Cárdenas, the first Spanish-speaking broadcaster. He called out three perfect games, twenty-two no-hitters, thirty World Series, and thirty All-Star games throughout his career. 

The impact he made on Dodger fans by being a figure in the Latino community has gone beyond appreciated. In the era of Fernandomania, Jarrín was the voice that many fans listened to when Fernando Valenzuela would pitch. He even served as an interpreter for Fernando Valenzuela when he knew very little English. 

Being known as “The Spanish voice of the Dodgers”, his most famous phrase was “la pelota se va, se va, se va y despídala con un beso” which translates to English, “the ball is going, going, going, and say goodbye to it with a kiss.” This phrase of his was never planned, it came out naturally. 

Jarrín was the first-ever Spanish-speaking broadcaster elected to the Baseball Hall of fame. Along with this recognition, he was the second Spanish-speaking announcer to receive the Ford C. Frick award in 1998. 

Many know him for his work with the Dodgers but he was once a news reporter. He covered the Watts riots and John F. Kennedy’s funeral. He has also covered the Olympics and the boxing matches of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.

Ultimately retiring to spend time with his family and to travel, Jarrín had the chance to broadcast with his son, Jorge Jarrín for seventeen years until Jorge Jarrín decided to retire. Jarrín, a true inspiration for the Dodger and Latino communities, will be known as one of the greats to many fans.